The Odd Truth, Aug. 28, 2003

Dubya Of Arabia; Fake Death Flounder; Flying Fish; Santa Claus Dead!

(CBS/AP)  The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Brian Bernbaum. A new collection of stories is published each weekday. On weekends, you can read a week's worth of The Odd Truth.

New Bush On The Block

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Baghdad mother and father, to show their thanks to U.S. President George W. Bush for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, have named their son after the American leader.

Had the couple had twin boys, they say, the would have named them George Bush and Tony Blair.

The new George Bush - probably the only one in Baghdad - was born six weeks ago to Nadia Jergis Mohammed, 34, and her husband Abdul Kader Faris, 41.

“I tell you all Iraqis hated Saddam's regime. It was only George Bush who liberated us, without him it wouldn't have happened. If he hadn't done it the sons of Saddam would have ruled us for years. He saved us from Saddam and that's why we named our son after him,” Mohammed told Associated Press Television News.

George Bush screamed in his crib.

Baby Bush, born July 11, carries the full name George Bush Abdul Kader Faris Abed El-Hussein. He weighed nearly eight pounds at birth.

Two older brothers are named - more traditionally - Omar and Ali.

A Real Dead Beat

STILLWATER - A St. Paul man who missed a court hearing appeared to have a good excuse - he was dead.

But authorities soon realized his obituary was a fake, and Robert Michael Mathison was arrested.

Mathison was supposed to appear in court in Stillwater on charges from a June case in which he faked a heart attack upon arrest.

A short obituary in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on July 15th said Mathison died on July 12th. It also said he was “Loved by everyone.”

The same day, someone claiming to be Mathison's attorney faxed a letter to the court saying Mathison had died. It included a copy of the obituary. But instead of dismissing the felony fourth-degree assault charge, a judge added the fax to the court file.

State trooper Glen Knippenberg arrested Mathison in June. He says he never believed Mathison's obituary.

Ce La Vie! A Historic Tree Dies In Paris

PARIS - Legend has it that Queen Marie Antoinette relaxed in the shade of its branches. Now a centuries-old oak at the chateau of Versailles has withered and died, yet another victim of France's worst-ever heat wave.

The 100-foot tree succumbed after temperatures topped 104 degrees Fahrenheit earlier this month. The heat fanned forest fires, burned crops and is believed to have killed thousands of people across France.

At Versailles outside Paris, chief gardener Alain Baraton watched the historic oak fade for days. This week, he realized it had died.

“It had no more leaves, no more buds,” Baraton said on Wednesday.

Until 1999, the oak was protected from the sun by the shade of taller trees. Then violent storms killed 12,000 trees in Versailles' 2000-acre grounds - including those that shaded the oak.

From then on, the oak “was directly exposed to the sun,” Baraton said. “The few branches that it still had were burned in August.”

The tree was planted in 1681 under the orders of great French landscape designer Andre Le Notre, famous for his orderly, geometric gardens.

The tree was already about 100 years old when King Louis XVI embarked on a dramatic renovation of the grounds in 1776, cutting down most of the trees.

But the oak was left standing, and legend has it that Marie Antoinette, Louis' nature-loving wife, enjoyed the oak's shade, Baraton said.

Unless the tree becomes unstable and dangerous, gardeners don't plan to cut it down.

“Even though it's dead, it's still very beautiful,” Baraton said.

Santa Claus, 59, Dead Of Heart Failure ... Just Kidding

MUNDELEIN, Illinois - You can relax, kids. Santa Claus is alive and well, and getting ready for next Christmas.

But another man who legally changed his name to Santa Claus has died.

Robert Rion officially changed his name after decades of playing Santa.

And since he was six-feet tall and weighed 300 pounds - with a long white beard - the name fit.

A coroner in northern Illinois says Claus died of an apparent heart attack. He was 59.

He made Christmas appearances around the area where he lived - and he operated a hotline year-round, so kids could talk to Santa.

Vicious Flying Carp Spook Fishermen

ST. LOUIS - Crazy carp have invaded Missouri's rivers.

Two species of nonnative carp have been jumping into boats, injuring occupants and damaging the watercraft.

A state fisheries biologist motoring near Columbia had a filling knocked out of his tooth by a high-flying fish that struck him on the side of the head. Another state biologist in the St. Charles area was seriously hurt when he was hit by a giant carp.

Brian Todd of the Missouri Department of Conservation said the big head carp and silver carp were brought to private fish hatcheries from Asia by the aquaculture industry. They were intended to eat excess algae and waste in aquaculture ponds - which grow fish for food as well as bait and tropical fish. But they escaped in floodwaters in 1993, 1995 and 2002.

“This could be an indefinite problem,” Todd said. “They are safe to eat, but ecologically they could damage the mussel population and are competing with native fish for food. We are going to hear more and more over the next few years about the problems these fish are causing, especially injuries to boaters and anglers.”

Todd said the carp have been spotted in many of Missouri's rivers, including throughout the Missouri River.

“The sound of a propeller under water makes these fish go crazy,” Todd said. “The fish don't jump if you're sitting there without the motor on, but the higher the RPMs, the greater the noise, the higher these fish jump.”

Segway Climbs New England's Highest Peak

MOUNT WASHINGTON, N.H. - It took six sets of batteries and three drivers, but a Segway scooter made it to the top of New England's tallest peak.

The scooter climbed Mount Washington's auto road in about two and a half hours Wednesday.

The standup scooter, invented by Manchester's Dean Kamen and manufactured in Bedford, was the first Segway to make it to the top of the 6,288-foot mountain in 7.6 miles.

The average grade is 12 percent, and as much as 18 percent in some places. About a third of the road is unpaved.

The Segway belongs to Heritage New Hampshire, a tourist attraction in Bartlett. The drivers were employees.

Man's Best Friend?

LONGVIEW, Wash. - Don't try telling William Allan Repp Jr. that a dog is man's best friend. He's been sniffed out four times by the same cop canine.

In the latest incident, Repp was arrested Tuesday, accused of leading police on a high-speed chase in a 1980 Corvette, crashing into a tree and fleeing on foot until he was stopped by Reno, a Longview police dog.

The chase started when Officer Jason Ferriss spotted the car on Pacific Way traveling at 78 mph, according to his radar gun. The posted speed limit is 35 mph.

In his report, Ferriss said he turned on his lights, saw the car speed up, then turned on his siren and began pursuit. He said his speedometer reached 120 mph but the Corvette was pulling away at an estimated 140 mph when it missed a corner, slammed into a tree branch and ripped out some shrubbery before coming to rest.

The driver fled on foot as Officer Steve Dennis and Reno responded to assist. Reno tracked Repp approximately 40 yards to a slough and found him hiding under some bushes, police said.

Repp was taken to St. John Medical Center for treatment of dog bite wounds and injuries sustained in the accident. Officers then took him to the Cowlitz County Jail, where he was booked for investigation of felony eluding, among other charges. Bail was set at $35,000.

Dennis said this is the fourth time Reno has captured Repp after he ran from police. After the last incident, in October 2001, Repp received a five-day jail sentence and a $400 fine for reckless driving and resisting arrest.