A New York State Senator, Queens Democrat Ada Smith, is accused of harassing a staffer in her Albany office after allegedly throwing coffee at the worker and pulling her hair. This is not the first time Smith faces allegations by an employee. In 1996, she allegedly threatened a staffer with a knife, and last year she was accused by a former chief-of-staff of firing him because he is homosexual. Smith denies both charges.

A Norwegian woman turned on the taps in her apartment and instead of water, she got beer. Haldis Gundersen tells Reuters, "I turned on the tap to clean some knives and forks and beer came out. "

A historic tavern opened in 1784, when Annapolis, Md. , served as the nation's capital. It is now getting a facelift and new signage, and will become the area's sixth Starbucks. The ever-increasing coffee chain that has many American stopping before, after, and during work or leisure activities is ruffling some feathers in a city with significant American importance and cultural heritage.

On Christmas, a robber took off with a cinnamon bun that resembles the late Mother Teresa. Bongo Java coffee shop owner Bob Berenstein went to his store that morning to find the world-famous pastry missing, but a jar of money next to it was not taken, reports The Associated PressBernstein said he believes the so-called Nun Bun was taken by someone who is angry over the shop displaying the pastry, which had been preserved with shellac. "They went right for the bun," he said. "Unfortunately I think it's somebody who wanted to take it to destroy it. "

The Clark County coroner's office is walking a fine line between humor and morbidity in its gift shop. There's a coffee mug with the inscription "Playing for Keeps," a $10 fake jawbone that holds business cards and a T-shirt that reads "Coroner . . . Cashed Out in Las Vegas. "