NEW YEARS-MILLERCOORS
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Need a ride home New Year's Eve? Well, it could be Miller time. MillerCoors is offering free rides in the Milwaukee and Waukesha areas of Wisconsin on New Year's Eve. The brewer will be picking up the tab for buses running Thursday night. The company says those riding the buses will also get coupons for local restaurants. This will be the 22nd year the company has offered free and safe rides on New Year's Eve.

SCOUTS-ROSE FLOAT
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - The Boy Scouts might need a new merit badge -- for cutting red tape. The Boy Scouts of America will have a float in the Tournament of Roses parade New Year's Day, celebrating the Scouts 100th anniversary. But there's a rule requiring those who work on building the floats to be at least 13 years old. Cub Scouts are getting into the act, thanks to a little side-stepping. The 6- to 11-year-old Cubs are putting together giant merit badges for Eagle Scouts to carry in the parade. Officials of Phoenix Decorating say more 7,000 Scouts have been involved in making the 55-foot-long, 30-foot-tall float.

ROBBER CHANGES MIND
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) - The call to 911 came from an unusual source -- the suspect. Police in Great Falls, Mont., report a would-be bandit changed his mind and called the cops. According to authorities, Lars Pfleger told a restaurant cashier he had a gun and demanded cash. While the clerk went to another cash register and had the manager call 911, police say Pfleger also called 911. Sgt. Jeff Newton says Pfleger told dispatchers he had done something wrong and wanted to talk to police. He now faces a robbery charge.

LOTTERY-PICKUP
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Nick Schwinden got a great Christmas present from his dad -- a winning scratch-off lottery ticket. Yesterday, Schwinden picked up the keys to his new Ford F-150 pickup, the prize in the Montana lottery's Big Truck Raffle. Schwinden says his dad bought 10 tickets and passed them around the table after Christmas Eve dinner. Nick chose last and won big. Lottery officials report the truck package is worth 63-grand.

WAR OF 1812
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia lawmaker M. Kirkland Cox feels the War of 1812 deserves a little respect. 2012 will be the bicentennial of the three-year war with Great Britain. But most of the attention will go to the Civil War's 150th anniversary. Cox is chairman of a state legislative commission to raise awareness of the War of 1812. It was the only war in which the country was invaded. The Brits even burned part of Washington, including the White House. Cox, by the way, is a history teacher.

CHEERLEADER-LIBEL SUIT
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - It's been a great season for the Cincinnati Bengals -- but not for one of their cheerleaders. One of the "Ben-Gals" is suing a gossip Web site, over a posting that says she was exposed to two venereal diseases by an ex-boyfriend. The woman is only identified in court records as "Jane Doe." The cheerleader is also a Kentucky school teacher. The woman's attorney, Eric Deters, tells The AP the rumors are humiliating and false. The operator of TheDirty.com says in an e-mail to the AP that his site is "all about good, clean fun." As for the Bengals, they're headed to the postseason as the AFC North champions.

by Jamie Friar

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)