Life

OTTAWA—Canadian passports are being upgraded to include chip technology and watermark images.
Foreign Affairs minister John Baird said the new passports will have computer chips embedded in them—technology that’s already used in many other countries.
Each blank page of the document also will contain watermarks depicting iconic images from Canadian history.

HONOLULU — A photograph of a 93-year-old Second World War veteran casting what will likely be his last ballot has captured the hearts of tens of thousands of Internet users.

NEW YORK — Saying the gay population has “suffered a history of discrimination,” an appeals court in New York ruled Thursday that a U.S. law defining marriage as between a man and a woman is unconstitutional. The national fight over gay marriage is expected to reach the country’s top court soon.

TORONTO — A bottle of one of the rarest single malt scotches in the world is going under the gavel this weekend in Toronto, along with plenty of fine and rare wines.

BISMARCK, N.D. — A man who used to own McDonald’s restaurants in North Dakota is about US$10,000 richer after selling a 20-year-old container of McJordan barbecue sauce to a buyer in Chicago.

TORONTO — Fans of “The Hunger Games” series will have to wait more than a year for the second instalment to hit theatres, but expect to see plenty of Katniss Everdeen look-a-likes surfacing within the coming weeks.
The bow-and-arrow-toting heroine is one of this year’s hottest Halloween costume ideas, along with a roster of contemporary pop culture characters and classic favourites.

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa — An U.S. jeweler is offering free rifles for husbands-to-be who spend at least $1,999 on an engagement ring at his store.
Jeweler Harold van Beek told KCRG near Cedar Rapids (http://bit.ly/TY3Jgg ) that he wanted to “do something for the boy who doesn’t like to hunt for diamonds but likes to hunt for deer.”

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The $5 bill displayed for decades on Charles Fairbanks IV’s wall was long a treasured family heirloom from Alaska. Now, to the surprise of the grandson of a turn-of-a-century vice-president, it’s also become a likely treasure trove.

TORONTO — Ice cream and frozen yogurt may soothe cravings for a frosty, sweet treat, but those craving something warm and savoury might soon be munching on cheese and pepperoni in a cone.

For $175, a Florida businessman is spicing up kids’ parties by bringing tiny alligators and letting them swim in clients’ pools. Bob Barrett says the gator pool parties are totally safe — the reptiles’ mouths are clamped shut with veterinary-grade tape.