Salon.com > drunk

US Navy to fight boozing

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:59:00 +0000

Drinking has long been a part of Navy culture, but excessive alcohol use by service members has become a health and safety concern. Officials announced yesterday that they will conduct random blood-alcohol tests on US sailors starting next month, as part of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus' 21st Century Sailor and Marine Initiative, an expansive program intended to improve the well-being of sailors and Marines. By May 24, the Navy expects to have hand-held alcohol detection devices available for nearly 2,000 commands. "Deterring irresponsible use of alcohol is essential to the readiness of our fleet and ensuring the health and safety of our service members and units," said Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces, in a statement.

Twitter asks: Was Diane Sawyer drunk last night?

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 14:38:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) -- Diane Sawyer's Election Night performance left some viewers asking if she had begun celebrating Tuesday's election a bit early.

Co-anchoring ABC News' coverage, the veteran journalist struck a different manner from her practiced, straight-news-delivering style.

Sawyer spoke more slowly than usual while seeming to prop herself on outstretched arms at the anchor desk she shared with George Stephanopoulos.

"OK," she said at one point around 10 p.m. EST, "I wanna - can we have our music, because this is another big one here? Minnesota, we're ready to project Minnesota, rrright now. ... Well, tonight we know that President Barack has won Minnesota," she rambled on, stumbling over the president's name.

Maybe Sawyer was just weary from the recent torrent of news.

In any case, the Twitterverse took quick notice and began cracking wise.

Her name was soon trending with unflattering posts, while a new Twitter handle, Drunk Diane Sawyer, collected hundreds of followers. An ABC spokesman did not comment.

Weird news: Man found passed out on Wisconsin Capitol dome

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 22:11:00 +0000

Police say a Minnesota man who broke into the Wisconsin Capitol through a fifth-floor window and was found unconscious on the dome's roof has been charged with felony criminal damage.

A criminal complaint accuses 21-year-old Andrew Bishop of scaling the outside of the Capitol on Sunday and smashing a window to get into the building. It says the intoxicated Roseville, Minn., man grabbed a fire extinguisher and threw it through another window.

The complaint says police found Bishop passed out on a dome outside one of the windows. It says Officer Justin Wichman described Bishop as very drunk and ultimately apologetic.

The State Journal reports Bishop is charged in Dane County with felony criminal damage and entry into a locked building. He's being held on $1,000 bond.