News Bytes

Severe flooding in the US Several days of heavy rains have led to flooding along the northeastern coast of the US that has caused severe damages in the US states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The city of New Jersey alone has suffered damages between $40 and $50 million. One woman died, two people are still missing. Several thousands of buildings have been evacuated. New York Governor George Pataki has declared a state of emergency for a total of 14 counties.

Deprivation of citizenship due to SS membership An 80-year old US immigrant was deprived of US citizenship by a federal court in Iowa. The reason was that Johann Hansl, born in Croatia, had concealed his SS membership when he immigrated in 1955. When he immigrated he did state that he had served in the German army. However, he concealed his position as a supervisor in the concentration camps of Sachenhausen and Berlin, as well his membership in the Waffen-SS.
Since 1979, 70 US citizens have already been deprived of their citizenship due to their participation in criminal actions at the time of the Nazi-regime. Hansl's lawyer, however, plans to appeal the decision due to "new evidence."

Software to prepare death is booming After the death of coma patient Terry Schiavo had attracted a lot of attention in the US, software for advance health care directives and wills has been booming. According to Clark Miller, spokesman of "Quicken WillMaker Plus," the company has never seen sales figures like this. Other companies were also able to increase their turnover by 100 percent. A website offering free forms for the state of Maryland has registered approximately 47,000 downloads a day. Lawyers as well reported a high demand for personal consulting.

Google Maps for the USA Google has added yet another feature. Google Maps does not only provide you with maps but also with satellite pictures. You will not only get a detailed map but also the opportunity to search for hotels and restaurants. Even a route planner is available, as well as a zoom tool.
This service was established after Google had acquired a satellite map software provider. Unfortunately, this service is only available in the US so far. It is to be introduced in Germany this year. Maps.google.com

Secret Service guards a duck The Secret Service, which is usually protecting the president or other high-ranking personnel, is now also protecting a duck that is breeding in front of the US Department of Treasury. The duck settled under a tree where it is sitting on nine eggs. The Secret Service had a fence built around it so the duck won't be disturbed. Several names have already been proposed for the duck, among them "Quacks Reform," "T-Bill," or "Duck Cheney." Treasury spokesman Rob Nichols said "Foreign leaders, members of Congress, everybody who visits Treasury has to pass by the duck." So, the duck can look forward to some high-ranking visitors.

Ebay weirdness What's in a name? In the case of 33-year old US citizen Terry Iligan, quite a lot. She wanted to give her five sons the opportunity to become members of a prestigious golf club. The only problem - the very high fees.
In order to be able to afford these, Ms Iligan accessed eBay and put her name up for sale, in turn she would accept the name of the highest bidder. Strangely enough, she found a buyer. The online casino "Golden Palace," well-known for the weirdest acquisitions, bought it. For a total of $15,999 Ms Iligan's official name is now "Goldenpalace.com."