SYDNEY (AP) – A group of Australian mates on an annual fishing holiday was not going to let anything come between them and their prize catch – not even a marauding crocodile.

The friends landed a small shark on a beach recently in the tropical north of Australia – also home to wild saltwater crocodiles known to attack humans.

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Eating Pork makes you really sexy, well at least according to Argentina’s president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. In a recent speech given Thursday, she said that not only is pork is better than Viagra, but implied she’s personally proven it.

It should be noted that most Argentinians are well known for their red meat obsession and that she said this in a speech with reps of the Pork Industry present. This just leaves us thinking, what her “personal experiences” were and what’s really in that pork down in Argentina?

(CBS/AP)  The FBI says the so-called “Geezer Bandit” has struck again in San Diego.

The FBI says a frail, elderly man gave a clerk a note demanding money and pulled a handgun Wednesday at San Diego National Bank. He left with an unspecified amount of cash.

FBI officials say they believe the man, who wore a white hooded sweat shirt and white ball cap, is the same man who has robbed five other banks in La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego and Santee since August.

Law enforcement officials are offering $16,000 in rewards for information that leads to his arrest and conviction.

What we’re wondering is why after the gunman turned around and speed away with his walker, why they didn’t just try to stop him? Seems to me a quick little tackle would’ve taken care of that. Watch out bank #7!

104.3 JACK FM & Joe’s welcome Bret Michaels, Poison front man and former VH1 Rock of Love Star for his Roses and Thorns Tour 2010 at  Joe’s bar, 940 W. Weed Street in Chicago. Chicago’s show will be on St. Patrick’s Day, Wednesday, March 17th.

While we’re unsure if there’ll be green beer aflowing, we do know based on the last JACK show with Bret you can expect to see a thousand plus women ready to get close enough for him to reach out and hold their hands even if only for a few seconds.

Tickets go on-sale next Friday, February 5th at 10am. Admission to this show is only gonna set you back $35 per ticket. Tickets are available at www.Ticketmaster.com or in person at Joe’s Bar (cash only). As with most intimate shows and quality artists, this one will undoubtedly sell out, so don’t wait too long to get your tickets.

Never fear though, JACK FM will have free tickets to get you in starting sometime next week.

“Africa” by Toto is just one of those songs you can’t help but scream out when you’re driving alone. One of the girls in the Jack FM Promotions Department absolutely loves it and belts it out even when she’s not alone. It’s a rather frightening experience. This week’s Ridiculous ’80s Video honor goes to Toto, not because the video for “Africa” is anything crazy… but because it’s not crazy enough.

The video includes two scenes: (1) the band playing in a room on top of some books, and (2) singer David Paich in a library pretending to be Indiana Jones. To simulate Africa they stamp a passport and spin a globe. Guess what Toto, Jack FM is not impressed. Where are the lions? The zebras? The Tarzans?

You didn’t just “miss the rains down in Africa”, you completely missed Africa. As a whole. This is the band’s biggest hit and managed to land a #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, yet it looks like they made the video in some guy’s basement one Sunday afternoon when nothing good was on TV.

Props for the flute solo, though. No one can take that one away from you… except maybe Jethro Tull.

[Chicago SunTimes]      In an effort to make travelling in America more efficient, Illinois has been awarded a $1.1 billion chunk of the federal grant money available to build a high speed rail track between Chicago and St. Louis. The money goes towards rebuilding tracks to allow trains to travel at 110 mph instead of the current 79 mph, shaving over 90 minutes off the current 5.5 hour trip.

There of course are pros and cons to this advancement:

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PRO: Easier access to Anheuser-Busch Brewery.

CON: Easier access to Chicago for Cardinals fans.

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PRO: Ride to top of the Gateway Arch, 630-feet in the air.

CON: Still overlooking that same Midwest flat-ness.

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PRO: Wander thru the 1,371 acres of beautiful Forest Park.

CON: Makes Grant Park look like a hobo village.

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PRO: Experience thrills on rollercoasters at Six Flags St. Louis.

CON: Six Flags Corndogs still cost $18.00 + tax, regardless of city.

Today on my way to the station, I’m pretty sure my brain froze. Not like when you eat ice cream too fast, which is sort of a “good hurt”. No, this was a painful experience where I actually felt the blood in my veins turn to ice/slush/wintry-mix. I am pretty confident it will cause a pothole in my forehead by Saturday and since we’re in Chicago it probably won’t be filled until April… of 2018.

To combat the ridiculous cold front that has moved into our fair city by the lake, I scoured the Internet to bring all the Jack Faithful out there 5 Ridiculous Chicago Events going down in the next few months. We’re not saying they will make you warmer, but at least they’ll help you remember why this city is still a good place to live despite the tundra forecast.

January 30^th, 2010

Lakeview Polar Bear Plunge

Have you ever looked out past Lake Shore Drive at the icy waves of Lake Michigan mid-January and said to yourself, “you know what, I could really go for a swim”? Well, this weekend you’ll have your chance. The Lakeview Polar Bear Club is holding their 9^th Annual Plunge at Oak Street Beach this Saturday, January 30^th. The shrinkage-inducing dive starts at noon, but you should get there at 11:30am for a good spot. The event last year raised over $68,000 for Chicago families in need – you can help them beat that number for 2010.

http://www.lakeviewpolarbearclub.com/

February 19^th – 28^th, 2010

Chicago Restaurant Week

This one is less ridiculous and more just plain awesome. Over 160 restaurants around the City are putting their chefs to work preparing 3-Course Pre Fixe Meals for insanely affordable prices. You can’t go wrong with $22 lunches and $32 dinners at some of Chicago’s best eateries. Just remember to tip your wait-staff since they probably listen to Jack too.

 Official Restaurant Week Page

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In a move to cut down on costs, Mayor Daley has announced the annual firework display at the Taste of Chicago on July 3rd will be cancelled this year. The cut is expected to save the city over $1 Million.

But don’t worry, Chicago. You’ll still get to see stuff explode on the lakefront as three smaller displays will occur on the night of the 4th over Navy Pier and the north/south lakefronts.

Also cut for the next year: Outdoor Film Festival, Criterion Bike Race, and Mayor’s Youth Soccer events. Cut a day off of both the Jazz Fest and Country Music Fest and move most of the other Grant Park events to Millennium Park.

But don’t worry, I bet you’ll still have to pay $80 to park your car for an hour on the street by August. Penalty for not paying will most likely be public beheading under The Bean.

(CBS/ AP)  Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad, a tablet-style computer that resembles the iPhone, but with a larger screen and other features for work and play. Prices start at $499, for a 16 GB version with Wi-Fi, and shipping begins in 60 days.

“It’s so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smart phone,” Jobs said Wednesday at the device’s highly anticipated debut in San Francisco.

A 32 GB version with Wi-Fi is $599, and a 64 GB version $699. Adding 3G network to the Wi-Fi enabled iPad, ups the price to $629 for the 16 GB, $729 for the 32 GB, and $829 for the 64 GB versions. The 3G versions ship in 90 days, Jobs said. AT&T will offer an unlimited data plan for $30 a month, and will not require the usual longer-term service contract, he added.

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(Getty Images)

Virginia Police believe the remains of a Virginia Tech student who went missing at a Metallica concert in October have been found.

Morgan Harrington, 20, was last seen on October 17 while attending a concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia. The remains were found on a farm 10 miles from the venue.

Her parents had offered a $100,000 reward – and Metallica added an additional $50,000 – for her safe return or for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for her disappearance.

Harrington, a junior at Virginia Tech, became separated from friends at the concert after she left the show and was denied re-entry to the arena. Her purse and cell phone were found near the venue.