News Bytes

Larry King live on N-TV News station N-TV will from now on air the American talk show Larry King Live in Germany once a week. Since July 12, the show can be watched in the original version every Saturday at 9:15pm. N-TV will air the interview of the week once a week. Larry King Live has been on CNN since 1985. On July 26, Bill Clinton will be on the show as a guest.

Developing country USA? Up to now, cell phones were apparently just for making phone calls in the US. Only about one year ago did it become possible to exchange text messages between phones run by different cell phone service providers. After that, about one billion text messages were sent in the US in 2002. To give you a comparison: in the same period of time, three billion text messages were sent in the significantly smaller country of Germany. In Europe, sending text messages is usually cheaper than calling someone. Not so in the US. There are generous call minutes in the American cell phone contracts that last quite a long time every month. That's why text messages have mostly been ignored in the US up to now.

Every fourth bite from a human US physician Karen L. Stierman and her coworkers discovered that apparently when Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear, this wasn't such an extraordinary event. According to a study, 23 percent of all bites that need medical treatment were made by humans and not by animals. The cause is not always a fight. Sexual motives play a role as well. Interesting is the fact that humans mostly bite other humans' ears. Preferably sometime between spring and summer.

Fleas in the wedding dress One of the largest bride outfitters in the US has a problem - fleas have nested in the tulle dresses of one New York store. So the brides won't be more nervous than they'll be anyway, the store in Brooklyn has closed for now. It remains uncertain how many brides have already acquired a dress with a little something extra so far. David's Bridal that has 200 stores throughout the US has admitted that there are fleas in his three-storey store in Brooklyn. While some employees think that these have been imported in rolls of fabric from overseas, the management rules out this possibility. According to a spokesperson each dress will now be inspected and steamed.

Birth rate at a record low The birth rate in the US has dropped to a new record low. A total of 4.03 million children were born in the US last year, 6,000 less than last year. That is the lowest number since birth statistics have started to be recorded more than 100 years ago. Statistically, the birth rate dropped to 13.9 children per 1,000 women of reproductive age. In 1990 it had still been at 17.6. The most striking decrease was among young women, according to Secretary of Health Tommy Thompson.

In comparison, the number of older women who give birth between the age of 35 and 44 has increased. According to the center for national health statistics, other factors play a role for this as well - the aging of the population and many women's decision to have no children or not many children.

US corporations stronger than ever Even the strong Euro didn't help - in the ranking of most valuable corporations worldwide, European companies have lost ground to the American ones. In the Top 1,000 of magazine "Business Week" many companies that had been declared dead were among the biggest winners - and also Chinese corporations are catching up quickly. Companies who have fallen a long way and yet survived the fight are to a large extent back at the top again. Companies who could significantly improve their value within a year were to a large part from the former crisis sectors telecommunication and internet.

Only two European corporations made it onto the list of the top ten most valuable - both of them in the oil business and profiting from higher oil prices.

Sleepless Seattle? Thanks to "Sleepless in Seattle," the lively metropolis in the Northwest of the US became well-known among film fans. With a brochure from the film authorities, cineastes can now get an even better impression and visit original film locations from 50 movies.

The mega city of Seattle has become a center for film and television over the past years and has by produced hundreds of films and TV shows. The brochure by Seattle's film authority lists more than 50 of the films made up to last year under the headline "Reel Life in Seattle." Once you have found your personal favorite, little maps will help you find it.

Ivar's Acres of Clams on pier 54 - not only the Fabulous Baker Boys ate clams there, but also Stephen King worked it into his film "Rose Red." If you want to see all original film locations, you can get the Reel Life in Seattle brochure at the tourist information in Pike Street.

For more information, please refer to the film guide on www.cityofseattle.net/filmoffice or order the film guide together with other information on www.seeseattle.org/visitors/inforequest.asp.

US bounty hunter Chapman He calls himself Billy the Kid, has an almost scary sense of mission and immodestly calls himself the best bounty hunter in the world. Duane "Dog" Chapman, father of twelve, became famous when he caught fugitive US millionaire Andrew Luster in Mexico. Now he is in jail himself due to his controversial Old-West-like modus operandi. Duane Chapman gave himself the nickname of "Dog" because if you reverse it, it spells "God."

Dog Chapman described himself as a modern day Billy the Kid and best bounty hunter in the world. He caught more than 6,000 fugitives over the last 20 years. The 50-year old's bounty hunter career began more then 20 years ago. As the leader of a motorbike gang Chapman was involved in a gunfight and landed in jail. When he got out, he was highly indebted. A judge offered to take care of some unpaid alimonies for one of the children if Chapman could catch a criminal who was on the run.

Bounty hunters get their jobs from so-called bail bonds offices who pay the hunters a reward once they turn in the wanted persons. It is reported that approximately 85 percent of wanted
criminals are being caught by them every year, because the police doesn't have the manpower to take care of it effectively. Bounty hunter is more or less something like a skilled profession in the US. There are numerous trade organizations training new bounty hunters.

World Trade Center: Libeskind to take a back seat Star architect Daniel Libeskind who has moved from Berlin to New York to oversee construction of the new WTC has been degraded to a simple staff member in the architectural team and now works for archrival David Childs. Daniel Libeskind's design for a 541 meter-high tower on Ground Zero did win the public competition, but tenant Larry Silverstein didn't like it. He now hired Childs who lost to Libeskind to oversee the large project that is financed with the insurance money of the WTC twin towers that had been destroyed in the 9/11 attacks. So probably also Libeskind's ambitious project for the vertical gardens will be canceled, a kind of botanical garden at a height of several hundred meters...

US pig - pet of the future? Near the Lower Bavarian town of Deggendorf, Kristin Rost is breeding American mini-pigs on a farm in Mühlau near Neßlbach. The bonsai-pigs grow to a size of 30-50 centimeters (12-20 inches), they are smart and low-maintenance pets and cleaner than dogs because they can be trained to use the cat litter tray. The breeder says that they can even replace watchdogs. Furthermore, they are smarter than dogs and perfect for those allergic to animal fur. They react to the usual commands such as "sit," "down," and "heel." The pigs don't smell, they are not like usual pigsty-pigs. However, be careful with buying one (300 - 500 Euro) and demand to see the parents - otherwise you might be in for a surprise and eventually end up with a normal-sized pig.