Neighbourly intervention
This court report from Dublin sounds more like a sitcom. An account in the Independent states: "The court heard that Gerard Halpin entered the beauty salon Urban Dolls while wearing latex gloves and armed with a kitchen knife. He grabbed the owner Sarah White by the neck and put a knife to her back before walking her towards the till. Halpin was wearing a scarf over his face but a customer, Emma Kelly, recognised him. She lived in the area and had known Halpin all her life. Halpin ordered Ms White to open the till but Ms Kelly closed it and said 'What the f*** are you at Gerard?' She told Ms White not to give him any money but Halpin raised the knife above his head and said 'back off Emma.' Ms Kelly then picked up a scented candle from a display case and smashed it over Halpin's head. Halpin fled with Ms Kelly close behind shouting his name. She followed him as he cycled to his father's home a few hundred metres from the salon. Ms Kelly saw Halpin in the bedroom window changing his clothes. She knocked on the door and Halpin answered. He was sweating, breathing heavily and had changed his clothes. He claimed he had just been in the kitchen having a cup of tea."
Divorce law enables splitting hares
California courts could be going to the dogs - and maybe cats, too - under a new law granting judges authority to settle disagreements over who keeps the family pet in divorce cases the same way they handle child custody disputes. Until now, Fido and Puss have been considered family property, the same as a family's big-screen TV. Under a new bill a judge deciding who gets to keep them will have the discretion of weighing such factors as who feeds them, who takes them to the vet and on walks, and who protects them. Some judges have already put the dog between the would-be owners and tried to determine who the animal liked the best. If a family had two pets, a judge would sometimes suggest splitting them up. Or if there's only one dog, a court may devise a care schedule of the dog, either a month at a time or a week at a time.
