culled from various sources

Farmer digs himself out from under tractor

MADISON, Ohio, Sept. 13 An 83-year-old Ohio farmer used his pocketknife to dig himself out when his tractor turned over, trapping him.

James Cockerham told WLWT-TV in Cincinnati when no one responded to his calls for help, he was inspired by the memory of raccoons he had trapped on his land.

“I happed to think, ‘You know, I caught ‘coons out here and I set a lot of traps to catch them, and they would dig all the dirt trying to get out,” Cockerham said. “That come to my mind. Well, they dig it like that, why can’t I dig like that?”

Bus driver keeps going after taking bullet

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 13 A Philadelphia bus driver hit by a bullet as he pulled up to a stop early Thursday hit the accelerator and drove his passengers out of danger.

Malcolm McLaughlin hit an emergency signal and kept the bus moving toward the nearest hospital, officials said. Police found him about five blocks away.

Shakira rests hips to study at UCLA

LOS ANGELES - Shakira may get high grades in singing and swiveling her hips, but what about ancient Western history?

For the past month, the Colombian pop star has been taking a class at the University of California, Los Angeles, called “Introduction to Western Civilization: Ancient Civilizations from Prehistory to Circa A.D. 843.”

“She went when she finished her tour, for the summer,” Shakira’s manager Fifi Kurzman told The Associated Press.

For years the 30-year-old has studied on her own, also taking tutorials on the history and languages of the countries she visits, Kurzman said.

The singer, known for last year’s “Hips Don’t Lie” and other hits, released her first album at age 14 and later took time off to finish high school.