Mar 11, 8:47 PM EDT UN says world population to hit 7 billion in 2012 Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The world's population will hit 7 billion early in 2012 and top 9 billion in 2050, with the vast majority of the increase coming in the developing countries of Asia and Africa, according to a U.N. estimate released Wednesday. Hania Zlotnik, director of the U.N. Population Division, said that "there have been no big changes" from the previous estimate in 2006. "We are still projecting that by 2050 the population of the world will be around 9.1 billion," she said at a news conference. "The projections are based on the assumption that fertility that is now around 2.56 children per woman is going to decline to about 2.02 children per woman in the world."

Wed Mar 11, 11:02 am ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A gold watch owned by Abraham Lincoln bears a message marking the start of the U.S. Civil War, but the president never knew of the "secret" inscription uncovered on Tuesday at the National Museum of American History. The engraving, by watchmaker Jonathan Dillon, is dated April 13, 1861, and reads in part: "Fort Sumpter was attacked by the rebels" and "thank God we have a government." The museum said it agreed to open the watch to find out if the message really was there after it was contacted by the watchmaker's great-great-grandson, Doug Stiles of Waukegan, Illinois. The American Civil War began when Confederate troops opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861. Forty-five years later, Dillon the watchmaker told The New York Times that he was repairing Lincoln's watch when he heard that the first shots of the Civil War had been fired. Dillon said he unscrewed the dial of the watch and used a sharp instrument to mark the historic day on the president's watch. He told the newspaper that, as far as he knew, no one had ever seen the inscription. "Lincoln never knew of the message he carried in his pocket," Brent Glass, director of the National Museum of American History said in a statement. "It's a personal side of history about an ordinary watchman being inspired to record something for posterity." Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States in November 1860. In the lead up to the Civil War, South Carolina and six other states seceded from the Union before Lincoln's inauguration in March 1861. Museum finds "secret" message in Lincoln's watch

Top News Elderly Saudi woman sentenced to lashings Published: March 9, 2009 at 7:24 AM RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 9 (UPI) -- A 75-year-old Saudi Arabian woman has been sentenced to receive 40 lashes for hosting two unrelated men in her house, local media reported. The Saudi daily newspaper al-Watan said the woman, Khamisa Mohammed Sawadi, has appealed her sentence after being charged with offenses against Islam by the religious police, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, CNN reported Monday. Sawadi says the two men in her house were a man she considers her son because she breast-fed him as a baby and a friend who was escorting him as he delivered bread to the elderly woman. "It's made everybody angry because this is like a grandmother," Saudi women's rights activist Wajeha Huwaider told CNN. "Forty lashes -- how can she handle that pain? You cannot justify it." The U.S. broadcaster reported that Saudi religious police last week also detained two male novelists for questioning after they approached a female writer, Halima Muzfar, for an autograph at a book fair in Riyadh. UPI

Pair Popped For Park Tryst "...I am homeless so I do it out here," man told Florida cops MARCH 5--Meet Betty Jo Leonardson and John Silvia. The couple was arrested yesterday evening for having sex in a Florida park, not far from a playground. Cops were alerted by a female witness who spotted Leonardson and Silvia trysting in Rossi Park, which the City of Bradenton describes as the "crown jewel" of its park system. When confronted by a cop, the 51-year-old Silvia "appeared to be very startled" and ceased coupling with the 39-year-old Leonardson, according to the below Bradenton Police Department report. Silvia told Officer Mark Roberts that he "just wanted to fuck" and did not know that he was "going to get pinched." He added that he did not see any children in the area "due to the fact that his ass was up in the air and he was not looking for any kids." As for why he was having sex in public, Silvia explained, "You do it in a house, I am homeless so I do it out here." Both Silvia and Leonardson were charged with lewd and lascivious behavior and booked into the Manatee County jail, where the mug shots at right were snapped. A third person, Ricky Osborn, was lying on the ground near Leonardson and Silvia, but was "only watching the arrestees have sex." Though not charged, Osborn remains very creepy.

A woman named Marijuana plays it straight - and wins Posted: Mar. 7, 2009 Police years ago pulled over a young woman who rushed through an amber traffic light. "I'm about to arrest this person right now," the irritated officer radioed to a dispatcher. "She's telling me her name is Marijuana Pepsi Jackson." It's the truth. Marijuana and Pepsi are her legal first and middle names, and the Beloit woman embraces them as a symbol of her struggle to succeed and to help other children overcome obstacles. No Mary or Mary Jane or Mary Wanda for her. It's Marijuana, thank you, she's told bosses, co-workers and friends over the years, and even wore it on nametags at work. This tall, striking, self-assured, motorcycle-riding woman is a schoolteacher with a master's degree in higher education administration. Soon, she'll start work on her doctorate. All of her achievement came despite that smoky, carbonated name. And partly because of it. No one named Marijuana Pepsi gets lost in the crowd. "Everybody I meet says this: You're nothing like I thought you'd be," she told me when we sat down for an interview in Beloit last week. These days she goes by Marijuana Sawyer, the surname of her ex-husband from Georgia, where she spent 10 years before returning to Beloit in 2008 to fulfill a promise to make a difference in her hometown. She has a 6-year-old son named, mercifully, Isaac. Sawyer's mother, Maggie Johnson, picked her name. Her father objected but lost the argument. To this day, a lot of family members and best buds call her Pepsi.

Nurse buys sex aid for teenager 09 March 2009 A COMMUNITY nurse bought an artificial vagina for a sexually frustrated disabled teenager. Stephanie Courts made the revelation at a Royal College of Nursing conference in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. She obtained the vibrating sex aid after the 15-year-old patient, who was severely disabled, became distressed at not being able to satisfy his sexual urges. Ms Courts said the case highlighted a serious issue, the lack of national guidelines for dealing with the sexual needs of physically disabled adolescents. Her team in Worcestershire eventually drew up its own sexual health policy for the local Primary Care Trust. The nurses addressed the problem after consulting the 15-year-old boy’s parents. Ms Courts said the team dealt “professionally with a potentially embarrassing and legally difficult situation”, Nursing Standard magazine reported. But national guidelines were still needed for nurses finding themselves in similar situations. Ms Courts told the conference for nurses working with children and young people: “Sexual health guidance is not out there and this is shocking." Previously, staff at the Helen & Douglas House Hospice in Oxford were persuaded by a patient to help find him a prostitute, said Nursing Standard. Nick Wallis, 22, who has muscular dystrophy, told a national newspaper how he approached staff in January after realising that he was unlikely to have sex before he died. The patient’s request was put through the hospice’s ethics committee and lawyers were consulted.

Megan Joy and her Ugly Tattoo | March 11, 2009 | Megan Joy Corkrey, officially now just Megan Joy, it would appear, is the sexiest girl with the ugliest tattoo you’ll see on American Idol. Last year there was that Irish chick, but let’s face it, she wasn’t nearly as hot as Megan. Last night Megan did “Rockin’ Robin” as her Michael Jackson song . It was, er, really weird, but she was really hot, and the song was kinda cool anyways. I wish she would cover up that right arm and stop the goofy dancing, though. I mean, there’s nothing worst than a hot girl who can’t dance. Yow. More Megan Joy for your ogling pleasure.

All Systems Go For Space-Age 'Jetsons' Car The Aptera 2e electric car is launched in Carlsbad, California. The egg-shaped two-seater vehicle is likened to a space-age car from futuristic 1960s cartoon "The Jetsons". Looking more like an aircraft than a road vehicle, the Aptera is a far cry from the hybrid sedans & electric sports cars being produced by conventional car manufacturers. It has an aerodynamic design and has an energy-efficient engine giving 100 miles per gallon (42 km per litre). The long shape provides extra legroom and the car runs with a tinny, high-pitched hum. Aptera is one of a handful of young, west coast-based companies making cars that save fuel and global warming emissions. A monitor inside the Aptera 2e electric vehicle displays battery information at the company's assembly facility in Vista, California. The interior of the Aptera 2e electric vehicle is seen outside the company's assembly facilities in Vista, California. Aptera's makers are promoting the car as a money-saver despite an initial price tag of between $25,000 and $40,000 (£17,500 and £28,000). The Aptera 2e electric vehicle already has around 4,000 customer orders.

Topless Coffee Shop In Maine Now Open For Business February 25th, 2009 When we think killer cup of joe we think Vassalboro, Maine. And when we think bare chested women we think Vassalboro, Maine. It was only a matter of time before some crafty entrepreneur put two and two together . VASSALBORO, Maine – Cup size has more than one meaning at a new central Maine coffeehouse. Servers are topless at the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop, which opened its doors Monday on a busy road in Vassalboro. A sign outside says, “Over 18 only.” Another says, “No cameras, no touching, cash only.” On Tuesday, two men sipped coffee at a booth while three topless waitresses and a bare-chested waiter stood nearby. Topless waitress Susie Wiley said men, women and couples have stopped by. The coffee shop raised the ire of dozens of residents when it went before the town planning board last month. Town officials said the coffee shop met the letter of the law. We can securely say nothing gets our morning started better than tits. Could do without the shirtless dude though. Who’s idea was that? We’ll be interested in following how the down turning economy affects the waitresses’ “no cameras, no touching” policy.

Ferrari 599XX If the 100th-anniversary Bugatti Veyron Bleu Centenaire had been blessed with the 1,350 horsepower rumored before the show, it would almost certainly have made our supercar pick here in place of this Ferrari. But as it is, the Bug is just a particularly tasty one-off special edition. And the 599XX is utterly mental. Even the extreme looks don't quite do this car justice. A track-only special that will be offered exclusively to hand-picked Ferrari faithful, the 599XX is packed with advanced, Formula 1-derived technology, and can lap the Fiorano test track in 1 minute 17 seconds. That's seven seconds faster than an Enzo. Whoa.

Ford iosis Max Is this the most aggressive people carrier you've ever seen? Kia reveals its new No 3 concept by suggesting that it's “the first beautiful MPV” — and Ford turns up with the iosis Max, a concept so angry-looking it probably eats pretty little Kias for breakfast (especially given that the Koreans appear to have adopted Ford's design language, but that's another story). With downforce-generating c-pillars, an enormous rear wing and grab handles influenced by aircraft vortices, we've never seen a people carrier quite like this. But despite the visual stroppiness, the iosis Max is really a big softy at heart. Powered by a 1.6-liter “Ecoboost,” it debuts Ford's new family of environmentally friendly turbo engines.

Photography collector Keya Morgan holds what he believes is a rare, unpublished photograph of Abraham Lincoln, the only image of the 16th president in front of the White House and the last sitting of Lincoln in 1865 before he died, in Beverly Hills, Calif., Friday, March 6, 2009. The image by photographer Henry F. Warren was uncovered in the personal album of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

Two Teachers Accused of Having Sex With Same Student Separate relationships alleged with 13-year-old high school student Sat, Mar 7, 2009 Tw o junior high school teachers in Utah have been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting the same 13-year old boy, according to a newspaper report. The inappropriate student-teacher relationships involved Utah studies teacher and cheerleading adviser Linda R. Nef, 46 and Valynne Bowers, 39, a math teacher, the Salt Lake Tribune reported . Both Bountiful Jr. High teachers did not know the other was carrying on an affair with the student until recently, Bountiful Police Lt. Randy Pickett told the Tribune. Nef reportedly met with police and said that she had been having sex with the boy for over a year, police said. She then told police about the boy's subsequent relationship with Bowers , who later confirmed it. Pickett, the police lieutenant, said the teachers exchanged sexual text messages with the boy and that led to phone sex and later, assault. The assaults occurred off campus, he said. Salt Lake Tribune reported .

UPI Pictures A model demonstrates body-art at the Ukrainian Body-Art Championship in Kiev on March10, 2009.

'Exotic' maids naughty and neat No sex or toilet cleaning The Edmonton Sun EDMONTON -- Sit back and enjoy the show, but don't expect these maids to touch your toilet. A fledgling city cleaning service features young women clad in French maid outfits, red stilettos and fishnet stockings. "They do the same job as regular cleaners, but they look fantastic doing it," said Elise Skoglund, owner of Good Clean Fun exotic maid service, which opened up shop in Edmonton last fall. For $125 an hour, a sexy maid will do everything from dusting the TV to wiping the counters, but toilets are a no-go zone. Skoglund explained that since the maid is already dressed in skimpy clothes and high heels, getting down on her hands and knees to clean the toilet would cross the line into degrading territory. She stresses the company is not an escort service: the maids are professional cleaners and don't take off their clothes. "My goal is to keep it clean and keep it classy." Clients are typically working men who don't feel like cleaning and seek companionship. But, not just men call for the service. Women call too, according to Skoglund. "They are sick of cleaning, but it's a treat for their husbands. They know that it's clean." Each maid has a personal alarm and a security driver. Clients are also screened to ensure they're aware it's an exotic cleaning service and nothing more. One of the maids said she loves her job and doesn't mind pushing a vacuum around in stilettos, though she goes by an alias, Devika. "I wear heels all the time so it's no worries," said the 24-year-old, as she worked with a pink feather duster Thursday. "I enjoy what I do and I get to meet all sorts of people."

On the market: Teenage Gypsy girls glam up for annual bride sale 10th March 2009 Dressed in their finest clothes and gold jewellery, thousands of teenage Roma girls were paraded around by their parents this weekend - at an open-air brides market. Wearing lots of make-up, the teenagers came to the traditional annual market in Bulgaria, hoping to find a husband - and preferably one willing to pay a large amount of money for his future spouse. Pick me: A girl on offer dances during a traditional wedding ceremony at the open-air market 'We take our daughters to this gathering so they could get acquainted with boys, for we do not allow our children to go to discos,' explains Elena from Kapitan Andreevo. At the market in the village of Mogila near Stara Zagora, the price of a beautiful young woman is said to be several thousand levs/euros. Special offer: A mother poses with her daughter hoping to attract a wealthy husband Younger siblings came along too to play and eat sweets while one newly-wed couple bellydanced on top of an old car to show their happiness at finding a match.

Several wannabe-brides joined in, showing their eagerness to be married. Golden opportunity: Girls at the event wear plenty of make-up and their best clothes The event takes place on the first Saturday after the start of the orthodox Easter fast - the Day of Saint Todor, or Horse Easter. On top of the world: The market is also a chance for newly-married couples to celebrate a match by dancing on cars and drinking spirits. This year the gathering attracted some 2,000 people who came from all over southern Bulgaria including Plovdiv, Pasardzhik, Sliven and Jambol. Mail Online

Police seize 1,200 pounds of pot in spinach cans The Associated Press Published: 03/10/09 6:24 pm GALLUP, N.M. -- Police with the New Mexico Motor Transportation Division found 1,200 pounds of pot packed in cans labeled as spinach during a stop at the Gallup port of entry. An inspector noticed that only a few of the cans were labeled and that the weight printed on the side of the can didn't match the actual weight. A closer look during last Friday's bust revealed the canned drugs, which were worth an estimated $1.5 million. The four pallets of cans were being transported along with fresh produce. The 50-year-old truck driver said he was on his way from California to the East Coast. The driver and the pot were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

World’s Oldest Conjoined Twins March 9, 2009 “ When Maureen Galyon gave birth in 1951, she had no idea she was expecting two babies - let alone conjoined twins . The tots, joined at the torso, were not expected to survive the night as baffled doctors tried to work out if they could be separated. Now, at 57, Ronnie and Donnie are the world’s oldest conjoined twins and have amazed the medic world by hanging onto life for so long. And, as their health declines and they near their dying days, the pair have opened their doors to a documentary team to reveal the secrets of their extraordinary life together. Although every day is a struggle as the men have to coordinate the simplest of tasks, they have a close, loving relationship and are able to live together in their own home in Dayton, Ohio.”

A bride stands on the roadside as she welcomes guests to her reception near Udogn, in the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia on February 15, 2009.

Horse bites off Indonesian man's testicle, spits it out From correspondents in Jakarta AAP March 12, 2009 02:54pm AN Indonesian villager had to be rushed to hospital after a horse bit off one of his testicles. The 35-year-old man was unloading sand from a horse-drawn cart at a construction site in Sulawesi earlier this week when the attack occurred, Indonesia's state-run news agency Antara reported. A witness said the animal suddenly lunged at the man, sinking its teeth into his crotch. Shocked bystanders loaded the man into a car to take him to hospital, before one noticed a piece of flesh on the pavement. "Luckily the horse did not chew up or swallow his testicle, but spit it onto the pavement," the bystander was quoted as saying. "So I picked it up and brought it to the doctor at the hospital where the victim was being treated." It was not know whether doctors attempted to sew it back on. The 70-year-old owner of the horse, Budi, said the animal was trained but sometimes turned wild, and had bitten in the past.

Fritzl: I locked my Elisabeth up to stop her from sniffing glue By Mail Foreign Service 02nd March 2009 The dark heart of Austrian incest monster Josef Fritzl is laid bare in a series of psychological profiles drawn up ahead of his trial which begins in two weeks. Extracts of the examinations show 73-year-old Fritzl knew exactly what he was doing when he locked up daughter Elisabeth in a secret basement dungeon. In his latest version of events he paints her as a solvent-sniffer who he was trying to protect from herself. 'It was in the summer of 1984 that I found my daughter lying totally apathetic in bed,' he told Dr. Adelheid Kastner, Austria’s most famous psychologist in the interviews leaked to an Austrian magazine this week. 'She had been sniffing cleaning fluids and I decided I should talk with her in my cellar,' he says of the day she vanished. 'We did that but she reacted to my accusations with a couldn’t-care-less attitude. A dreadful anger developed in me and out of this anger I decided to lock her up. 'And because in the coming days she showed no improvement in her attitude, I decided to keep her locked up.'

Over the next 24 years Fritzl would rape his daughter repeatedly, sometimes as many as three times a day. She bore him seven children in the darkness; one died after three days and was burned in the house’s wood-burning stove and she miscarried another. He spoke of how he provided food to the dungeon without worrying about his neighbours seeing him: 'Sometime I took food for my secondary family into the cellar in the full light of day. 'And in addition, no-one enquired if I took tiles, iron cabinets, TVs and furniture into the cellar, nor when noises could be heard coming from it.' Fritzl remains convinced, on one level at least, that he was the 'good provider' for the family which lived in darkness and never saw sunlight. In a ghastly parody of normal life, he told the doctors: 'We celebrated many occasions together - Christmas, Easter and birthdays. 'And the little ones had a lot of books, and also pets; fish and a budgie. 'They didn’t miss anything as I really tried to make their life in captivity as pleasant as possible. 'We played, we chatted, we laughed in the cellar, we actually led a completely normal family life…' This self-illusion of himself as the patriarch of a happy family is totally at odds with the reality painted by Elisabeth in which she was raped in front of the children, where the cellar was rat infested, where the children were beaten by him if he did not approve of their attitudes. Indeed, of the abuse of his daughter in front of the incest children he forced her to bear him, he said: 'Naturally I turned the light down and later, when there was more room, I sent our new generation into them….' Frau Kastner said she was so shocked by his demeanour during interviews that she would have to go home, shower and listen to classical music to prove to herself 'that there was still some beauty in the world'. Fritzl is due to stand trial on March 16 with a verdict expected March 20. He faces a charge of murder over the baby that died in the cellar, incest, rape, slavery, cruelty and false imprisonment.

Cops Reel In P h i s h Fans Mug shot sampler of jam band devotees nabbed in Virginia drug sweep MARCH 11--The return of Phish to the concert stage has been a welcome development for both fans of the jam band and police. During a series of concerts last weekend in Hampton, Virginia, authorities arrested nearly 200 Phish fans, most for possession or distribution of narcotics (cops reported seizing $68,000 and illegal drugs with a purported street value of--exactly!--$1,213,882.80). On the following slides you'll find a mug shot sampler of the Phish fans nabbed during the March 6-8 "multi-jurisdictional operation" overseen by the Hampton Police Division.

Rose McGowen