AP-AM Prep-Kickers

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! KICKERS !

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SWINE FLU-THANKSGIVING TRAVEL

ATLANTA (AP) — Picking up a few extra pounds isn't your only risk this Thanksgiving. While you're passing the turkey and mashed potatoes around -- you could passing the swine flu bug, too. Health officials are concerned crowded dining rooms, airports and malls may help to spread the flu-causing virus. The experts at the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta remind people to wash their hands and sneeze into tissue or their sleeve. Nurse Katie Almroth is taking her 11-month-old daughter on a train trip to visit relatives for the holiday. She says they'll be using plenty of hand sanitizer.

PERMANENT CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

DENVER (AP) — Denver won't be putting away the holiday lights after the new year. City officials have decided the leave up the lights year around to save some bucks. The city has installed permanent high-efficiency LED light panels on public buildings. Officials say leaving the lights up will save about 180-grand a year. But it won't be looking like Christmas in July in Denver. The light panels will only be lit for the holidays.

SCHWARZENEGGER-RED ZONE

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Governator is a little red-faced over parking in a red zone. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says "no one is perfect" -- not even him. The governor's comment comes after celebrity Web site TMZ.com posted pictures of Schwarzenegger getting into a silver Porsche convertible. The sports car was parked in a red zone in Beverly Hills. Just a few weeks ago, California first lady Maria Shriver apologized for parking her Cadillac Escalade in a red zone and holding her cell phone while driving, which also is illegal.

RESCUER RESCUED

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — A northwestern Pennsylvania man is one dog's best friend. Mike Kightlinger jumped into cold water to save his dog, named Cat. Firefighters in Erie report Kightlinger spent about a-half hour in a channel before he was rescued. Kightlinger's wife, Lisa, tells the Erie Times-News the couple was walking their dog on a pier when it fell in. After the ordeal, the pooch was barking and fogging up the windows of the couple's Jeep. But paramedics took the canine rescuer to a hospital for observation.

NO CUSSING

ABBEVILLE, La. (AP) — Watch your language! That's the new rule for members of Louisiana's Vermilion Parish School Board. The board has a new reg against cussing and putdowns for its own board members. If it's wrong for kids and school employees to curse, some board members say it should be wrong for them, too. But member Anthony Fontana opposes the move, saying there's no way to penalize elected officials for cursing

SEPTIC METH

FRIERSON, La. (AP) — Deputies in Louisiana report flushing away the evidence didn't do much good. The sheriff's department just brought in a backhoe to dig up the septic tank. DeSoto Parish sheriff's Lt. Toni Joe Morris says drug agents found a suspect coming out of a bathroom during a raid. That's when the law called in the heavy equipment. After the septic system was unearthed, authorities say they found a bag of meth and needles floating on the sewage. One suspect was busted for possession.

by Jamie Friar