Topless mermaid gets 10,000 clams
Amy Gunderson, 31, of Brooklyn, NY, was arrested for going topless during the 2001 Coney Island Mermaid Parade. Now the City of New York is paying her $10,000 in a settlement that grew out of a federal lawsuit she filed to defend her constitutional freedom of expression. New York's Court of Appeals has affirmed that "a woman has a constitutional right to appear in public topless, the same right that men have."

Farting cops
Four police officers in Fullerton, CA were suspended with pay after responding to a reported suicide attempt. When they arrived on the scene, they found a seemingly unconscious woman lying in bed. One of the cops then aimed his ass at her face, saying "this ought to wake her up," and farted. When that had no effect, another officer pretended to lick her. It would have been nothing more than harmless fun, except she wasn't actually unconscious. Oops. (From the Orange County Register).

What’s next? Prostitute Jeopardy?
In Italy, The Committee for Prostitutes' Civil Rights has devised a boardgame focusing on the travails and career options of your typical Italian streetwalker. According to the game's creator: "The idea is to give people an idea of what prostitutes are up against in this country." Maybe when Merv Griffin brings the game over to America, he can call it “Prostitopoly!”

I wonder why he’s on welfare?
A Quebec man is suing Loto-Quebec, saying it fooled him and that the provincial lottery only sells losing tickets. The man, who is on welfare, spent $840 last March on a variety of tickets that didn't win. He is now suing Loto-Quebec for $879.58.