For Ronald Luri, getting fired for not firing employees was worth it after a jury in Cuyahoga County, Ohio awarded him nearly $47 million in compensation for lost income and punitive damage. The 55-year-old former general manager for trash hauler Republic Services Inc. said he was vindicated upon learning of the award, the largest ever in Ohio's history, issued by a Common Pleas Court jury on Thursday.

The resident of a small island off the coast of Scotland has declared its independence from the United Kingdom. Stuart Hill, the owner of the island, wants it to be a crown dependency, similar to the Channel Islands. According to a statement on his Web site, Hill, who owns Forvik, a 2. 5-acre island in the Shetland Islands, declared that he no longer recognized the authority of the British government or the European Union.

To boost the Labor Party's dwindling popularity, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has resorted to various methods of wooing Britons, including calling them at 6 a. m. to check their concerns. One recipient of his calls was Stephen Carter, who was on overtime work when Brown called. Carter was one of many Britons who had written to the prime minister. Brown responded to their letters by personally calling to look into their concerns.

If Ontario has its beef against the Lord's Prayer being recited daily at the Legislature, Quebec lawmakers on Friday dealt with its Christian tradition through a question if it should keep the crucifix on its National Assembly or remove the Christian symbol. The provincial legislature, however, adopted the motion filed by Quebec Premier Jean Charest to retain the crucifix. The Christian icon became a major issue in the French-speaking province celebrating its 4th centennial because of a controversial report prepared by the Bouchard-Taylor Commission.

A check linked to the "Curse of the Bambino" goes on sale here Tuesday. Signed by Jacob Ruppert in 1922, the check for $50,000 helped secure the trade of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees from the Boston Red Sox in 1919. That sale is said to have begun the "Curse of the Bambino. "