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Hung over? Try eggs, fries, cocoa ... Thursday, January 1, 2009 3:24 AM By Kevin Mayhood THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH The cup of cures for your pounding head and queasy stomach runneth over. New Year's Day is a little late for a lecture on abstinence or moderation, and we won't go into the scientific intricacies of a hangover. Suffice it to say you're hurtin', so here are a few remedies that folks say work, at least for them. "Hot chocolate," said Laura Yazvac, a bartender at the Surly Girl Saloon in the Short North. "Chocolate milk is good for dehydration." Lactose-intolerant?...

The Virgin Mary and Jesus are the new stars of animated comedy. But many Christians aren't laughing. In the online premiere of Empire Square -- the adult cartoon that debuted on American cable last month -- the lead character receives a burn scar resembling the Blessed Mother. The mark becomes part of a get-rich-quick scheme involving a Christian rock band and masturbation-related stigmata. Another episode of the British cartoon, titled Passion of Richie, dubs Jesus the "gayest superhero ever." "People tend to fall back on these things when they can't think of anything else. They think, 'How can I create...

WASHINGTON — The CIA has fired an employee for leaking classified information to the news media, including details about secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe, officials said today. A federal criminal investigation has also been opened. CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said an officer had been fired for having unauthorized contacts with the media and disclosing classified information to reporters, including details about intelligence operations. "The officer has acknowledged unauthorized discussions with the media and the unauthorized sharing of classified information," Gimigliano said. "That is a violation of the secrecy agreement that everyone signs as a condition of employment with the...

An Auckland priest has failed in his bid to bring blasphemy charges against CanWest, but the fight is not over yet. Father Denzil Meuli complained to police over the Bloody Mary South Park episode, screened on TV channel C4. The episode caused outrage in the Catholic Church, after it showed the Pope and a menstruating statue of the Virgin Mary. But the Solicitor-General has said no to taking a criminal prosecution against the broadcaster. Father Meuli is taking the rejection well and says there are a couple of other initiatives he is looking at pursuing. But he says apart from...

An appeal from the Catholic Church for New Zealanders to boycott an episode of South Park has resulted in a record audience there for the controversial cartoon. The "Bloody Mary" episode of South Park drew more than six times the normal audience, New Zealand broadcaster TV Works announced Thursday...

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (NZ Catholic) – The Catholic Church in New Zealand has described the decision to air the controversial “Bloody Mary” episode of South Park Feb. 22 – 11 weeks ahead of schedule – as “arrogant” and “cynical,” and has urged Catholics opposed to the screening to consider boycotting the station and their advertisers, while a group of concerned Catholics chose to pray during its broadcast. The airing of the episode has been strongly opposed by New Zealand’s Catholic bishops and other religious leaders. Officials from CanWest – which operates the South Park broadcaster C4 – had defiantly stated...

...Though Comedy Central did not include the "Bloody Mary" episode in a special year-end marathon of "South Park" episodes in deference to the Holidays, "Bloody Mary" did in fact air in every one of "South Park's" normally scheduled repeat timeslots... ...Despite misleading claims from those who would like to claim victory, we have not permantly shelved the "Bloody Mary" episode from future airings due to outside pressure nor will we exclude it from future DVD releases...