LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California appeals court overturned the rape conviction of a man who authorities say pretended to be a sleeping woman's boyfriend before initiating intercourse, ruling that an arcane law from 1872 doesn't protect unmarried women in such cases.

A panel of judges reversed the trial court's conviction of Julio Morales and remanded it for retrial, in a decision posted Wednesday from the Los Angeles-based court.

Morales had been sentenced to three years in state prison. He was accused of entering a woman's bedroom late one night after her boyfriend had gone home and initiating sexual intercourse while she was asleep, after a night of drinking.

The victim said her boyfriend was in the room when she fell asleep, and they'd decided against having sex that night because he didn't have a condom and he had to be somewhere early the next day.

Morales pretended to be her boyfriend in the darkened room, and it wasn't until a ray of light from outside the room flashed across his face that she realized he wasn't her boyfriend, according to prosecutors.

"Has the man committed rape? Because of historical anomalies in the law and the statutory definition of rape, the answer is no, even though, if the woman had been married and the man had impersonated her husband, the answer would be yes," Judge Thomas L. Willhite Jr. wrote in the court's decision.

The appeals court added that prosecutors argued two theories, and it was unclear if the jury convicted Morales because the defendant tricked the victim or because sex with a sleeping person is defined as rape by law.

The court said the case should be retried to ensure the jury's conviction is supported by the latter argument.

The decision also urges the Legislature to examine the law, which was first written in response to cases in England that concluded fraudulent impersonation to have sex wasn't rape because the victim would consent, even if they were being tricked into thinking the perpetrator was their husband.

Willhite noted that the law has been applied inconsistently over the years in California.

In 2010, a similar law in Idaho prevented an unmarried woman from pressing rape charges after being tricked into sex with a stranger by her then-boyfriend.

The judge called what happened "despicable" but said the state's law left the court with no choice. Idaho's law was amended to cover all women in 2011.

Morales' attorney Edward Schulman declined comment when reached by phone Thursday.

Prior to the conviction, Schulman had argued Morales believed the sex was consensual because the victim responded to his kisses and caresses, according to the decision.

(so now we're rolling back to the 1870's ? way to go! it can't be rape if'n her menfolk weren't havin a care to look after her virtue. and if'n she were married it's be property damage not rape.  I mean sure way to go defense attorneys ya really pulled one outta your ass for that one but  damn really? she was asleep and tricked so more the fool her? this is Balderdash I say! Poppycock of the highest order and this Dastardly cad deserves the soundest of thrashings! Posthaste!)

Dental Assistant Fired For Being 'Irresistible' Is 'Devastated'

By ABC News | ABC NeTanya Rivero and Alyssa Newcomb report:After working as a dental assistant for ten years, Melissa Nelson was fired for being too "irresistible" and a "threat" to her employer's marriage.

"I think it is completely wrong," Nelson said. "I think it is sending a message that men can do whatever they want in the work force."

On Friday, the all-male Iowa State Supreme Court ruled that James Knight, Nelson's boss, was within his legal rights when he fired her, affirming the decision of a lower court.

"We do think the Iowa Supreme Court got it completely right," said Stuart Cochrane, an attorney for James Knight. "Our position has always been Mrs. Nelson was never terminated because of her gender, she was terminated because of concerns her behavior was not appropriate in the workplace. She's an attractive lady. Dr. Knight found her behavior and dress to be inappropriate."

For Nelson, a 32-year-old married mother of two, the news of her firing and the rationale behind it came as a shock.

"I was very surprised after working so many years side by side I didn't have any idea that that would have crossed his mind," she said.

The two never had a sexual relationship or sought one, according to court documents, however in the final year and a half of Nelson's employment, Knight began to make comments about her clothing being too tight or distracting.

"Dr. Knight acknowledges he once told Nelson that if she saw his pants bulging, she would know her clothing was too revealing," the justices wrote.

Six months before Nelson was fired, she and her boss began exchanging text messages about work and personal matters, such as updates about each of their children's activities, the justices wrote.

The messages were mostly mundane, but Nelson recalled one text she received from her boss asking "how often she experienced an orgasm."

Nelson did not respond to the text and never indicated that she was uncomfortable with Knight's question, according to court documents.

Soon after, Knight's wife, Jeanne, who also works at the practice, found out about the text messaging and ordered her husband to fire Nelson.

The couple consulted with a senior pastor at their church and he agreed that Nelson should be terminated in order to protect their marriage, Cochrane said.

On Jan. 4, 2010, Nelson was summoned to a meeting with Knight while a pastor was present. Knight then read from a prepared statement telling Nelson she was fired.

"Dr. Knight felt like for the best interest of his marriage and the best interest of hers to end their employment relationship," Cochrane said.

Knight acknowledged in court documents that Nelson was good at her job and she, in turn, said she was generally treated with respect.

"I'm devastated. I really am," Nelson said.ws Blogs – 11 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional gun rights supporters showed an increased willingness Tuesday to consider new legislation to control firearms in the aftermath of the Connecticut school shootings — provided it also addresses mental health issues and the impact of violent video games.

A former co-chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, Democratic Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and 10-term House Republican Jack Kingston — a Georgia lawmaker elected with strong National Rifle Association backing — were the latest to join the call to consider gun control as part of a comprehensive, anti-violence effort next year.

"Put guns on the table, also put video games on the table, put mental health on the table," Kingston said.

But he added that nothing should be done immediately, saying, "There is a time for mourning and a time to sort it out. I look forward to sorting it out and getting past the grief stage."

(video games? really? gun control in the same breath as video games? that's damn insulting,the madness that fueled this tragedy has nothing to do with video games. so long as there are people they will do terrible things, my sympathies the families who have suffered such terrible loss,the culprit having robbed them of justice by his own hand,but if we allow this one act of inhuman cruelty to cause us to seriously consider curtailing our liberties to kowtow to base fear is an insult to the dead.   )

Spider survives trip to outer space but not Washington

By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News | The Sideshow – Wed, Dec 5, 2012

The vacuum of space was a minor inconvenience, but the poisonous atmosphere in Washington, D.C., proved too much for the world's first "spidernaut."

After just four days at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, "Nefertiti," a Johnson jumping spider, was found dead in its enclosure. But as the Daily Camera notes, the spider's passing came after it managed to survive a 42-million-mile journey that included 100 days aboard the International Space Station and a landing in the Pacific Ocean.

"That's how it is with living organisms. You just never know," said Stefanie Countryman, manager of K-12 educational projects at the University of Colorado's BioServe Space Technologies. "Someone didn't squish her. It wasn't something someone did. She had been eating well at the Smithsonian and active. There is no other explanation other than that she was reaching the end of her lifespan."

Neffi was 10 months old; the Johnson jumping spider typically lives about a year. While the Smithsonian said the spider of died of natural causes, it also confirmed that no postmortem tests were performed on Neffi.

"We want to add her to our collection so that we can continue to learn about spiders," said Smithsonian press officer Kelly Carnes. "And she is much more useful as a research specimen if we keep her intact."

Pizza Hut has created a limited-edition perfume

By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News | The Sideshow – 20 hrs ago

What makes the perfect complement to a container of bacon-scented shaving cream? How about a new perfume from Pizza Hut?

The pizza perfume started as a joke on the Pizza Hut Facebook page but evolved into the real thing after enough people signed up as fans on the site.

Pizza Hut's director of marketing says the scent is designed to smell like freshly baked dough with "a little bit of spice" mixed in. We discovered it was hard to match the smell of freshly baked bread, but it smells somewhat close, Beverly D'Cruz told Business Insider.

An entry on the Facebook page reads:

"We've decided to reward our 100,000 fans by actually creating the Pizza Hut perfume! The first 100 people to direct message us will get a bottle of this limited-edition scent. Share this photo with a friend!"

Pizza Hut is no stranger to unusual creations under the umbrella of its franchise. For example, in April, Pizza Hut restaurants in the Middle East began offering a cheeseburger-crusted pizza to customers.

Sadly,

Burglar calls 911 to save himself from gun-wielding homeowner

By Dylan Stableford, Yahoo! News | The Sideshow – 5 hrs ago

(only in Texas)

A suspected burglar called 911 after the owner of the home he broke into caught and held him at gunpoint.

The suspect, Christopher Moore, placed the emergency call in Springtown, Texas, during the botched burglary attempt early Tuesday after James Gerow, the homeowner, and Gerow's son pointed guns at him as he sat in his pickup truck parked in the driveway.

"I'm out in the country somewhere," Moore told the 911 operator during the 10-minute call. "Some guy's got a gun on me."

Gerow's wife, Lindy, placed a concurrent call to 911 that confirmed Moore's account.

"You better come quick," she said, "or my husband's going to shoot him."

"If he gets out of the truck, shoot him in the legs," James Gerow told his son, according to the Dallas Morning News Crime Blog. "You ain't gotta kill him—just shoot him in the legs."

When police arrived, both Moore and Lindy Gerow were still talking to 911 dispatchers.

According to CBS' Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate, Moore was arrested and charged with burglary. He's currently being held on a $35,000 bond.

Greek jobless rate up to record 26 percent

By By DEREK GATOPOULOS and NICHOLAS PAPHITIS | Associated Press – 1 hr 14 mins ago

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's unemployment rate rose to a new record of 26 percent in September, underscoring the economic plight in the country as it heads toward a sixth year of recession.

The Greek Statistical Authority said Thursday that 1.295 million people — more than one-fourth of the workforce in this nation of 10 million — were recorded as unemployed in September. Unemployment rose from 25.3 percent the previous month and 18.9 percent a year earlier.

Greek unemployment has surged to the highest since the 1960s as a result of harsh austerity measures imposed in return for vital international rescue loans.

The conservative-led coalition government is finalizing a major tax reform bill, demanded by international rescue creditors as one of several conditions for continued payments. It has promised to try to stem the country's recession, despite being forced last month to introduce another round of deeply unpopular austerity measuresthat are part of Greece's bailout commitments.

These measures include raising €3 billion ($3.9 billion) in extra tax revenue.

A draft of the new tax bill presented to the conservatives' two center-left coalition partners late Thursday calls for cuts in corporate tax rates from 40 to 33 percent, a move meant to provide relief to employers struggling to cope with the crisis while maintaining a sufficient flow of tax revenue.

The draft also lowers the top income tax rate from 45 to 40 percent, but it expands the number of people who would have to pay that rate by including all incomes over €40,000 ($52,000) a year.

Finance ministry officials said the draft bill also provides for a rise in the tax-free threshold to €9,000 ($11,700) — from €5,000 ($6,500) — linking family benefits with income, and higher taxation on farmers.

The tax bill must be submitted to Parliament for approval by Tuesday, two days before Greece is due to receive a new €34 billion ($44.4 billion) rescue loan installment.

Earlier this week, the Bank of Greece confirmed government forecasts that the economy would contract by more than 6 percent this year, and by a further 4-4.5 percent next year. By the end of 2013, the economy is expected to have shrunk by 25 percent in six years.

The effects are most visible in the unemployment rate, which stood at just under 10 percent just before Greece's financial crisis began in late 2009. Since then, jobs have been vanishing at a pace of almost 1,000 a day.

The largest labor union, the GSEE, has predicted the jobless rate will reach 29 percent next year.

"According to our calculations, the recession next year will be between 5 and 5.5 percent ... The money being taken out of the economy due to higher (taxes) is driving the recession," Savvas Rombolis, head of labor research at the union, told private Skai radio.

"So more businesses will close, more people will lose their jobs, and fewer graduates will find work."