Goodwill employee finds $7,500 in a shoebox

Ethics

Good will, indeed

A recent Bulgarian immigrant found $7,500 in cash stuffed in a shoebox during her first day on the job last week at a Goodwill in Glen Carbon, Ill., near St. Louis. Teodora Petrova didn't hesitate after finding the cash with a pair of donated shoes — she turned the money over to a manager. The president and chief executive of the area's Goodwill organization says it's eager to find the owner of the money. If the owner isn't found, Goodwill will put the money toward the charity's job-placement efforts.

Close call

Purse stops bullet

Don't knock those trendy, oversized purses — they could save your life, as one college student found out. Police say the contents in an oversized purse saved Elizabeth Pittenger, a 22-year-old Middle Tennessee State University student, by stopping a bullet during an attempted robbery. Pittenger was walking to her car on campus when a man confronted her and demanded her purse, cellphone and laptop, university police said. She fought the man off, but he fired a gunshot before fleeing. The bullet was found inside the purse, along with a calculator, umbrella and small case that had been punctured. Pittenger was not injured. Police nearby heard the gunshot and arrested a 20-year-old suspect. Officers found a .38-caliber handgun beneath a parked van.

Awards

Superheroes to face off

How heroic. "Iron Man" will battle "The Dark Knight" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" for favorite movie at the 35th annual People's Choice Awards. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Grey's Anatomy" and "House" are nominated for favorite TV drama and "Two and a Half Men," "Ugly Betty" and "Samantha Who?" are nominated for favorite TV comedy. Queen Latifah will host the viewer-voted awards show, to air live Jan. 7 from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Awards will be presented in over 40 categories, including favorite new TV drama, talk-show host, rock song, on-screen matchup and leading lady. New categories include favorite superhero, TV drama diva and movie cast.

Critters

World's ugliest dog dies

A one-eyed, three-legged dog that won the title of world's ugliest pooch this summer has died. The St. Petersburg Times in Florida reports that Gus, a Chinese crested dog, had cancer. He was 9. Gus was rescued from a bad home and went on to win the annual World's Ugliest Dog contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Northern California. One leg had been amputated because of a skin tumor and he lost an eye in a cat fight.

Beauty Notes

Skin deep

The Brazilian Society of Esthetic Medicine is offering free Botox injections and several other beauty treatments to those earning less than $250 a month. Spokeswoman Isabel Alvarez says the program lets student doctors get experience and gives the poor a chance for luxury treatments they couldn't normally afford.

Customers shorn

Hundreds of Mexicans say a depilation chain that closed abruptly took their money but not their hair, and officials said Monday they would file fraud charges against the company. Clients complained they had paid in advance for up to two years' worth of treatments for as much as $390 at the Neoskin chain, which closed its more than 70 clinics across the country without warning.

Today in History

1620: 41 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchored off Massachusetts, signed a compact calling for a "body politick."

1831: Former slave Nat Turner, who'd led a violent insurrection, was executed in Jerusalem, Va.

1889: Washington became the 42nd state.

1918: Fighting in World War I came to an end with the signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany.

1921: The remains of an unidentified American service member were interred in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in a ceremony presided over by President Harding.

1966: Gemini 12 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Fla., with astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. aboard.

2004: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died at a military hospital in Paris at age 75.

Today's Birthdays

Comedian Jonathan Winters, 83. Jazz singer-musician Mose Allison, 81. Author Carlos Fuentes, 80. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., 68. Actor Stanley Tucci, 48. Actress Demi Moore, 46. Actress Calista Flockhart, 44. Actor Philip McKeon, 44. Actor Adam Beach, 36. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, 34.

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