The Night Note: 10/30/09

News you need to know.

By BRENDAN WILLIAMS-KIEF

Updated 8:15 PM EST, Fri, Oct 30, 2009

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The following stories are brought to you by the fine folks on the News4 assignment desk.

HAUNTED CANDY SHOP'S PERFECT FIT FOR HOLIDAY
An Alexandria building offers one-stop Halloween shopping. Candy and ghosts all under one roof.

An article from the June 1868 Alexandria Gazette tells the tale of Laura Schafer, who died from injuries suffered in a fire.

"She was getting ready for bed," amateur historian Diana Bridger explained. "Her kerosene lamp exploded. She caught fire. She ran down the stairs, but they couldn’t save her. She died the following morning." (NBC Washington)

POOR RAPPING SKILLS RESULTS IN CITATION
A rap by four teenagers at a McDonald's has gotten them a bad rap in one Utah city.

The teens were cited by American Fork police earlier this week for disorderly conduct after they rapped their order at a McDonald's drive-through.

The teens said they were imitating a popular video on YouTube. They rapped their order, which begins with, "I need a double cheeseburger and hold the lettuce ..." once quickly before repeating it more slowly. (MSNBC)

CELEBS OF ALL KIND FREQUENT THE WHITE HOUSE
Did Barack Obama's controversial ex-pastor Jeremiah Wright visit the White House? Or did the great Michael Jordan shoot some hoops with the president on his basketball court?
The answer to both questions is no.

But those famous names, and others, were thrown up in an exercise in government transparency Friday, when the Obama administration released the first 500 names on a list of the 100,000 people cleared to visit the White House every year. (Breitbart.com)

MARATHON DERAILED BY TRAIN
Nothing, not even a train, could stop Kenyan Simon Sawe from winning the Des Moines Marathon for the second time.

Sawe was leading countryman David Tuwei by 10 seconds when, after a left turn onto the final stretch on Southwest Fourth, he stared right at a train passing on the road.

"Nobody is prepared for that scenario," said Sawe, the inaugural champion in 2002. "I couldn't believe it. It was a long train." (USA Today)