11-year-old Boy Scout Owen Halpin found a lighter on the school grounds Wednesday. Like most boys, any fire-related item is of immediate interest, so he pocketed it. But another student spotted Halpin with the lighter and narced him out, so the superintendent of the Jamesburg, N.J. middle school took swift action, suspending Owen (for one day) for weapons possession. "We take our security here very seriously," superintendent Gail Verona tells CBS2. And so does Halpin's father Patrick—he called the police and told them that many of the teachers are probably packing the same kind of weapon. Burn. more ›

Mikey Hicks, an 8-year-old Cub Scout from Clifton, NJ, dreads flying out of Newark because airport security is always pulling him aside for frisking and interrogation, explaining that his name is "on the list." He was first patted down at the age of 2, and cried like a baby. His mother would like everyone to feel sorry for him, but the other passengers probably felt a lot safer knowing no surprises were waiting inside his Pampers, hey-o. more ›

This morning, 33 were killed and at least 29 more were injured during shootings on the campus of Virginia Tech. The NY Times reports that it "appears to be the deadliest shooting rampage in American history." more ›

Reading both of Clay McLeod Chapman’s novels and seeing the Pumpkin Pie Show within a single week made for some very strange dreams. But when I saw that the novelist and storyteller was bringing the Pumpkin Pie Show in its current incarnation, Junta High, to the stage, I couldn’t resist combining the experience of reading his words and seeing his words performed all at the same time, to compare the two and see the connection between how his imagination pours out on paper and onto the stage. Would I find disparity between the two? Which would outshine the other, and why? It seemed like a fascinating experiment. more ›

Playbill reported yesterday that South Pacific, the only Rodgers & Hammerstein musical not yet revived, will be back next year. No surprise there – every other hit show from the 20th century has had a second stint now, so it’s more a wonder that this one has taken so long. A Chorus Line just closed in 1990 and is already scheduled to reappear this fall; there are even rumors of Cats embarking on a second life in the not-too-distant future, and it only closed in 2000. This is why we would keep going to off-off-Broadway shows even if we could afford the big tickets: while there are certainly plenty of small troupes that perform from a standard repertoire of old classics, these are often adapted beyond recognition, and in general at any given time there are far more brand-new works than warmed-over, recycled stuff. more ›