Bangkok (AHN)- Known primarily as a "hell-hole" for foreign drug smugglers, Thailand's Lad Yao debuted their new look on Tuesday as they welcomed delegates from a United Nations conference. Some prisoners wore pink tutus and tight green t-shirts, and transvestites and acrobats put on a show. Prisoners were seen studying for degrees and expressed the desire to excel once they completed their sentences. Michael Platzer, a former U. N. official responsible for crime and justice, is disgusted with the prison's attempt to appear humane. "It's a system designed not to reintegrate people. There's no way you can rehabilitate someone after 30 years. You wife or husband is dead, your children have gone. Your life is over. " Visitors were restricted from seeing living quarters or from talking to Thai or foreign inmates for more than a few minutes.

A Mississippi politician in the midst of his city council candidacy finds himself fighting to keep his campaign signs from being stolen or defaced by fans of a Comedy Central's "The Chappelle Show. " Rick James, the 50-year-old candidate for city council in Hattiesburg, Mississippi not the late "Super Freak" singer, was unaware of comedian Dave Chappelle's satirical routine in which he repeats the phrase, "I'm Rick James, Bitch," until recently. The aspiring politician's "Vote Rick James" signs have become wall decoration for local college dorm rooms and cause for complaints by locals who have the signs in their yards with the B-word scribbled across it. According to James, Chappelle is aware of the incidents but has yet to contact him. Comedy Central responded with a statement apologizing for the missing campaign signs. The statement was sent via email to a friend of the network's at The New York Post after James' wife, Diane, wrote to the channel lightheartedly requesting $700 for the stolen and defaced signs. With less then three weeks left before the May 3rd primaries, James is down to his last 10 signs, and can't afford anymore. "People don't realize I don't have the money to start this up," he said. "If I did, I'd be putting them out in the yard, because my main goal is not to make money off this, but to actually win this campaign. " Despite the local controversy and losses, the James' have kept a good attitude about the whole incident. Their answering machine features music by the legendary pop singer, "Super Freak," and James has joked that his popular name would increase his chances of winning the presidency some day. James said he's in talks with "The Daily Show" to appear in a potential sketch. "I told the producers it would be funny if they sent somebody down to follow me around as I knock on doors campaigning," he said. "I usually say, 'Hi, I'm Rick James,' and it'd be funny if there was someone there to insert that B-word. I'm not going to say it, but if someone else did, that'd be as hysterical as you can get. "

12-year-old, Amber Mooneyham, is being called a hero today after driving her wounded mother to safety. Hester Wiggins, 30, prepared to take her daughter, Amber, and son, Dalton, to school and the babysitter early Monday morning, but were confronted by an unwanted visitor. Curtis Wiggins, 44, was waiting for his wife outside and when she appeared. He shot her and fled. as the children watched, they were unharmed. 12-year-old Amber immediately took action, pushing her dying mother aside and taking the wheel of the car. Police reported that the girl drove her brother and mother several miles to the babysitter's home where the girl crashed in the front yard. The babysitter told authorities that Amber immediately shouted for help, claiming "Curtis shot Mamma!" Despite her heroic efforts, Amber Mooneyham's mother, Hester Wiggins, didn't survive.

A deliveryman is rescued after being stuck in an apartment building elevator in the Bronx for three days. Authorities say 35-year old Ming Kuang is in stable condition at a local hospital being treated for dehydration. Police say Friday night Kuang was making deliveries for the Happy Dragon restaurant where he has worked since arriving from China two years ago. When he did not return after completing his third and final stop, they became concerned. Coworkers located only his bicycle in front of the building where he made his last delivery. Investigators searched in and around the 871-unit Tracey Towers apartment building with bloodhounds and going door-to-door inquiring about Kuang's whereabouts. Cadaver dogs also searched in nearby Cortland Park, the Jerome Park Reservoir, and the Woodlawn Cemetery. An alarm set off in the elevator early Tuesday morning led police to Chen, who contacted authorities using the intercom. Officials are unclear if the alarm had malfunctioned earlier. Investigators say the elevator car became stuck between the fourth and fifth floors. Mechanics were eventually able to override the system and locate Chen who gulped down water upon being freed. Chen speaks little English, but was able to convey to authorities how long he had be stuck by swirling his finger around on his watch. Family members tell police Chen came to the United State illegally from southeastern China where his wife and 12-year old son still live. He paid smugglers $60,000 to bring him to America. He has worked at the Happy Dragon making 40 to 60 deliveries daily working six days a week. The last delivery he made before being stranded was to an off-duty police officer that lives in the building.

Authorities have arrested a convicted killer and located the wife of an assistant prison warden ten years after they vanished. 60-year old Randolph Dial was arrested at a mobile home in the east Texas town of Campti following a tip from the TV show "America's Most Wanted". He had been convicted of murdering a karate instructor in 1981. Investigators thought Bobbi Parker may have been taken against her will when she went missing August 30, 1994, but after being discovered working on a chicken ranch not far from where Dial was found, authorities say she doesn't seem interested in going back to her former life. The now 42-year old Parker and Dial have apparently been managing five large chicken houses near the Louisiana border, though officials cannot confirm the extent of their relationship over the past decade. Prior to his escape, Dial was confined to minimum security Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite where he used his skill as a renowned painter and sculptor with a master's degree in art to run the facility's pottery program. He also enjoyed extended privileges outside of the prison, including using a kiln at the Parker's home garage. Bobbi Parker's husband, Randy, says he saw Dial working in the garage the day his wife disappeared. A note was discovered when Parker came home for lunch saying Bobbi had gone to the grocery store. Later, Dial was reported missing as well as Bobbi Parker. Bobbi Parker did call her mother in tears telling her she couldn't talk, but would be home soon. A second call was made to her mother a day later telling her to call home and tell her kids she loved them and would be back soon. It was the last time there would be any reported contact. Randy Parker, who was a deputy warden at the facility, is now the warden at the William S. Key Correctional Center at Fort Supply, Oklahoma. Upon being located by FBI agents, Bobbi did ask about her husband and two daughters, though she gave no indication she plans to return. Shelby County Sheriff Newton Johnson says, "As far as I know, she has no intention of leaving. She said she wants to stay on the farm and raise chickens. "