I usually laugh whenever I see a copy of Weekly World News. It’s full of ridiculous stories — the 100-pound baby, UFO abductions of Elvis, and of course, Bat Boy. But [1] this isn’t funny at all:

It was an ugly story, purportedly about the 10 ugliest people in the world.

One of the listings was Phoenix police Officer Jason Schechterle, who was tragically burned and disfigured four years ago when a taxicab rammed into his police cruiser.

On Monday, at a Phoenix City Hall news conference, the parent company of the supermarket tabloid that ran the story offered up an apology and a “significant” donation to the charity of Schechterle’s choice to avoid a lawsuit.

Let’s hear from the paper’s spokesman, who apparently said the following with a straight face:

“American Media stands for quality journalism,” Zakim said.

Uh-huh.