Tennessee man quits job after getting W-2 with ’666′ on it

A Tennessee maintenance worker has quit his job after discovering the number "666" printed on his W-2 tax form.

The man, Walter Slonopas, a 52-year-old born-again Christian, told The Tennessean that God was worth more than money.

The number 666 is commonly referred to as the number of the beast and is often associated with the devil. (The number played a pivotal role in the classic horror movie "The Omen.") Revelation 13:18in the New Testament says, "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."

This wasn't the first time that Slonopas had a work-related run-in with the notorious number. When he first began his job in 2011, he said, he was accidentally assigned the number 666 to be used when he clocked in. His number was later changed to 668.

However, a few months later, when the company updated its clock-in system, Slonopas was again assigned the number 666. He quit, but returned to work after being given yet another new number.

[Related: Father agrees to pay daughter $200 to quit Facebook]

The Tennessean spoke with Bob LaCourciere, vice president of sales and marketing for the Revstone Corp., Slonopas' former company, about the W-2 form. He explained that the number referred to the order in which the tax documents were mailed.

Slonopas is seeking a new W-2 with a different number on it. He says that he can't file his taxes without one.

Texas prison escapee caught after 16 years

A Texas prison escapee on the run for almost 16 years has been captured by authorities in Mexico and awaits extradition to the U.S. to finish serving his sentence on charges of attempted capital murder of a police officer, state Department of Criminal Justice officials said Wednesday.

Juan Salaz was apprehended last week. The 37-year-old American citizen had been sought for years by authorities on both sides of the border.

Salaz escaped the night of March 22, 1997, from the Garza East prison in Beeville in South Texas by climbing over three 16-foot fences all topped with razor wire.

At the time, he was serving three concurrent 35-year sentences for aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon and two counts of attempted capital murder of a police officer for a 1995 incident involving two Houston officers.

He now also faces a felony escape charge besides serving the remainder of his sentence.

Prison records show on April 2, 1995, Salaz and another man, Geronimo Soto Alvarado, abducted a man at gunpoint and demanded a ransom. Houston police undercover officers involved in the case arranged for the exchange. After the abducted man was freed, they identified themselves as police and Salaz and Alvarado opened fire on them. A police sergeant avoided serious injury when he was saved by his body armor. Another officer suffered a hand wound.

Salaz was seriously wounded when police returned fire. He recovered from his injuries and subsequently pleaded guilty.

Alvarado, now 45, also was arrested and is serving a life sentence for two convictions of aggravated assault and another for aggravated kidnapping.

Prison officials said sources for years had told them Salaz was hiding out in Mexico but he managed to evade police. The hunt for him involved the U.S. Marshals Service, the Texas prison system's Office of Inspector General and Mexican law enforcement agencies.

"Salaz thought that he had eluded authorities by starting a new life in Mexico," Department of Criminal Justice Inspector General Bruce Toney said Wednesday. "He was wrong."

Salaz is to be returned to Texas custody once the Mexican government approves his extradition.

Salaz's capture leaves Jose Fernando Bustos-Diaz, 24, as the lone Texas prison fugitive. He fled in April 2010 from the Brisco Unit in Dilley, near San Antonio. The prison houses medium- and minimum-security inmates. He also is believed to have fled to Mexico.

Bustos-Diaz was serving 35 years for a 2005 murder in Harris County.

Christie to ex-White House doctor: 'Shut up'

Gov. Chris Christie lashed out Wednesday at a former White House doctor who said she worries about the governor dying in office because he is so heavy, telling her to "shut up."

Dr. Connie Mariano, who served as White House physician from 1992 to 2001, told CNN she'd like to see Christie run for president in 2016 but that he needs to lose weight. She said she worries he could have a heart attack or stroke.

"I'm worried about this man dying in office," the doctor, who has a practice in Scottsdale, Ariz., told the network.

During a visit Wednesday to a shore town devastated by Superstorm Sandy, Christie was asked about the doctor's comments.

Unless Mariano gives him a physical exam and learns his family history, "she should shut up," the governor said.

His children heard the doctor's comments, Christie said, and his preteen son asked him if he was going to die.

"She's just another hack looking for her five minutes," Christie said.

Christie has never revealed his weight, but he has repeatedly said that keeping it in check has been a longtime struggle.

Christie joked about his girth during an appearance Monday on "The Late Show with David Letterman," pulling out a doughnut and saying his girth is "fair game" for comedians.

The next day, he spoke frankly about his efforts to lose weight and described himself as "remarkably healthy," but he also acknowledged his doctor "continues to warn me that my luck is going to run out relatively soon."

Christie has never released his medical records. He had one health scare during his first term, an asthma attack in the summer of 2011 that sent him to the hospital but did not require him to be admitted. He blamed it on the heat, not his weight.

Monopoly fans vote to toss 1 token, add new piece

The end is near for the shoe, wheelbarrow or iron in the classic Monopoly game as fans vote Tuesday in the final hours of a contest to determine which token to eliminate and which piece to replace it with.

The eight tokens identify the players and have changed quite a lot since Parker Brothers bought the game from its original designer in 1935. The latest changes mark the first time that fans have had a say on which piece to add and which one to toss.
The voting on Facebook is scheduled to close just before midnight Tuesday. Pawtucket-based toy maker Hasbro Inc. will announce the new piece Wednesday morning.

So far, the wheelbarrow, shoe and iron are neck and neck for elimination through the Save Your Token Campaign. The new addition will be a robot, diamond ring, cat, helicopter or guitar.

Fans from more than 120 countries have voted.

The online contest to change the tokens was sparked by chatter on Facebook, where Monopoly has more than 10 million fans.

Monopoly's iconic tokens originated when the niece of game creator Charles Darrow suggested using charms from a charm bracelet for tokens. The real-estate trading game is based on the streets of Atlantic City, N.J., and has sold more than 275 million games worldwide.

The eight tokens are an iron, racecar, Scottie dog, a shoe, thimble, top hat, wheelbarrow and battleship. Most of the pieces were introduced with the first Parker Brothers iteration of the game in 1935, and the Scottie dog and wheelbarrow were added in the early 1950s.

Versions of Monopoly with the new token will come out later this year.

Obama to make first visit to Israel ‘in the spring’

President Barack Obama will visit Israel "in the spring" for the first time since taking office in January 2009, the White House said on Tuesday. Israeli media reports said the trip wasset for March 20. Possible military action against Iran and the crisis in Syria seem sure to top the agenda.

Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possibility of a visit during a Jan. 28 telephone call, White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters. Carney said Obama would also visit Palestinian leaders in the West Bank and make a stop in Jordan, and that dates would be released later.

Obama visited Israel in July 2008, when he was running for office, but he has not been back since. Mitt Romney's presidential campaign—and Republicans in general—have sought to use that as a political weapon, suggesting it shows he's willing to shortchange the staunchest U.S. ally in the region. But both of George W. Bush's visits to Israel came in 2008, when his second term was nearly up, and Republican icon Ronald Reagan never went.

The visit will come as Obama and other world leaders, notably Netanyahu, have warned that time is running short for a diplomatic end to the tense standoff with Iran over that country's suspect nuclear program.

"When the president spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu on January 28, they discussed a visit by the president to Israel in the spring," Carney said. "The start of the president’s second term and the formation of a new Israeli government offer the opportunity to reaffirm the deep and enduring bonds between the United States and Israel and to discuss the way forward on a broad range of issues of mutual concern, including Iran and Syria."

FBI investigating NYC woman's death in Istanbul

The FBI is playing a significant role in the investigation into the death of a New York City woman in Istanbulwhile on a solo vacation, a U.S. congressman said Monday.

Rep. Michael Grimm, a former FBI agent, said U.S. investigators were invited by Turkish authorities to assist as they try to find out what happened to Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two who disappeared Jan. 21. Her body was found 12 days later, near the remnants of the city's ancient walls. Police said she had suffered a fatal blow to the head.

Prosecutors in Istanbul got a court order Monday for authorities to take blood and DNA samples from 21 people already questioned in the death, according to Turkish state media.

Meanwhile, her family was working out how to return her body to the U.S.

"Our No. 1 priority right now is bringing Sarai home," said Grimm, who accompanied Sierra's parents, Betzaida and Dennis Jimenez, as they spoke to the media at the home of a family friend on New York's Staten Island.

Sierra's husband, Steven, is in Istanbul, where he traveled last week to help in the search. He intends to accompany her body back to New York, but the family is still determining how to fund the transport. Their church and friends are working to raise money to help defray the costs.

Turkish authorities finished an autopsy Monday on Sierra and gave DNA samples from it to a crime lab, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. After that, Istanbul prosecutors got the court order but did not identify the possible suspects, the agency reported.

On Monday, police with sniffer dogs were scouring the area where the body was found for clues, it said. The Milliyet newspaper said the forensic lab will examine samples from Sierra's fingernails as well as hair and other samples from a blanket found near her body. It said some nail scrapings suggest she may have tried to fight off at least one attacker.

Sarai Sierra made her first trip overseas alone after her childhood friend, Magdalena Rodriguez, backed out. At Monday's news conference in New York, Rodriguez fought back tears as she said she wished she had not changed her plans.

"I wasn't working at the time and I didn't have the money to go," she explained.

Family and friends described Sierra as a devoted mother to her 9- and 11-year-old sons who volunteered at their school and worked part time so she would be available for them after school. "Every time I saw her, she was always with her family," said another longtime friend, Dulce Arroyo.

Arroyo ran across Sierra on a shopping trip two days before she left the U.S. and said traveling alone didn't appear to be a frightening prospect. Her friend was looking forward to an exciting adventure and spent most of their conversation talking about the murals and architecture she planned to photograph.

"She was perfectly OK with taking this trip on her own," Arroyo added. "She was thrilled."

Dennis Jimenez said Sierra tried to calm any fears by emphasizing that she'd be in regular contact via video calls and text messages.

"I didn't want her to go, but she wanted to go," he said. "Turkey was a land rich in architecture and ancient history, and she was very fascinated by that."

He added that she shared her photos online and checked in frequently. "You could tell that she was happy," he said.

Grimm said Turkish police still have hours of video footage to review as they piece together Sierra's last movements. A special unit of Turkish police set up to find Sierra have an image of her at Galata Bridge, which spans Istanbul's Golden Horn waterway and where she went on her last day to take photos.

The trip also included preplanned excursions to Amsterdam and Munich.

Betzaida Jimenez said her two grandsons do not know what had happened to their mother. They only know their father went to get her after her vacation.

"We're going to talk about that when he gets back," she said.

She recalled hugging her daughter before she departed and praying together for a safe journey.

"Just the thought that I'll never be able to hug her again," she said, pausing to compose herself. "We just didn't think a tragedy like this was going to happen."

Kaepernick nearly leads another 49ers comeback

Under pressure and off balance, Colin Kaepernick released a fourth-down throw into the end zone with the outcome of the Super Bowl hanging in the balance.

Everyone in the Superdome could see that the ball wasn't caught as it sailed over Michael Crabtree. Enraged San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh argued for why: He thought Crabtree got held, bumped by cornerback Jimmy Smith with safety Ed Reed trailing the play.

''There's no question in my mind that there was a pass interference and then a hold on Crabtree on the last one,'' Harbaugh said.

The San Francisco 49ers' remarkable unbeaten run in their first five Super Bowls ended with a 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night, though they nearly pulled off the greatest championship comeback yet.

With three chances from the 5 and less than 2 minutes remaining, Kaepernick threw three straight incomplete passes intended for Crabtree, including the last on which Harbaugh screamed from the sideline and signaled for a penalty.

Kaepernick hardly reacted, lowering his head slightly and walking slowly off the field.

''That wasn't the original option,'' Kaepernick said. ''It's something I audibled to at the line based on the look they gave us.''

No comeback this time in the Big Easy.

Kaepernick got tripped up and tossed down, then nearly rallied his team once more in his 10th career NFL start.

Still, with Kaepernick leading the way, the 49ers thought they had it.

''I think everybody was thinking that,'' right guard Alex Boone said. ''Execution in the red zone wasn't where it was supposed to be today. It's a bad feeling.''

Rarely rattled on an impressive path to the Super Bowl, Kaepernick - San Francisco's gutsy second-year quarterback with those speedy legs - finally showed some inexperience on football's big stage. Not to mention some guts.

After a remarkable postseason run by the tattooed play-caller, the Ravens exposed plenty of flaws in handing Kaepernick and Co. despite San Francisco's second-half rally.

''We were ready for the second half,'' Kaepernick said. ''We knew we had to score to get back in the game. We had good plays, we had bad plays in the red zone.''

No team has come from more than 10 points down to win a Super Bowl, and Kaepernick had a chance to make it happen less than three months after becoming San Francisco's starter.

He regrouped during a 34-minute delay early in the third quarter because of a power outage, finding his groove and turning the Super Bowl into a wild game down the stretch - and gave yet more credibility to the pistol offense designed by his old college coach that is so well suited for the NFL's young, mobile quarterbacks.

''Colin was cool the entire game,'' left tackle Joe Staley said. ''Colin was the same he's been the whole entire season. He's never shown any hints of being rattled, any hint of being uncomfortable on the football field, and he showed that exact kind of character today.''

Kaepernick directed four second-half scoring drives, throwing a 31-yard touchdown pass to Crabtree and also running 15 yards for a TD. But the 49ers missed the two-point conversion that would have tied the game with less than 10 minutes left.

Crabtree didn't get much help in a mistake-filled first half by San Francisco (13-5-1), which failed to stop Joe Flacco and deliver the franchise's sixth championship that would have matched the Pittsburgh Steelers for most ever.

The 49ers' perfect Super Bowl record? That's over, too. They lost for the first time in the title game.

Perhaps it's a bit premature to begin talking Bay Area dynasty again - in football, at least.

Playing for a title for the first time since Hall of Famers Steve Young and Jerry Rice won with a rout of San Diego 18 years ago, Jim Harbaugh's Niners made costly mistakes on both sides of the ball early in the game. And special teams, too.

Kaepernick wound up 16 for 28 for 302 yards with three sacks and an interception for a 91.7 passer rating in his outstanding Super Bowl debut. The interception was the first by the 49ers in six Super Bowls and ended a streak at 169 passes without one.

Kaepernick also rushed for 62 yards, joining Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks to pass for 300 yards and run for 50 in a Super Bowl. Kaepernick recorded the fourth 300-yard passing performance by the 49ers in the Super Bowl - Montana had two and Young one.

The 25-year-old Kaepernick completed eight of 13 first-half passes, was sacked twice and threw an interception as San Francisco fell behind 21-6.

In the NFC championship game at Atlanta two weeks ago, such a deficit was no problem. Kaepernick rallied the Niners back from 17-0, while the defense delivered by holding the Falcons scoreless in the second half to win 28-24.

This time, Kaepernick led his team into the end zone for the first time with 7:20 remaining in the third quarter after the power outage when he found Crabtree.

But a stingy San Francisco defense that relied on its ball-hawking, run-stopping play all season, couldn't consistently slow down Flacco and the high-powered Ravens.

Leading up to the Super Bowl, Kaepernick had handled himself beautifully in hostile environments - beating Drew Brees and the Saints right here in the Superdome on Nov. 25, and later guiding the Niners at New England. And, of course, the win against the Falcons on Jan. 20 that returned San Francisco to the Super Bowl at last.

''I was just sitting there watching Kaep with the ball and knowing that this whole team has trust in him and that he had everything in his hands,'' defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois said. ''We just knew that the ball was going in the end zone, through Frank, through Kaep, even getting the ball to Randy (Moss) or Crabtree with the hands he has.''