A North Carolina high school is ending the school year with controversy thanks to a photo in the school’s yearbook that is similar to the famous scene in the movie “Basic Instinct,” in which actress Sharon Stone bares her … well, essentials.

The group photo was taken at Lake Norman High School 2011′s graduation.  In the photo, one of the nine students is spreading her legs appeared not to be wearing any undergarments.  The photograph went largely unnoticed until the recent end-of-year publication of the school’s yearbook.

Word of the photo spread like any high-school gossip would. One parent told ABC station WSOC about the photo as soon as the annual school memoir was published. 

“People were texting each other to turn to page 14,” the parent said.

The girl in the photo has not been identified by the school, but district officials said they were investigating the incident and were in touch with the former student.  It was unclear if the provocative photo was a mistake or if the student intentionally orchestrated a barely-there senior prank.

School district official Dawn Creason said that the photo was not clear and the possible flash may have  been created by an optical illusion. 

“Really looking at the image, though, we’re not sure that’s what it is at all,” Creason said.  “We think, probably, it was the way she was sitting and the angle of her gown.  We’re not convinced, at all, that you’re seeing what you think you are.”

It’s unclear how the photo made it past the yearbook staff or the faculty member that oversees the group. 

School officials stressed the student was 18 at the time the photo was taken – ruling out any child pornography charges. 

The local sheriff’s office has not said what, if any, criminal charges the girl could face, and was waiting for the school district to perform its investigation  before launching one of its own.

The district has sent a letter to parents and has offered a refund on the $100 annual.

Skydiving image from video posted on TheChive.com. Used with permission.

A video of an elderly woman’s skydiving adventure gone horribly awry has gone viral, perhaps serving as a warning literally to look before you leap — or at least to mind your elders when it looks like they actually don’t want to jump out of the plane.

The video was created by The Parachute Center, a skydiving company in Acampo, Calif., as a memento for jumpers to take home after their airborne adventures.

But someone posted it on The Chive, a video site on which a counter said it has been viewed more than 170,000 times. It shows Laverne, an energetic woman who has just turned 80 and has rounded up a crew of female relatives to go skydiving with her. She tells the camera that she’s “real excited,” and that she has wanted to do this for “at least 10 years.”

Cut to the plane taking off to an upbeat rock tune by The Offspring. We see Laverne smiling, looking out the window, and putting on her safety goggles. A few jumpers dive from the open plane window and whoosh down toward the earth below. Looks like they’re all having fun.

But wait a second — something’s wrong. The Offspring song has been cranked up and it’s Laverne’s turn to jump with her towheaded tandem instructor, but it looks as if she’s having second thoughts. She’s no longer smiling and is instead clinging to the side of the open door. Then her legs buckle and she’s sitting down, refusing to move, and appears to mouth the word “No!”

Instead of letting the poor woman just sit it out — it’s not like they’re on an episode of “Fear Factor,” right? — the instructor scoops her up and they fall forward out of the plane.

The camera person has also jumped, so from his vantage point, we see that Laverne has evidently slipped out of her harness so that the straps are attaching her to her instructor from behind her knees. She’s also clinging to him with her arms. And her shirt has flown up, so we see part of Laverne’s torso. The instructor starts trying to pull her shirt down, which is the last thing we see before the camera cuts to the scenery thousands of feet below them.

The souvenir video from hell finishes from the ground, where we see the duo land in the distance and two employees run toward them. Laverne appears to be okay, but says something to the effect of “Let me get my clothes,” as she tugs at her blouse. The instructor seems shaken and one of the other employees is consoling him.

“This happened a long time ago and everything worked as advertised,” said Parachute Center owner Bill Dause in a statement to ABC News. “No one got hurt or injured.” In a separate call to the center, an employee who answered the phone said the video was a year old, but said he had no more information.

The FAA, reached by ABC News, said the video first came to its attention late Thursday.

An FAA safety inspector visited The Parachute Center today, according to FAA spokesman Ian Gregor. The inspector spoke with the company owner and employees about the incident and plans to do additional interviews and examine records next week, Gregor said.

Jim Crouch, director of safety and training for the U.S. Parachute Association, said he heard about the incident last June. He had not seen the video until it spread online this week.

Skydiving fatalities are on the decline these days, with some 21 deaths out of 3 million jumpers in 2010, a 0.007 chance of death, according to the association.

Nancy Koreen, a spokesperson for the association, said it looked as if Laverne’s harness wasn’t adjusted properly, and that she wasn’t positioned properly before the jump. “But that’s not at all a common occurrence,” she said. “It’s extremely, extremely rare.”

There have been two similar incidents of harness slippage, in which skydivers slipped out of their harnesses completely, said Koreen. Both happened about a decade ago, she said, and afterwards harness manufacturers modified them to have an extra strap across the skydiver’s back.

“The USPA does everything that we can to reinforce proper training for instructors, constantly issuing reminders to make sure that instructors are properly adjusting their student harnesses to avoid any kind of situation where the students isn’t situated properly or comes loose,” Koreen said.

Even so, Laverne will probably celebrate her next birthday on solid ground.

ABC News’ Brandon Bodow, Ross Eichenholz and Clayton Sandell contributed reporting for this story.

“All actions today will be shipped over to the federal government,” Marc Littman, an MTA spokesman, told ABC News on Thursday. “If all goes well, we can start a year from now.”

The second leg of the plan was approved after experts testified in a meeting today that it’s safe to build the tunnel despite pockets of methane gas underneath the school.

“We have some of the world’s tunneling experts who all rejected that,” Littman said.

However, parents argue the gas could cause explosions, and potentially lead to disaster.

The fight that has become heated over the past several months, generating two opposing videos on the Internet – one with an “Armageddon” feel vs. another invoking ”The Beverly Hillbillies”: a dramatic duel reminiscent of Hollywood movies.

“Methane gas, toxic chemicals and teenagers don’t mix,” says the narration of a video generated by Beverly Hills High School parents. “But this dangerous combination is on the verge of exploding at Beverly High.”

The video, titled “No Subway Under BHHS,” is equipped with images of students walking to class alongside dramatic images of flames and explosions, including video from a huge methane explosion in 1985.

Adding fuel to the fire, a satirical video called “The Hillfolks’ Lament” was uploaded to on the Internet in response, and mocks the residents of Beverly Hills for fear of progress. While MTA officials aren’t sure who produced the satire video, Littman said the accusations by Beverly Hills High School parents are untrue.

“We tunnel under schools elsewhere in Los Angeles, San Francisco, all around the world,” Littman told ABC News.  ”We have had nearly 20 years experience running the subway underground in Los Angles without incident. It is safe.”

Littman said the MTA expects to receive a lawsuit. Littman added officials had considered other routes, but said because of earthquake faults and too-sharp turning radii in other areas, the line must run under Beverly Hills High School. The project is expected to cost around $5.66 billion.

Our Bazi KANANI is just back from a tough trip into the parched Sahel region of West Africa – in particular, the desperately dry and hungry village of Maradi in Niger. That nation has recently been named the toughest place on earth to be a mother – and KANANI has seen why, first hand. Overall this is a crisis that affects eight African nations, with an estimated fifteen million people at risk – including one million children. Her broadcast reports begin next week – an early look here.

EUROPE’S CRISIS, GLOBAL FEARS

-EUROPE TODAY…While global investors worry about a looming “Grexit” (a Greek departure from the Euro), today’s angst is all about Spanish banks. Trading in shares in Bankia, Spain’s fourth largest bank, have been suspended in Madrid amid reports it’s going to ask for a $19billion government bailout. Bankia, battered by its exposure to the collapse of Spanish real estate market, will be revising its 2011 results – to show a big loss. Meanwhile, four of the largest and best-capitalized banks in Sweden and Norway have been downgraded by Moody’s in a stark warning of how contagion from the eurozone crisis may affect even supposed safe havens as well. Some of Europe’s biggest fund managers have confirmed they are dumping euro assets amid rising fears of a “Grexit”. European markets are down (no news there)…

-GLOBAL FEARS…As the Wall Street Journal and our Richard DAVIES report, Europe is just the worst of a bad batch of economic facts and figures. The U.S. reported Thursday that businesses were slowing orders of computers, aircraft, machinery and other long-lasting goods – while measures of business sentiment in Europe slipped, and reports from purchasing managers at manufacturers around the globe turned down. Among them, China, the world’s second-largest economy, registered its seventh straight drop in an important manufacturing index. Says the Journal: “A new economic threat is emerging: That activity is slowing in sync around the globe and not just in a few markets with their own isolated problems.” Europe may be the “epicenter” of crisis now – but reports of economic  trouble are turning up in China, India, South Africa, Brazil and elsewhere.

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD LEADS EGYPTIAN VOTE

From Alex MARQUARDT in Cairo: The Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi is leading the early returns of Egypt’s presidential election, setting the stage for a runoff next month against former President Mubarak’s Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq. As MARQUARDT writes, it would be “a run-off between candidates from opposite ends of the spectrum, leaving the many liberals who participated in the revolution high and dry…So who do the revolutionary moderates now vote for? The islamist – or the Mubarak crony? They almost certainly hold their noses and vote for Morsi as an anti-Mubarak vote…The real stunner here was Shafiq’s late surge, proof that many Egyptians yearn for stability and an experienced military arnd political hand.” The runoff round is scheduled for June 16-17 – with the president named on June 21.

IRAN URANIUM: A GLITCH, OR A DANGER?

The AP carries this breaking item: Diplomats say the U.N. nuclear agency has found traces of uranium at Iran’s underground atomic site enriched to higher than previous levels and closer to what is needed for nuclear weapons. The diplomats say the finding by the International Atomic Energy Agency does not necessarily mean Iran is secretly raising its enrichment threshold – that the traces could be left during startup of enriching centrifuges until the desired level is reached. That would be a technical glitch only. But the IAEA is investigating the find because the higher the level of enrichment, the easier it is to turn uranium into nuclear warhead material.

SYRIA: RUMORS SWIRL OF POISONING DEATHS

The New York Times takes note of persistent rumors in Syria that President Assad’s brother-in-law and other senior officials have been fatally poisoned. The Assad regime denies it – interestingly, via a Facebook posting – but it has proven nearly impossible to confirm or refute.

HEADED FOR MEXICO: HURRICANE BUD

The storm season is getting an early start…and Mexico’s Pacific Coast sits in the cross-hairs. Hurricane Bud is now a Category 2 storm headed toward an area of beach resorts and small mountain villages along the coastal area stretching south from Puerto Vallarta.  As Sam CHAMPION reports, the U.S. National Hurricane Center says gradual weakening is expected Friday afternoon, but Bud is still expected to reach Mexico as a hurricane. A hurricane warning is in effect for Mexico’s Pacific coast from Manzanillo northwestward to Cabo Corrientes. A hurricane watch and tropical storm warning are in effect from Punta San Telmo westward to east of Manzanillo.

CHINA (1): CHEN’S FIRST U.S. INTERVIEW

Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has given his first interview since arriving in the U.S. to CNN’s Anderson Cooper. He expressed concern over intensifying retribution against his family members who remain in China, especially his nephew, Chen Kegui, who has been jailed and faces charges of attempted murder. Kegui is accused of slashing at police officers when they burst into his house, looking for his uncle. Just yesterday’s Kegui’s father and Guangcheng’s brother escaped to Beijing to discuss his son’s imprisonment with lawyers there.

CHINA (2): BASHING FOREIGNERS

From the Washington Post: Faced with political turmoil at the top, a slowing economy, and a young and wired population restless for change, China’s Communist rulers appear to have dusted off a time-tested tactic: blaming foreigners for the country’s problems. This time, however, the technique does not seem to be working as well as it used to. Judging from a torrent of online criticism, it may even have backfired.

AFGHAN WAR

-MARINE COMMANDER:  NO MORE PHOTOS…Muhammad LILA reports: After the recent scandals involving pictures/video of U.S. troops posing with dead Afghans, marine commanders in Afghanistan have instituted a “no camera” policy while off base.  General Charles Gurganus, based in Helmand Province, tells The Marine Times that “heavy snaps,” or photos that troops take as souvenirs, will only be allowed on base and in between missions. It’s an effort to curtail any photos or video taken of marines behaving inappropriately.

-FRENCH PRESIDENT VISITS…Newly-minted French President Francois Hollande made a surprise trip to Afghanistan today to meet some of the 3,300 French troops stationed there – and to see Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The meeting comes just days after Hollande announced plans to pull French troops out of Afghanistan by the end of the year.

ANOTHER CROWDED WEEKEND ON EVEREST

After that dangerous weekend on Mount Everest that saw four climbers die, another dangerous weekend may be shaping up. As Gloria RIVIERA notes, more than 200 people are planning to climb to the summit this weekend. That many climbers makes it dangerous because they have to wait too long at high altitudes for fellow climbers to pass through before they can continue on. This weekend is considered the last opportunity to make the climb this season.

AUSTRALIA FINDS U.S. WORKERS WILLING TO TRAVEL DOWN UNDER

The Wall Street Journal reports the Australian government and a group of natural resource and mining firms are recruiting workers in the United States. And many Americans appear willing to head to Australia and earn six-figure salaries doing mostly blue-collar work. Australia chose Houston, TX for its inaugural U.S. job fair because it’s a labor market of 130,000 workers in sectors like construction, oil and gas.

ROCKET DOCKS AT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

The SpaceX rocket is set to dock at the International Space Station this morning. It’s the first U.S. vessel to visit the space station since NASA’s shuttles retired last summer – and the first private spacecraft ever to attempt a delivery to the station.

GLOBAL MEDICINE

-ISRAELI SCIENTISTS MAKE BEATING HEART TISSUE FROM SKIN CELLS…The Telegraph reports Israeli scientists have been able to make beating heart tissue from skin cells. The skin cells were taken from patients with heart failure and transformed into healthy, beating heart tissue. The researchers said that while there are still many years of testing ahead, early results suggest they may be able to reprogram patients’ cells to repair their own damaged hearts in the future.

-GENE DISCOVERY MAY BE KEY TO MALE CONTRACEPTIVE PILL…The BBC reports it may be possible to develop a new male contraceptive pill after researchers in Edinburgh identified a gene critical for the production of healthy sperm. The authors of a study in PLos Genetics said a drug which interrupts Katnal1 could be a reversible contraceptive.

KENYA: U.K. ARISTOCRAT BEATEN TO DEATH

From Wilfred WAMBURA in Nairobi: The family of Alexander Monson, 28, claims he was beaten to his death after police arrested him Tuesday in the coastal town of Diani, Mombasa. The victim was allegedly arrested outside of a club when he went ahead and smoked “bhang” in public. Several hours later he was admitted to a nearby hospital with heavy police presence accompanying him. His family is blaming the police for his death; police saying his death was caused by a cardiac arrest.

BRAWL ERRUPTS IN UKRAINE PARLIAMENT

So – we were in the Ukranian parliament - and a hockey game broke out… This one really did turn the legislative chamber in Kiev into something more like a hockey rink. The video shows opposition and pro-president deputies fighting during a debate about a hotly contested bill that seeks to adopt Russian as an official language in the country.

“FUGITIVE PENGUIN” CAPTURED

From Akiko FUJITA: Japan’s most-wanted escapee is back behind bars. More than two months after it slipped out of an aquarium in Tokyo, Japan’s “fugitive penguin” is back in captivity following its capture in the capital on Thursday night. Two keepers picked up the Humboldt penguin after receiving reports that it had been seen swimming in a river earlier the same day day. The capture ended 82 days of freedom, during which it briefly achieved celebrity status around the world. The keepers, who seized the penguin after it ventured on to the riverbank, said the animal did not appear to have been harmed and had been eating enough to keep its weight stable.

Colin Powell at Northeastern University
 

Jane Lynch at Smith College
 

Aaron Sorkin at Syracuse University


Adam Savage at Sarah Lawrence College

Bob Woodruff at Boston College

Cory Booker at Hampton University

Oprah Winfrey at Spelman College

Sonia Sotomayor at New York University

Michael Bloomberg at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Condoleezza Rice at Southern Methodist University
 

President Obama at Barnard College

Katie Couric at the University of Virginia

Mitt Romney at Liberty University
 

Michelle Obama at Virginia Tech

Andy Samberg at Harvard

Barbara Walters at Yale

Salman Khan at Rice University

Maria Shriver at the University of Southern California

Image Credit: Rick Diamond/Getty Images

John Edwards

Here’s a riddle:   What comes in group of four and is the color of French’s Mustard?

After a week of deliberations, the four alternate jurors have become the prime distraction for the assembled press corps and spectators in the courtroom.

Today, the judge cleared the court room to discuss what was described as a juror issue.  When court resumed, the judge did not indicate what the problem was.

But on Thursday the alternates – three women and one man – caused something of a stir when they showed up in matching bright yellow shirts, hardly bothering to suppress their snickering as the judge addressed the main panel of jurors. Today they are all wearing red.

For nearly four weeks, 16 jurors heard all the evidence in Edwards’ case.    After the closing arguments, Judge Catherine Eagles made the unorthodox decision to extend the service of the four alternate jurors, while the primary panel of 12 deliberated the six felony charges.      So for the last five days of deliberations, the gang of four alternates has been required to show up at court each day, sent to a holding room with instructions to avoid talking about the case.

Anytime the jurors are in the courtroom, the judge calls the alternates down to keep them apprised of the status of deliberations.   And the alternates are also sent to lunch every afternoon with the rest of the jurors.

Since the alternates were identified last Thursday, it has been impossible to ignore the dynamic between Edwards and one of the female alternates, an attractive young woman with jet-black hair, who seems to have been flirting with Edwards for days.

The juror clearly instigated the exchanges. She smiles at him.   He smiles  politely back at her.    She giggles.     He blushes.

The flirtation has become so obvious that even Edwards’ attorneys have to work to suppress their laughter at the absurdity of it all.

The jury returns today to resume deliberations for a sixth day. Edwards is accused of using nearly $1 million in campaign donations to hide his affair with his mistress Rielle Hunter. If convicted, he could be sentenced to as much as 30 years in prison and fined as much as $1.5 million.

Christophe Lehenaff/Getty Images

A Michigan priest known for being a hugger to members of his parish will no longer embrace children during Mass, a Diocesan official told ABCNews.com today.

The Rev. William Langlois, who is pastor at St. Patrick and St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church in Grand Haven, Mich., has never been accused of any wrongdoing, but he decided to stop hugging children because the practice was “out of step with, unfortunately, where were are in society,” said Ed Carey, the chancellor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids.

“From time to time, on a fairly regular basis, people would write and say, ‘You know, I understand what he’s doing. I think that it’s perfect innocent, however the appearance may not be good for him and it may be sending, for some children, the wrong message,’” Carey said, adding that the diocese has had “ongoing discussion” with Langlois about the issue.

After 15 years of hugging, Langlois says he will now give children fist bumps, instead.

Langlois could not be reached at his church office this afternoon, but he told WOOD-TV in an interview that aired Tuesday that it was “painful” to have to end his tradition.

“When I would hug the kids, I would say, ‘I am hugging you, you are hugging me and Jesus is hugging us,’” he said.

“We want [the children] to realize that there is good touch and bad touch, and we want their parents to reinforce that,” he said, according to the WOOD report.

People had strong reactions to that report on Facebook.

“This is so sad, I grew up with hugs from Father Bill. It was comforting to know he cared for all of his young parishioners,” wrote Jodi Rickfelder. “Hugs from him made St. Pats different and there is always a special place in my heart for him, and the church regardless of what has happened. It’s a shame that future kids won’t be able to feel the same connection.”

And Kyle Reurink posted: “I understand the reasoning but it is still sad that this is where the world is at now.”

Carey said the diocese has gotten several calls from people who were dismayed at what they viewed as a “terrible injustice” to Langlois, but added that other callers understood why the change was prudent.

Given the Catholic Church’s recent history involving priests who have committed or been accused of sexually abusing minors, Carey said, the diocese spends a great deal of time creating safe environments and establishing proper boundaries, including a code of conduct for priests, volunteers and employees.

(Credit:Joe Burbank/AP)

Casey Anthony has been gaining weight as she serves her probation in hiding somewhere in southern Florida, two sources told People magazine.

“Quite honestly, she’s gained a few pounds,” the source told the magazine. “She does nothing but sit in front of her computer and eat.”

Anthony, 26, was acquitted last July of murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee, but was convicted on four counts of lying to law enforcement for claiming that 2-year-old Caylee had been kidnapped by a babysitter. She is currently serving one year of probation in Florida for a check fraud conviction.

After being released from jail, Anthony went into hiding amid death threats from people who were shocked that she was not convicted of killing her daughter. She has maintained a very low-profile, but might soon be forced to take the stand in a civil suit against her.

The suit was filed by Zenaida Gonzalez, a Florida woman suing Anthony for defamation. During the search for Caylee, Anthony told investigators her daughter had been kidnapped by a fictional babysitter named Zenaida Gonzalez. The real Gonzalez has never met Anthony, but claimed that her reputation was ruined by the association to the case.

The case goes to trial in January and Anthony so far has avoided any in-person appearances related to the case. In October, she filmed a video deposition from an undisclosed location in which she was disguised in sunglasses, a baseball cap and what appeared to be long, black wig. Her attorney invoked the Fifth Amendment for nearly every question so she did not have to respond.

Sources told People that Anthony is dreading her possible court appearance in January.

“Casey was really hoping to leave Florida and never look back,” the source said. “She was really ready to move on with her life. This has ruined everything.”

Her probation is scheduled to be complete in August, but a required court appearance could force her to stay in the area, at least until January.

“Casey just wants this case to go away,” the source said. “She definitely doesn’t want to testify, and she’s annoyed that she has to.”

Anthony’s attorney, Cheney Mason, was not available for comment.

Monthly probation reports have shown that Anthony remains unemployed and broke.

(Bob Carey/tutuproject.com)

CLICK HERE to see photos of Project Tutu

A pink tutu with pink shorts underneath — that’s Bob Carey’s outfit of choice.

No, Carey, 51, is not a cross-dresser nor is he a former ballet star. He’s a professional photographer who began taking tutu self-portraits nine years ago, around the time his wife Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer

“I’ve been photographing myself since 1993, and I did a few of these images before she was diagnosed,” Carey told ABC News. “But then it became a way to cope. It’s a form of therapy. And it also got me away from her, which also helped her.”

Carey’s tutu has traversed the United States. From the Grand Canyon to Times Square and the Golden Gate Bridge, Carey can be seen dangling tutued from a tree, or posing pensively in pink in a vast, green landscape.

Each of the 125 scenarios will no doubt put a smile on your face — which is exactly what the Careys hope to achieve through this Tutu Project.

“You know, I’d be sitting in the waiting room at the cancer center, and I’d have my laptop, and I’d show the women around me Bob’s photos. It just made them laugh,” Linda Carey said. “When I told Bob about it one day, he said, ‘I’d love to have a book with all my pictures and put one in every waiting room,’ and it just kind of went from there.”

Last August, the Careys, who have been working together for their own company, Bob Carey Photography, for the past 18 years, began selecting prints for a Tutu Project book. They decided to donate future proceeds to two organizations that have been helping Linda Carey cope with her illness: Cancer Care, and the Beth Israel Comprehensive Cancer Center. Both provide women diagnosed with cancer therapeutic treatment, such as a massage, acupuncture and consultations with a social worker.

“She calls those her ‘spa days’,” Bob Carey said affectionately.

“I know the expense of cancer,” Linda Carey added. “It’s not just about health insurance. Like, I have a good friend who can’t get access to the extra things she really needs – even if it’s just someone to bring her meals or give her a massage.”

Said Bob Carey: “I get very emotional and it makes me angry that people who suffer like that can’t be comfortable. And I just want to make people comfortable, make them smile.”

The couple stayed true to that goal even when no publishers bid on their project. The Careys decided instead to set up a website, raise awareness and self-publish Bob Carey’s tutu portraits. In January, their idea went a step further.

“We said, ‘OK so we have the images, the cancer support. Now, let’s not just donate, let’s start a foundation,” Linda Carey said. “So now we have our business, the book, and we’re in the beginning stages of the Carey Foundation. We each have three jobs right now.”

The couple plans to kick off the Carey Foundation, which they are in the process of registering as a not-for-profit group, after the book is released this September. It would allow women with breast cancer to apply for grants to help subsidize medical costs.

Last year, Breastcancer.org reported that it expected almost a quarter of a million new cases of invasive breast cancer in women and anticipated around 39,520 breast-cancer-related deaths. According to latest statistics, one in eight women develop invasive breast cancer at some point in their lives.

“I don’t want to be defined by cancer,” said Linda Carey, “I’m a very feisty woman, and I don’t have time for it. I need to live my life.”

She added that she even accompanied her husband on several tutu shoots. But was she ever tempted to don pink frills?

“Never,” she said, laughing. “People sometimes ask, ‘Well, why doesn’t Bob take photos of you in a tutu?’ And I say, ‘It’s Bob’s tutu, not mine.’”

Police in Boxford, Mass., arrived at the scene of a backyard party on Sunday night to find six cows helping themselves to a table full of beer.

The cans of beer were left behind by the 12 or 13 young adult females who had been enjoying their Sunday night when the cows crashed their party in Boxford, a Boston suburb with a population of nearly 8,000, according to police.

“I could hear them [the partygoers] screaming in the backyard and I hoped they weren’t getting trampled,” Lt. James Riter told WickedLocal Boxford, which first reported the story.

“I saw one cow drinking the beer on its way down as it spilled off the table,” he told the site.  “Some of the cows were also picking through the empties in the recycling bin.  They just went in and helped themselves.”

Lt. Riter was first put on the cows’ trail around 9 p.m. when the department received a call that six cows were loose in the rural town’s Main Street area.  Riter and his partner, officer Joseph Borodawka, drove behind the cows in their cruiser. But that sent the cows off the main road and into the surprised partygoers’ path.

“The young women were absolutely in shock,” Ritter told WickedLocal Boxford.

Also involved in the cow chase was the town’s selectman, Peter Perkins, who lives near the farm from where the cow escaped.  He heard the commotion on the police scanner and jumped in his car with his wife and the cow’s owner to retrieve them.

“Because the cows were having such a good time at the [party] house, it was hard to get them to leave,” Perkins said. “Once we got them started, there was a lot of hollering and yelling to keep them moving. We had a cruiser positioned at the front and back of the cows.”

One hour later, the cows were safely back at home, party over, according to police.