Dogs have been known as man's best friends for decades, and Jamie Hanson's 13-year-old dog, Jesse, has lived up to it. A specially trained golden retriever-German shepherd mix, Jesse, not only rescued her owner from fire but also tried to save the fellow pet, a cat, before dying of asphyxiation. Hanson, who had lost her leg in a car accident three years ago, was sitting in the couch watching television when the cat ran over the back of the couch and jumped onto a table, tipping a candle on it thereby lighting the artificial plants on fire.

If a local ballot initiative passes in Eureka Springs this November, people can smoke the green, green grass of home and not be in the jailhouse now. To the surprise of pot enthusiasts statewide, local leaders of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws have been able to gather enough signatures in this Bible Belt, small tourist economy based town, to put on the election ballot a proposed change in the catagory for minor marijuana offences.

A Romanian train conductor is now in hot water and could face disciplinary action after he was found to have stopped his train so he could have a cigarette break. A report by the newspaper Evenimentul Zilei, says the driver stopped the train in the middle of the country and encouraged some passengers to get off the train. The Romanian government has recently banned smoking on trains.

Debrett's, the publisher of the decades-old high-society etiquette book "Debrett's Correct Form," has come out with a new book on manners for the modern girl. "Etiquette for Girls" catches up with the times, but still insists there is "proper" behavior for young ladies of the 21st-century. There are, for instance, correct and incorrect ways to conduct an office fling, have an affair or gossip about celebrities. Jo Aitchison, the book's editor, tells Reuters, "It's a nod to the modern day. We're pulling Debrett's out of Victorian times and trying to make it relevant to today. "

A Conewago Township woman on Monday admitted to smoking marijuana every day with her 13-year-old son to reward him for completing his homework. Amanda Lynn Livelsberger, 30, pleaded guilty to seven charges and will be sentenced later in November. During a hearing at the Adams County court, Livelsberger admitted that she had been smoking marijuana with her son since he was 11, and that she often smoked with him as a reward.