Drivers stops to help, gets robbed

Road hazard

Driving lesson

Anadel Carrizales was driving Wednesday near the northern city of Monterrey in Mexico when a woman in a black miniskirt, whose pickup appeared to be broken down, motioned for him to pull over. Once he had stopped, the woman walked up and told him an accomplice was pointing a gun at him, said David Perales, a spokesman for state investigators. She then tied him up with packing tape, glued his hands to the steering wheel of his truck and demanded money. The woman took Carrizales' credit cards and fled.

Oops

Leader apologizes, again

Taro Aso, Japan's gaffe-prone prime minister, is in trouble again, this time for a remark criticizing the elderly for racking up medical expenses and being a tax burden. "They're hobbling around and constantly going to the doctor," Aso was quoted as saying in a transcript of a Nov. 20 meeting of ministers on economic policies. Aso also said the elderly should be faulted for not exercising enough. The transcript was released overnight Wednesday, drawing immediate criticism in the media and forcing an apology from the prime minister Thursday. "I apologize if the remarks offended people who are suffering illnesses," Aso said on nationally televised news. He has already had to apologize for joking about people with Alzheimer's disease and comparing the opposition Democratic Party of Japan to the Nazis.

Update

Bush leaves ICU

Former first lady Barbara Bush was in high spirits Thursday afternoon after she was moved to a patient room from the intensive-care unit at Houston's Methodist Hospital, where she had emergency surgery for a perforated ulcer, hospital spokeswoman Ami Felker said. Bush, 83, is expected to remain in the hospital until next week.

People

Ray to have surgery

Cooking maven/talk-show hostette Rachael Ray is upbeat about going under the knife: "I'm having voice surgery on Dec. 16, so we're going to celebrate (Christmas) very quietly," she said. Ray's representative called it "very minor surgery to remove a benign cyst on her vocal cord."

Willis gets money back

A Malaysian technology conglomerate has repaid $900,000 to Bruce Willis after the actor filed a lawsuit demanding a refund of his investment. Martin Singer, Willis' lawyer, said the federal lawsuit filed in Los Angeles was "amicably resolved." The Kuala Lumpur-based Petra Group said Willis invested $2 million last year in its subsidiary, Green Rubber, a developer of technology that can recycle rubber in old tires. Petra returned $1.1 million to the star of the "Die Hard" action films this year when he decided to pull out his investment. Willis sued last week to get the remaining $900,000, plus interest.

Ledger case adapted

The New York Post reports that NBC's "Law & Order" is adapting the death of actor Heath Ledger for an episode. It will star Ryan Locke as a model who "has a great career and gets all the ladies."

Passages

William Gibson, 94, a Tony Award-winning playwright best known for "The Miracle Worker," the inspirational story of Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan, died Tuesday at his home in Stockbridge, Mass.

Andrew McKelvey, 74, the billionaire founder and former chief executive of Monster Worldwide, died Thursday in New York; he had pancreatic cancer.

Today in History

1520: Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific after passing through the South American strait that now bears his name.

1942: Nearly 500 people died in a fire that destroyed the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston.

1943: President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began conferring in Tehran during World War II.

2001: Enron collapsed after would-be rescuer Dynegy backed out of an $8.4 billion deal to take it over.

Today's Birthdays

Recording executive Berry Gordy Jr., 79. Singer Randy Newman, 65. Actor Ed Harris, 58. Actress S. Epatha Merkerson, 56. Comedian Jon Stewart, 46. Musician apl.de.ap, 34.

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