Strange little bits of news

Kegs could hold key to cancer prevention

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) -- Now, you may have an excuse for reaching for a brew -- as a health food.

Scientists at Oregon State University say the hops used to brew beer contain a compound called flavonoids that neutralize ''free radicals,'' which are rogue oxygen molecules that can damage cells.

The researchers say porter, stout and ale have much higher levels of flavonoids compared to lager and pilsner beers.

But don't reach for a six-pack hoping for much more than a beer gut. The researchers say the beneficial effect of beer may be minimal and that more study is needed.

''We can't say that drinking beer will help prevent cancer,'' said Fred Stevens, OSU assistant professor of pharmacy and scientist in the Linus Pauling Institute.

Xanthohumol is a yellow substance that was first discovered in hops in 1913, but its health effects were not known until the 1990s, when Stevens and colleagues started studying the flavonoid compound. In cell cultures and animal studies, xanthohumol targeted various types of cancer, including breast, colon and ovarian.

Nevada prison making 'true outlaw' choppers

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- If you're looking for an ''outlaw'' motorcycle, Nevada prison officials have a deal for you: a custom, high-powered chopper that costs $40,000 or more and is built by real outlaws.

The prison system's ''Big House Choppers'' venture is expanding from a small wooden shed involving a few motorcycle-savvy convicts to a larger prison shop in southern Nevada that will employ as many as 30 inmates.

''We are producing the only true outlaw motorcycles being produced by outlaws in the United States,'' Howard Skolnik, head of the state's prison industries program, said Monday.

Skolnik boasts that buyers also will receive a certificate that confirms pieces of scrapped prison cell bars went into their bikes -- in the form of 5-inch-long fender supports.

Church uses cheap gas to lure parishioners

AUBURN, Calif. (AP) -- Jesus saves -- at the gas pump?

Two rival California congregations are feuding over a cheap gas promotion. Leaders of the New Life Christian Church offered discounts on gas worth about 50 cents a gallon. Pastor Bill Jenkins says the idea is to show God is interested in everyday issues.

But members of the Church of the Divide in Grass Valley protested Sunday outside the New Life services, saying the gas discount is a marketing gimmick that cheapens religion.

The protesters carried signs reading: ''Jesus cares more about your sin and burning in hell than gas prices.''

Some New Life worshippers used another part of the Bible to defend their service.

''(New Life) is doing something good and people are protesting it?'' said Karen Ivan. ''Jesus said his true disciples would be persecuted.''

Death-defying kitty may be getting new home

WENATCHEE, Wash. (AP) -- Bridget the cat, who leaped 70 feet off a bridge into the Columbia River and swam to shore, may be getting a new home in Maine.

Witnesses say the longhaired calico cat, who wore no collar or identification, jumped from a pickup truck onto the Odabashian Bridge, then ran from swerving vehicles before jumping into the river. Rescuers captured the cat after she swam 600 feet to shore.

The cat, named Bridget after her Nov. 6 plunge, was put up for adoption by the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society.

April Newman, who lives in Thorndike, Maine, a small town 38 miles northeast of Augusta, said she hasn't seen the cat but heard its story last week on a public radio show and became convinced the cat belongs in her home.

''Anyone who's 8 to 10 years old, who's gone through as much as she has, deserves to have a wonderful, quiet life,'' Newman said.

No one has claimed the cat, said Karen Headlee, director of operations for the humane society. The group has received more than a dozen nationwide inquiries about the cat, but only three serious adoption offers.

Headlee said Newman, a certified public accountant for the office of the state controller in Augusta, was selected to adopt Bridget because of her history rescuing cats.