Pope to have own paramedics To ensure the health of Pope Benedict XVI as he visits New York for three days this month, the 80-year-old pontiff will have his own team of 14 paramedics working in 12-hour shifts. The team members, from St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, were chosen based on their experience, including three who worked the detail during Pope John Paul II's visit in 1995. That visit "was choreographed to the second," one of the veteran paramedics told Newsday. The team will go through a one-day motorcade course from the New York Police Department and receive up-to-the-minute briefings on the pope's health. The ambulance that will travel in the papal motorcade was blessed by bishops on Friday ...

Cedar Fest breaks into brawls An attempt on networking site Facebook to revive a 30-year-old party called Cedar Fest in East Lansing, Mich., near Michigan State University brought out police Saturday night as fires and fights broke out among a crowd estimated at between 3,000 and 4,000. The original Cedar Fest, a regular occurrence in the ’70s and ’80s, was a party held on the third Saturday of each October and May. But rowdy crowds led to the event being banned in 1987. The East Lansing police captain told reporters after this year's melee, "As far as I'm concerned, Cedar Fest is over" ...

Sound American, save money Because the falling dollar is causing falling business at famed Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy, the restaurant is offering Americans 20 percent off menu items. Tourists from the U.S. make up about 40 percent of Harry's clientele. Customers don't need to show a passport--"All we need is to hear their accent," proprietor Arrigo Cipriani told reporters.