Gus the ugly dog: three legs, one eye and no hair

Critters

Gus the ugly dog

Gus the dog has three legs, one eye and no hair, except for a white tuft on the top of his head. He's a real winner. The pedigree Chinese crested won the World's Ugliest Dog contest Friday at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Calif. His owner, Jeanenne Teed, brought Gus from St. Petersburg, Fla., to compete for the distinction.

People

No concerts, for now

As France's first lady, singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy said she is giving up concerts until her husband is out of office, a French newspaper reported Saturday. Bruni-Sarkozy, 40, who has a new album out next month, was quoted in the Libération newspaper as saying she will continue to promote her music on television. "But I can't go on stage because I can't allow myself to drag along a security setup that, in my opinion, would be shocking," she was quoted as saying. The model-turned-singer married President Nicolas Sarkozy in February.

Legal landmark?

A home for key house

The pink clapboard house that was at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court decision on government seizure of private property has found a safe haven near downtown New London, Conn. The house once belonged to Susette Kelo, who raised a battle cry of eminent-domain abuse regarding the city's efforts to make way for condominiums, a hotel and offices. Avner Gregory, of New London, paid $1 for the house and spent $100,000 dismantling and moving it from Fort Trumbull and rebuilding it. Kelo lost her battle when the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in June 2005 that local governments may seize homes and businesses against an owner's will for private economic development.

Law & disorder

Incredibly, Hulk nabbed

Police in Lowell, Mass., said a promotional statue for the movie "The Incredible Hulk" disappeared from its spot in front of a local theater last week. Police Capt. James McPadden said the statue of the 8-foot-tall green man wearing ripped purple pants and missing his feet is probably in some youngster's bedroom.

Lucky day?

A rush to wed on 8/8/08

Beijing is seeing a surge of couples registering to tie the knot on the auspicious Olympics opening date of Aug. 8, state media reported Saturday. The eighth day of the eighth month of 2008 is considered especially propitious because eight symbolizes wealth and good fortune in Chinese folklore. The city's director of marriage registrations has promised to hand out marriage licenses to the more than 9,000 couples who have registered so far to wed on the lucky day, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Today in History

1870: The U.S. Department of Justice was created.

1940: During World War II, Adolf Hitler gained a stunning victory as France was forced to sign an armistice eight days after German forces overran Paris.

1944: President Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, more popularly known as the "GI Bill of Rights."

Today's Birthdays

Actress Meryl Streep, 59. Singer Cyndi Lauper, 55. Author Dan Brown, 44. Actress Amy Brenneman, 44. Actor Donald Faison, 34. TV personality Jai Rodriguez, 29.

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