Ohio Hotel: Flag Is Broken ... Not Mourning bin Laden

An Ohio hotel has been fending off angry phone calls because a broken rope on its flagpole led some to think the business was mourning the death of Osama bin Laden. The rope left the US flag stuck at half-mast for several days this week outside a Hampton Inn in Springfield in western Ohio. The assistant GM tells the Springfield News-Sun the hotel "started getting calls left and right" from people assuming the management supported bin Laden.

She says one man threatened to cut down the flagpole. The newspaper reports the rope broke as the hotel was trying to be respectful of Old Glory by replacing a flag that had frayed. (More American flag stories.)