Multiple hot dog eating champion Takeru Kobayashi has won an annual chicken wing eating contest in Philadelphia, downing a record 337 wings in 30 minutes. At Wing Bowl XX, the 33-year-old Kobayashi on Friday smashed the previous record of 255 wings set last year by local champ Jonathan Squibb to win a $20,000 cash prize, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on its website. The massive circuslike bash, hosted by a local radio station, was held in a sports arena and reportedly drew a crowd of about 20,000 eating enthusiasts who were entertained by local sports celebrities, scantily clad women and mud wrestling. His desire for victory appeared insatiable Friday. “The truth is that if you brought me another 100 wings right now, I think I could eat them,” Kobayashi was quoted as saying after dominating the contest. Source  Read More →

A woman who stole a cigarette vending machine in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, didn’t get very far after her getaway truck skidded off the road due to heavy snow, sending the vending machine onto the pavement. According to police, the suspect, identified as Kesami Ikegami, 34, stole the vending machine at about 4:50 a.m. last Thursday, NTV reported. The vending machine had about 10,000 in cash and 100 packs of cigarettes in it. Police said that Ikegami unfastened the bolts that secured the vending machine to the ground. She then parked her light truck beside the machine and pushed it onto the back, NTV reported. As she was driving away, the truck skidded off the road and got stuck in the snow and the vending machine fell off. A local resident noticed the accident and called police. When police arrived, Ikegami was still in the truck, trying to get it out of the snow, they said. Ikegami was... 

Manufacturing in the US grew in January at the fastest pace in seven months, adding to signs of a global pickup from Germany to China. The Institute for Supply Management’s index climbed to 54.1, from 53.1 in December, the Tempe, Arizona-based group’s report showed today. Figures greater than 50 signal expansion. Other reports showed US construction spending increased at the fastest pace in four months and companies added 170,000 workers to payrolls in January. Stocks rose on optimism the factory reports show the world economy is withstanding fallout from Europe’s debt crisis. Production, led by inventory rebuilding at the end of 2011, is poised to keep expanding in the US as the need to update equipment drives orders at companies like Caterpillar Inc. and demand for cars rises. US “manufacturing growth points to an acceleration in the economy,” said Conrad DeQuadros,... 

Iran’s foreign minister expressed optimism Sunday that a visit by U.N. inspectors to Iran’s nuclear facilities would produce an understanding, despite world concerns that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. The three-day inspection tour by the International Atomic Energy Agency team comes during spiking tension. The West is imposing new sanctions to try to force Iran to slow or halt its nuclear program, and Iran is threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil passage, in retaliation. Visiting Ethiopia, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi appeared to be trying to defuse the crisis. “We are very optimistic about the mission and the outcome” of the IAEA mission, Salehi was quoted as saying by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency. “We’ve always tried to put transparency as a principle in our cooperation with IAEA,” Salehi said. “During this visit, the delegation... 

Figure represents 64.2% of GDP; public borrowing for current year drops; government on target for £127 billion budget deficit Britain’s national debt has risen above £1 trillion for the first time on record, underlining the huge task facing the government in bringing the public finances under control. Official figures released on Tuesday showed the total public sector net debt (excluding the impact of the 2008 banking bailouts) rose to £1.004tn in December, the highest since records began in 1993 and equivalent to 64.2% of GDP (up from 59.4% a year ago). The government claimed the news underlined the need to cut Britain’s borrowing levels. “[This] shows the unsustainable level of spending this country built up over the past few years, and shows why it is critical for our nation’s future that we deal decisively with the deficit,” a Treasury spokesman said. Daniel...