A government lawyer’s attempt to get dismissed nearly $700 in traffic tickets given to the U.S. Postal Service is being met with a hearty and humorous, Heck no.

In a Jan. 22 letter sent to both the city of East Cleveland, Ohio, and the company that operates the city's photo-enforcement program, Postal Service attorney Jennifer S. Breslin says two school-zone speeding citations and five red-light infractions by postal trucks in December should be ignored.

“In providing mail service across the country, the Postal Service attempts to work within local and state laws and regulations, when feasible,” wrote Breslin, after reminding “To Whom It May Concern” that postal workers promptly deliver over 200 billion pieces of mail annually.

“However, as you are probably aware, the Postal Service enjoys federal immunity from state and local regulation,” she continued.

That last bit did not go over well with American Traffic Solutions (ATS), the Arizona-based company that enforces East Cleveland’s camera citations.

“By attempting to hide behind an immunity claim, you are aiding and abetting your drivers in their blatant disregard for the traffic laws in East Cleveland, which have endangered other drivers, pedestrians and school children,” ATS attorney George Hittner wrote in his three-page response to Breslin, who received it on Thursday. (He also cc'd the postmaster general, two U.S. representatives and two senators.)

Hittner cited the Postal Service’s own safety manual and case law to point out that postal truck drivers should and have been held accountable. He also gave a few examples where the driving habits of carriers resulted in well-publicized legal consequences.

“My last and favorite example is of the USPS truck driver delivering mail while naked,” Hittner wrote. “He was arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior.”

He added, more sternly: “We suggest that you transfer the liability for the infractions to the USPS drivers who incurred them, and instruct them that pursuant to Ohio law, as well as the USPS guidelines, the infractions are their responsibility. If you choose to ignore the infractions, penalties and fines will continue to accumulate.”

I have no problems looking at pictures depicting animal moms breastfeeding and literally taking in babies of different species, I even find them very sweet. But for some reason, looking at these photos of women breastfeeding various animals makes me very nauseous, it’s just not natural, no matter what continent your from.
There’s Vijay Luxmi Sau, an Indian woman who adopted an abandoned baby fawn. After finding the hungry fawn, she began breastfeeding it along with her own human baby.Then there’s Namita Das, who began breastfeeding a baby monkey after her older children left home. Das, who considers the monkey her son, reportedly suckled him for four years. The neighbors consider Das’ devotion to the monkey ”abnormal,” and say she is “overdoing her affection” for him. Kura “Kat” Tumanako of New Zealand breastfed her staffordshire bull terrier pup because she wanted to raise him as a brother to her baby girl. “It’s my life, my responsibility. I make my own choices,” she told The Age back in 2004. “I’m going to look after me, my baby and my puppy.” “From a veterinarian viewpoint it’s always better for any species to have its own milk. If a bitch was available that would have been better,” Sharon Marshall, a veterinarian, said at the time. She added that it’s unusual, but not unheard of, for one species to provide milk to another. For instance, there have been cases of dogs providing milk for cats. And women from Papua New Guinea hill tribes have been known to breastfeed pigs.

At a time when breastfeeding in public is already controversial, pictures of two military moms doing so while wearing their uniforms is sparking outrage.

The photo is part of a local breastfeeding awareness campaign by Mom2Mom of Fairchild Air Force Base, a support group launched in January by Crystal Scott, a military spouse and mother of three. Among the intimate close-ups of smiling young mothers cuddling their adorable babies, the images of the two airmen stand out.

Related: Moms react to the "Time" magazine's "Are You Mom enough?" breastfeeding cover

"People are comparing breastfeeding in uniform to urinating and defecating in uniform. They're comparing it to the woman who posed in "Playboy" in uniform [in 2007]" Scott told Yahoo! Shine in an interview. "We never expected it to be like this."

"I'm an X-ray tech and I breastfeed in my uniform all the time," Scott says. "Granted they're scrubs. But people do it all the time in their uniforms. If you have a hungry baby, why would you take the time to change completely?"

Related: Army mom home from Afghanistan surprises her son

Terran Echegoyen-McCabe, a member of the Air National Guard who was photographed in uniform nursing her 10-month-old twin daughters, says that she's surprised by the reaction to the photos.

"I have breastfed in our lobby, in my car, in the park ... and I pump, usually in the locker room," she told the "Today" show, adding that she usually nurses her babies while on her lunch break during drill weekends. "I'm proud to be wearing a uniform while breast-feeding. I'm proud of the photo and I hope it encourages other women to know they can breastfeed whether they're active duty, guard or civilian."

All of the women in the photos volunteered to appear in the awareness campaign, and Echegoyen-McCabe is featured -- wearing civilian clothing -- in a few of the other candid shots. None of the photos are posed; the women are simply feeding their babies the way they usually do. But even though some of the other photographs are just as revealing, only the ones of Echegoyen-McCabe and her friend Christina Luna in uniform have been criticized.

"The Air Force has never endorsed these photos," the photographer, Brynja Sigurdardottir points out on her website, where she posted several other photos from the Mom2Mom campaign. "These women just happen to be in the Air Force, in their uniform, breastfeeding their babies."

Americans regularly fork over $5,000 to fix a crooked smile with braces. But in Japan, women are spending about $400 for just the opposite. On the other side of the planet, imperfect teeth are becoming a thing of beauty.

Japan's beauty trend, dubbed "tseuke-yaeba," has reached a fever pitch, with young women paying hundreds for snaggleteeth.


The procedure first made headlines in 2011, but it has grown in popularity since then, even spawning a Japanese pop girl group whose members sport the snaggletooth look. The girl group, TYB48 or "Tseuke-Yaeba 48," was created by the Taro Masuoka—the very same dentist who pioneered the procedure.

"A lot of my patients are fashion-conscious and very cute. I wanted to find some way to take advantage of this, so I formed TYB48," Masuoka, of Tokyo's Pure Cure dental salon, told Japan Today.

The group whose debut album titled "Mind If I Bite?" dropped last April, turned the child-like vampire mouth into a bona-fide phenomenon. But they're far from Japan's first famous females with mangled mouths. See the smiles on the country's popular news anchor Mika Sugisaki and Japan's crown princess Masako.

[The girls of TYB48. photo: Facebook] The girls of TYB48. photo: FacebookThe trend may seems out of step with American dentistry, but in Japan—where fashion trends often take their cue from child-like physical attributes—it's a thing of beauty. Masuoka claims the snaggletooth look gives his patients an "impish beauty" that is considered "endearingly attractive" to men. He's even reportedly offered middle school and high-school aged patients a half-price discount on the procedure if they bring identification. (The procedure, which can be temporary or permanent, involves cementing exaggerated veneers onto each canine tooth.You can check out how it's done with this helpful video from Tokyo's Dental Care Salon Plasir.)

Roland Kelts, author of the book Japan America, theorizes the rise of the "impish" mouth may have a psychological link. "The 'girl next door' look of accessibility and plainness is especially popular in Japan right now partly, I think, because Japanese men feel so weak in the face of a stagnant economy and fast-shifting gender roles," Kelts told Yahoo! Shine. "Marriage and birth rates in Japan are at historic lows. A too-perfect set of teeth, or anything else, can be intimidating when your role in society is imperiled."

Shifting gender roles and a growing insecurity of men in the workplace? Sounds familiar. If that's partly behind the snaggletooth trend in Japan, could twisted dental implants make their way to the United States any time soon?

[Detail of the snaggletooth look. photo: Facebook] Detail of the snaggletooth look. photo: Facebook"Gain popularity in US? No!" Dr. Jacqueline Fulop Goodling, a New York-based orthodontist, tells Shine. "Americans have spent billions of dollars educating ourselves on the effects of good oral hygiene... We care about the way our teeth look but we care more about if they are healthy."

Dr. Michael Sinkin, a Manhattan dentist, agrees that it's a cultural difference that has little chance of translating overseas. "When someone goes for cosmetic dentistry, some people want something perfect—'chiclet teeth.' Other people want a natural look. Culturally, that can vary. It's almost like a fashion statement," he told Shine. "I had a Japanese patient once who came in for some work and she was unhappy with the result, because she felt they looked too American, too perfect."

And, according to Dr. Joseph Banker, a cosmetic dentist from Creative Dental Care, the health risks just aren't worth it. "Although the procedure may seem non-invasive, the underlying teeth can be damaged in several ways. The additional length may cause stress on the teeth and can increase the risk of a tooth fracture." Messing with front canines in particular can lead to jaw problems, tooth decay and bacteria build-up, he says.

Despite having a big year in music, Nicki Minaj didn't receive any Grammy nominations. Not a problem, she says.

"I've gotten tons of awards and I believe when it's my time to get a Grammy, I'll get a Grammy," she said with a laugh.

The 30-year-old had one of last year's biggest hits with the multiplatinum dance-pop anthem "Starships." Her sophomore album, "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded," has reached gold status and launched other hits on the rap and R&B charts.

But Minaj, who received three Grammy nominations last year, including best new artist and best rap album for her platinum debut, "Pink Friday," was shut out when this year's nominations were announced.

"I think that the Grammys had a different reason, that I do not want to discuss ... and that's just between me and them," she said in a recent interview. "But I respect their organization and I'll get a Grammy eventually. I'm not worried about it."

A representative for The Recording Academy didn't immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment.

Minaj was featured on Ludacris' "My Chick Bad," which was nominated for a 2011 Grammy Award, before she released her first album.

She was criticized when she released her sophomore album last April for taking on a pop-and-electronic sound that echoed Katy Perry, Rihanna and Ke$ha. "Roman Reloaded" is a mesh of hip-hop, dance, pop, R&B and reggae flavors, and producers included radio hit makers like RedOne and Dr. Luke.

"I understand that artists and critics make a big deal over the Grammys. But when I go to my shows and I'm selling out arenas in London, and when I'm in Australia and Japan, there aren't any Grammys there," she said. "There are human beings who I've touched. There are human beings who are inspired by me, who I love dearly. And that's what my career is based on."

Minaj, who is a new judge on "American Idol" alongside Mariah Carey and Keith Urban, said she would probably be upset if she doesn't earn Grammy respect later in her career.

Are they or aren't they? Rihanna and Chris Brown have played coy about their recent reconciliation, posting revealing Instagram photos of each other and releasing curious songs-with-a-message like "Nobodies Business." Now in a new interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Rihanna continues to neither deny nor confirm a romantic relationship with her ex-boyfriend, but does talk about why she decided to give him a second chance.

In a preview of the article that hits stands Friday, the 24-year-old "Diamonds" singer says of Brown:

    "I decided it was more important for me to be happy. I wasn't going to let anybody's opinion get in the way of that. Even if it's a mistake, it's my mistake. After being tormented for so many years, being angry and dark, I'd rather just live my truth and take the backlash. I can handle it."

She adds that she feels safe in her relationship with Brown, and how its evolved:

    "But it's different now. We don't have those types of arguments anymore. We talk about shit. We value each other. We know exactly what we have now, and we don't want to lose that... He doesn't have the luxury of fucking up again. That's just not an option. I can't say that nothing else will ever go wrong. But I'm pretty solid in knowing that he's disgusting by that. And I wouldn't have gone this far if I ever thought that was a possibility."

Of course, Rihanna's words now are in sharp contrast from what she told Diane Sawyer in November 2009, nine months after Brown assaulted Rihanna in a car on the eve of the Grammys. In the emotional interview, Rihanna admitted that she had left Brown partly out of an obligation to set the right example for young women.

A teenage girl–an honor student who had just performed at President Obama’s inaugural–was gunned down Tuesday afternoon in the Kenwood neighborhood, just blocks from the high school she attended.

CBS 2’s Mike Parker reports the victim, 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, was taking shelter from the rain with a group of 10 to 12 teenagers under a canopy in Vivian Gordon Harsh Park on the 4500 block of South Oakenwald Avenue around 2:30 p.m., when someone jumped a fence, ran up to them, and opened fire.

Just days before, Hadiya performed with her high school band at President Obama’s inauguration.

The park is near King College Prep High School — where Pendleton was an honor student, volleyball player, and majorette.

A witness said the teens scattered and ran out of the park in a panic after the shots were fired. Pendleton and a boy who also was shot collapsed about a block away, in front of one of the upscale condo row houses that line Oakenwald.

Pendleton was struck once in the back, and died at the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital less than an hour later.

The teenage boy who was shot was struck in the leg. He also was being treated at Comer Children’s Hospital.

Lady Gaga has been stripped of 156 million YouTube views after the site cleared out stats it deemed dummied up by hackers and viewcount generators.

The development comes one month after the YouTube pages of Sony and Universal lost 2 billion YouTube views, largely because YouTube decided that videos migrated to the company's VEVO pages were "dead videos". While a small portion of the views stripped from Sony and Universal were due to what YouTube calls "de-spamming the data," the vast majority were taken away as a result of Sony, Universal and EMI's decision to bet on VEVO.

As NME notes, VEVO is owned by Sony and Universal Music Group.

Other artists affected by YouTube's housekeeping include Beyonce, Michael Jackson and Chris Brown. At the time of the original clean-up, singer Leona Lewis lost 24 million views.

In July 2011, Lady Gaga's YouTube account was suspended and promptly restored. Though Google (which owns YouTube) declined to comment, a notice on her channel read that it was guilty of "multiple or severe violations of YouTube's copyright policy."

A boy was being held hostage in a bunker in Alabama early Wednesday by a man who seized him from a school bus after fatally shooting the driver, witnesses and police said.

Authorities were negotiating with the man overnight at the scene near Midland City.

The driver of the bus died from gunshot wounds on Tuesday afternoon and the suspect was not in custody, according to the Dale County Sheriff's Department.

Witnesses told NBC station WSFA that the suspect boarded the bus and ordered some children off before grabbing a boy aged 5 or 6, shooting the driver and fleeing towards his nearby home.

Michael Senn, who is minister of a nearby church, told the station that he spoke to several children on the bus, including a girl who said the driver was shot four times. He described one 13-year-old as "really traumatized."

Mike Creel, who said he was the suspect’s neighbor, told the station the suspect had hidden “in his homemade bomb shelter.” However, officials described it as a storm shelter.

Creel said the suspect has lived on the property for around two years and that the underground shelter was “one of the first things he started building."

The station said police believed the child was "OK" and that police were conducting negotiations with the suspect using a plastic pipe.

Other neighbors identified the suspect to the local newspaper, the Dothan Eagle, as a 67-year-old man. NBC News was unable to confirm this early Wednesday.

Lisa Harden, of the Dale County School District Office, said the bus was on a route that served all local schools, and had children of all ages on board.

Dale County and Ozark city schools will be closed Wednesday, officials said.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the open and ongoing incident, limited details are being released at this time," Dale County Sheriff's Department said in a 10 p.m. local time (11 pm. ET) Tuesday update.