McCain wants wife in topless pageant

Washington, Aug. 6: The US presidential campaign has seen many sides of its competitors, one being Republican presidential hopeful John McCain asking his wife to take part in a topless beauty pageant.

The beauty pageant not only includes topless women, but on occasion bottomless ones too, as per ESPN.com.

"I was looking at the Sturgis schedule, and noticed that you had a beauty pageant, so I encouraged Cindy to compete," a United States magazine quoted Mr McCain as saying at a rally in Sturgis, South Dakota.

"I told her [that] with a little luck, she could be the only woman to serve as both the First Lady and Miss Buffalo Chip," he added.

Jim Caple, an ESPN.com columnist, had written that there had been a scene at the pageant, which resulted in a woman "dancing naked on a bar top." It is not clear if Mr McCain knew the specifics of the pageant, but his announcement caused the audience to burst into cheers.

—ANI

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Indian, 62, shot dead in Arizona

New York, Aug. 6: A 62-year-old Indian immigrant was shot dead at a convenience store by an African-American man even as the assailant’s minor sons watched in the US’ Arizona state.

The police arrested Jermaine Canada, 27, who had a lengthy criminal record, within hours of the killing of Inderjit Jassal but the motive behind the murder was not immediately clear.

The police said the surveillance video from the store where the victim was a clerk showed the attacker walking in, carrying toddler in one arm and an older boy entering a little later.

The man had brief conservation with Jassal, pulled out the gun and shot the victim in the presence of his boys. There appears to have been no argument before the shooting.

—PTI