Germany’s Lena Wins Eurovision

Germany’s Lena Meyer-Landrut has won the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, edging out Turkey and Romania.

Meyer-Landrut, who turned 19 during the competition in Norway, sang the upbeat, dance-floor friendly “Satellite,” which was one of the favorites to win.

This is the second time that Germany has won in the songfest’s 55-year history. It will host next year’s contest.

This year’s competition was overshadowed by the continent’s financial woes, with four countries pulling out for lack of funds.

The contest is decided by a panel of judges and telephone voting by the 39 participating countries.

King Of Herring Found Off Swedish Coast

A maritime expert says a 12-foot (3.65-meter) Giant Oarfish – the world’s largest bony fish – has been found in Swedish waters for the first time in 130 years.

Also known as the “King of Herrings,” the dead fish was picked up by a west coast resident who found it floating near the shore over the weekend. It was handed over to The House of the Sea aquarium in the town of Lysekil, where expert Roger Jansson says it’s being kept pending a decision on what to do with it.

Johansson said Wednesday the Giant Oarfish can grow up to 36 feet (11 meters), and is believed to live in deep waters. He says the last recorded discovery in Sweden was in 1879.

Doris Eaton Travis Dies At 106

Doris Eaton Travis, one of the legendary Ziegfeld Follies chorus girls, who wore elaborate costumes for the series of lavish Broadway theatrical productions in the early 1900s, died at age 106, public relations firm Boneau/Bryan-Brown said. It didn’t say where or how she died.

Travis, who was from West Bloomfield, Michigan, also was a supporter of the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising organization and appeared often in its Easter Bonnet Competition.

She continued to work long after her Follies days ended, with annual appearances on Broadway, a small role in a Jim Carrey movie and a memoir, “The Days We Danced: The Story of My Theatrical Family From Florenz Ziegfeld to Arthur Murray and Beyond.”

Interest in the 5-foot-2 centenarian piqued after a 1997 reunion with four other Ziegfeld Follies Girls for the reopening of the New Amsterdam Theatre, where she danced about 80 years earlier.

“I was the only one who could still dance,” she said then.

That led to her involvement in the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefit, where she caught the eye of Carrey and director Milos Forman, who were making the movie “Man on the Moon,” about the life of comedian Andy Kaufman.

Eurovision 2010 Update: Will The Competition Become A Battle Between Two Teen Pop Queens

Will Eurovision 2010 be a battle between two teen pop queens: Germany’s Lena Meyer-Landrut and Azerbaijan’s Safura Alizade.

When London-based betting agency Boylesports released the first set of betting odds in late March, Safura, the 17-year old winner of Azerbaijani Idol, was the odds-on favorite at 7:2. Germany was listed fourth highest at 14:1. In subsequent weeks, however, Lena has narrowed that gap significantly and the two now stand in a virtual deadlock atop the table.

Voters will have to decide whether they prefer Lena’s quirkiness or Safura’s theatrics. On stage, Lena comes off as likable, if a bit kooky. She can’t dance, but doesn’t seem to care, and her natural awkwardness transforms into something endearing. You get the sense she wants to be a singer, not a pop star. As in her preview video, she’ll likely appear on stage in Oslo alone, sparing us the bare-chested backup dancers and trapeze swings Eurovision fans have grown accustomed to.

Today’s Top Eurotastic Song By Kikki Danielsson

Bra vibrationer (Good vibrations), written by Ingela Forsman and composed by Lasse Holm, was the Swedish entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1985, performed by Kikki Danielsson.

At the end of judging that evening, Bra vibrationer took the third-place slot with 103 points. Finland and Norway both awarded Sweden 12 points that night.

Sung in contemporary schlager music style, the singer relates her strong emotions upon falling in love with a man with whom she had just met. She is concerned about things moving too fast, but in the end, she feels good vibrations and is very happy with what has transpired.

After Eurovision, the song was placed at #12 on the Swedish charts, and it stayed in the top 50 for eight weeks.

Ann-Kristin “Kikki” Danielsson (born 10 May 1952 in Osby, Sweden) is a Swedish country, dansband and pop singer. Sometimes, she also plays the accordion and she has also written some lyrics. She is also famous for yodeling in some songs. Kikki Danielsson gained her largest popularity in the Nordic region from the late 1970s until the late 1990s. She also gained popularity at the US country stage during the 1980s. In 1986, she had the “Kikki i Nashville” TV show.

The Beer Won’t Run Out During World Cup

World Cup fans need not fret, South Africa will not run out of beer during the month-long tournament, its biggest brewer says.

“There’s no need to worry, guys. There will be plenty of our beer for all the fans during this period,” said Norman Adami, managing director of South African Breweries, the local arm of global drinks giant SABMiller.

The company, which produces roughly nine of every ten bottles of beer drunk in South Africa, is predicting a 5 percent increase in sales during the tournament starting on June 11.

However, it will be able to meet the extra demand — equivalent to 30 million bottles — because the southern hemisphere winter is normally its slowest sales period, Adami said.

Italy Hosts Its First Divorce Fair

Italy is holding its first divorce fair, offering services such as life coaching and beauty advice to a booming number of separating couples in the Catholic country.

The organizers said the fair, which was held in Milan on May 8-9, aimed to help divorcing people start a new, happier life.

“Smiling is key to this fair, which also offers serious, practical advice for often dramatic situations,” Franco Zanetti, who created the event, told Reuters.

The services include divorce planning, anti-stalking help, and “new look” tips, the organizers said.

Echoing similar initiatives in the United States and elsewhere in Europe, visitors will also be able to subscribe to divorce gift lists at department stores in Milan.

Pair Forced Man To Strip Over Drugs

Police say a western Pennsylvania woman and her 20-year-old son forced a man to strip to his boxer shorts at gunpoint during a botched drug deal.

Police said Nathaniel Lindgren and his mom, 41-year-old Jean Pinko, accosted the man after he came to their New Kensington home. Police say the man left his cell phone as collateral while he went to his friend’s car to get $90 to pay the suspects for the drugs.

But before he could get the money, police arrested the friend on an outstanding theft warrant and began to tow his car away. Frightened, the man threw the drugs into the weeds and returned to get his cell phone.

Police said Lindgren and Pinko thought the man was lying and made him strip to prove he didn’t have the drugs. Lindgren was charged with aggravated assault and weapons charges; Pinko was charged with conspiracy and other crimes. Neither has a listed phone.

Burger Ranch Takes Over Burger King

The 55 Burger King fast food restaurants across Israel will soon be rebranded under the Israeli Burger Ranch chain, which will have a total of 107 fast food restaurants at the end of the change.

Orgad Holdings, the company that owns franchise rights to Burger King in Israel and is full owner of the Burger Ranch, announced the change on Sunday. 

Brothers Eli and Yuval Orgad, owners of the company, said taste tests and various trials conducted over recent months have shown unequivocally that the “Burger Ranch Bull” is the preferred brand in Israel. 

“We were very excited to learn that, for many Israelis, Burger Ranch is not just a hamburger, sauces and vegetables, but is also large bites of nostalgia. And for this, credit goes to the chain’s founders, who nurtured this brand with so much talent over so many years,” the Orgad brother said in a statement. 

Police Nab Alleged Toilet Paper Bandit

Police said they suspect they’ve captured the “toilet paper bandit.”

A man who concealed his face by wrapping his head with toilet paper robbed a Lincoln, Nebraska convenience store last month. Police said the man was armed with a knife, but no one was hurt in the robbery.

He escaped on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.

Capt. David Beggs said 29-year-old Joshua Nelson was arrested Saturday night. Beggs said a prescription pill bottle found near the store gave officers a clue to pursue. But he said it took until Saturday for officers to find enough evidence for an arrest.

A jail spokeswoman said Nelson remained in custody on Monday. His attorney did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press.