Important Breaking Sesame Street News! AP Online AP 10/01 2:55 EDT V055 Copyright 1993. All Rights Reserved. NEW YORK (AP) -- Big Bird, the famed friendly muppet of Seseme Street, has apparently gone on a rampage. Several muppets are known to be dead; including Prarie Dawn, Oscar the Grouch, and Bert -- long time friend, room- mate, and occasional lover of Ernie. The bird is now reportedly holding Maria hostage in a five floor tenement near Hooper's Store. New York City Police SWAT teams have surrounded the building. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP Online AP 10/01 4:26 EDT V743 Copyright 1993. All Rights Reserved. NEW YORK (AP) -- Big Bird, Seseme Street muppet, is reported dead at this hour after an hour-and-a-half hostage standoff with New York City Police. Kermit-The-Frog, Seseme Street Muppet on the scene, reports that as police stormed the five story tenament building where the bird was holding Maria hostage, Big Bird flew out an upper story window at them in a Kamikaze-like attack. Police SWAT units brought down the bird in a hail of automatic weapons fire. Dead are: Prairie Dawn, Oscar the Grouch, Bert, and Big Bird. There is no information available concerning Maria. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP Online AP 10/01 8:47 EDT V246 Copyright 1993. All Rights Reserved. NEW YORK (AP) -- The Professor and his assistant, Beaker, muppet chemists, have reportedly found angel dust in Big Bird's feed. Big Bird was killed by Police early this morning after the bird went on a killing spree on Seseme Street. Maria, taken hostage during the ordeal, has survived unharmed. Three muppets were killed by the bird: Prarie Dawn (a friendly, pig-tailed muppet girl-child), Oscar the Grouch (a green garbage-can dwelling grumpy muppet) and Bert (the famous gay paper clip collector and pigeon friend). Authorities in the area report that the bad seed was purchased at the local Hooper's. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP Online AP 10/01 11:15 EDT V543 Copyright 1993. All Rights Reserved. NEW YORK (AP) -- Police are asking all motorists and humans to stay away from Seseme Street today as tensions are running high among the muppets. Many reportedly are outraged at the tainted food supply and at how the police handled the hostage situation. According to bystanders on the scene at the time, Mr. Snuffalupagus pleaded with police to be allowed to talk Big Bird down. Instead, police stormed the building with deadly results. Ernie is said to be despondent at the loss of his good buddy Bert. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP Online AP 10/01 17:25 EDT V927 Copyright 1993. All Rights Reserved. NEW YORK (AP) -- Violence erupted again on Seseme Street at five o'clock this afternoon. As thousands of humans driving home took a sightseeing tour of the scene of Big Bird's deadly rampage, muppets became enraged. Hundreds of muppets, large and small, stalked the streets and surrounded humans in their cars. In at least one case, ten muppets pulled a motorist from his car and beat him with large, styrofome letters. Police again arrived on the scene in force. At this hour, quiet is restored -- but tensions are very high. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP Online AP 10/02 0:47 EDT V211 Copyright 1993. All Rights Reserved. NEW YORK (AP) -- Police and fire units have been called to Seseme Street. Reporters on the scene describe a nightmarish atmosphere. Furry muppets ranging in size from only inches to seven feet in height are looting Hooper's Store and firebombing the entire neighborhood. Orange and blue firelight is rising over many buildings. Cardboard backdrops, props, and storehouses full of numbers and letters are burning to the ground. Muppets are taunting firemen and police from windows high above the street with counting and alphabet songs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP Online AP 10/02 9:24 EDT V482 Copyright 1993. All Rights Reserved. NEW YORK (AP) -- Morning light has brought an eerie calm to Seseme Street after a night of rioting. Smoke rises from most buildings. On the street, lifeless, crumpled fur lies in mute testiment of the night of wild outrage. Unknown numbers of muppets have died or been shot to death by Police in full riot gear. Here and there, a muppet--still animated with life--can be seen staring at the wreckage, or sweeping vacantly at the rubble. The Count was reported running down the street crying and yelling, :"Ten, Ten Lifeless Mupput Bodies!" No humans were killed in the rioting, although several people reported rug-burns. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP Online AP 10/03 15:35 EDT V335 Copyright 1993. All Rights Reserved. NEW YORK (AP) -- Ernie, gay friend and roommate of the murdered muppet Bert, broke his two day silence today with a eulogy address at a mass muppet funeral. The following is the complete transcript of his address: I come here today to honor a man I loved. A man who was loved by millions thoughout the world. Bert was a giant among muppets. His paper-clip collection was viewed with awe by many of the world's leaders. Just one year ago, as President Clinton campaigned on Sesame Street for the muppet vote, it was Bert who everone turned to for advice. It was Bert who told us all, "anyone who can hang as many paperclips together as Bill Clinton, can certainly run the country." I also come here today to honor Big Bird. Bird was such a loving creature. His large size and bright color alarmed many who first met him, but it was his innocent and curious nature which taught us all to love him. Bird wouldn't have wanted us to remember him, or to memorialize him, with violence. All he ever wanted was for all creatures to "just get along" with each other. Big Bird has come to a bad end, friends, but is wasn't his fault. It was just some bad seed.