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The skinny: After 75-year wait, she gets college diploma

 
Published May 27, 2014

Still learning at 99

After 75-year wait, she gets college diploma

A 99-year-old Maine woman has graduated from college 75 years after a $5 fee kept her from getting her diploma on time. Beal College in Bangor awarded Jessie White her degree during a special ceremony on Friday hosted by Alan Stehle, the college's president. White told ABC News that the special ceremony was wonderful and a lot of fun. She was supposed to graduate in 1939, but couldn't afford the $5 transcript fee. A friend who recently learned of her decades-old predicament called Stehle, who paid her balance and set up the ceremony. White said finally getting her degree made her feel great. "Never give up learning. They say when you give up learning you grow old," she said, according to ABC News. "So I don't intend to give up learning."

A tunnel tale

Holding breath ends in charges

A 19-year-old man caused a three-car crash when he fainted while holding his breath as he drove through a tunnel northwest of Portland, Ore. State Police say Daniel Calhon of Snohomish, Wash., told investigators he fainted Sunday afternoon while holding his breath in the Highway 26 tunnel near the community of Manning. Calhon, his passenger and two others were taken to the hospital. State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings said Monday that he's not sure why Calhon was holding his breath, but some people hold their breaths in tunnels as part of a game or superstition. Calhon faces numerous charges.

A lot of blocks

In world of Lego towers, a new king

Hungary is now the king of Lego towers, after setting a world record for the tallest one, according to the London Daily Telegraph. Construction of the 114-foot tower in front of Saint Stephen's Basilica in Budapest began on Wednesday with several schoolchildren taking part. The aim was to break the U.S. record of 113 feet, the newspaper reported. Officials from Guinness World Record arrived in Budapest on Saturday to verify the record. The mayor of the city's fifth district, Antal Rogan, added the final block and said he hoped the record would promote the city to the world. "It shows … how we can call attention to the fact this is one of the most beautiful squares in Budapest," he said.

Compiled from wire services and other sources