CARTHAGE, Mo. (AP) — Sam Butcher, the artist who created the Precious Moments figurines depicting angelic teardrop-eyed children, has died. He was 85. The company said in a Facebook post that he died early Monday surrounded by family. It said his life’s mission was “to share God’s gift of love with the world.” No details […]
SPENCER, Mass. (AP) — Three little piggies went to a yoga class. Their human companions had a blast. Wilbur, Charlotte and Bluey fit right into a growing trend of yoga with animals, adding some fun to the usual physical and mental wellness exercises at a class in central Massachusetts. Darting and strolling among the yoginis […]
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana judge who declared that “tacos and burritos are Mexican-style sandwiches” has cleared the way for the opening of a new restaurant, delighting a restauranteur following a legal battle. Martin Quintana, 53, has been trying for about three years to open his second The Famous Taco location in Fort […]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A candidate for West Virginia secretary of state said he has been hospitalized for copperhead snake bites sustained while removing election campaign signs. Doug Skaff said he was bitten in the left leg and the right foot Wednesday near U.S. Route 119 in Danville, news outlets reported. Skaff told West Virginia […]
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado woman’s attempt to steal a pickup truck — shortly after she was released from jail on a car theft charge — was thwarted not by officers, nor the truck’s owners, but by her inability to drive a stick shift, Boulder Police said. The woman had been released from jail […]
MIAMI (AP) — Airport security officers in Miami found a slithering surprise last week — a bag of snakes hidden in a passenger’s pants. According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger’s trousers on April 26 at […]
NORTH BEND, Wash. (AP) — It was an unusual wildlife sighting Sunday when four zebras escaped from their trailer and galloped into a Washington neighborhood. Three of the four black-and-white striped animals were quickly captured, but the fate of the fourth wasn’t immediately known Monday, Washington State Patrol Trooper Rick Johnson said. The zebras were […]
LEBANON, Ind. (AP) — A central Indiana man who won a primary election for a township board position while charged with killing his estranged wife has been found guilty of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. A Boone County jury convicted Andrew Wilhoite, 41, of Lebanon on Thursday, local news outlets reported. Wilhoite was charged […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Hundreds of young dancers in white tutus and tightly coiffed hair gathered in New York’s Plaza Hotel on Wednesday to break the world record for dancing on pointe in one place. The spectacle was organized by Youth America Grand Prix, a ballet scholarship program that is celebrating its 25th anniversary with […]
An escaped mountain goat that somehow got stuck under a Kansas City bridge has survived a rocky rescue effort and now may be reunited with the owners who suspect he was stolen from their farm two months ago. “It’s the story that captured the hearts of Kansas City,” said Tori Fugate, of the KC Pet […]
MARSHALL, Mich. (AP) — An animal a Michigan hunter thought was a big coyote when he shot it in January has been determined to be a gray wolf, the first time the species has been found in southern Michigan in more than a century, wildlife officials say. The hunter shot the wolf in Calhoun County, […]
HARPER WOODS, Mich. (AP) — A dog missing in California since the summer turned up more than 2,000 miles away in Michigan. Police in Harper Woods, a Detroit suburb, responded to a call about a stray dog last week, picked up the terrier mix and contacted an animal welfare group. Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society […]
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) — It rained marshmallows at a suburban Detroit park on Friday as children raced to snatch up thousands of the gooey treats being dropped from a helicopter. The annual Great Marshmallow Drop took place at Catalpa Oaks County Park in Southfield, hosted by Oakland County Parks. Hundreds of children waved and cheered […]
COOLIDGE, Ariz. (AP) — It literally stinks that visitors to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in south-central Arizona might not be able to use the attraction’s picnic area until May. Monument officials announced Wednesday that the picnic area will be closed from March 28 through April 30 due to the density of an invasive and […]
FRANKLINVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Firefighters in southern New Jersey came to the rescue of a dog who got stuck in a spare tire. The Franklinville Volunteer Fire Company crew found Daisy, an 11-month-old yellow Labrador, when they responded to a Franklin Township home last Thursday. Her neck was deep in the middle of the tire […]
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska woman allegedly found a lucrative quirk at a gas station pump — double-swipe the rewards card and get free gas! Unfortunately for her, you can’t do that. The 45-year-old woman was arrested March 6 and faces felony theft charges accusing her of a crime that cost the gas station […]
ABBEVILLE, La. (AP) — A rare calf born with two faces — four eyes, two noses, two mouths and two ears — continued to flourish Thursday, eight days after its birth at a southwest Louisiana farm. The owners of Breaux Farms LLC in Cossinade, a community about 90 miles (145 kilometers) west of Baton Rouge, […]
Donna Lindstrom was lying in bed and looking at her phone Wednesday morning when she heard a loud bang that rattled her 19th-century house in the central Connecticut town of East Hampton. Soon, the 66-year-old retired delivery driver and dozens of other town residents were on social media, discussing the latest occurrence of strange explosive […]
BABYLON, N.Y. (AP) — Four people were charged Wednesday with concealing a human corpse and tampering with evidence in connection with the discovery of body parts in parks on Long Island. The four — Amanda Wallace, 40, Jeffrey Mackey, 38, Steven Brown, 44, all of Amityville, and Alexis Nieves, 33, who police said is homeless […]
BOILING SPRING LAKES, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina have obtained arrest warrants for two people in a poaching case involving hundreds of Venus flytraps, which grow naturally in the eastern part of the state. Officers with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission obtained arrest warrants for two people accused of stealing nearly 600 […]
CLEVELAND (AP) — Drivers on an Ohio interstate came upon an unusual traffic hazard over the weekend — a pair of police horses trotting against traffic on the highway. The two animals on the lam caused an unusual traffic jam Saturday afternoon as they wove through slowing traffic and then stopped it on Interstate 90 […]
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP) — They rose up by the dozens from across Florida, caricatured competitors in tank tops and cutoff shorts, for a showdown that treats evading police and wrestling over beer like Olympic sports. Promoted as “the most insane athletic showdown on Earth,” the Florida Man Games poke fun at the state’s reputation […]
NEWPORT, Vt. (AP) — Plunging into a frozen lake and swimming laps may not be everyone’s good time but for winter swimmers who return year after year to a northern Vermont lake near the Canadian border, there’s nothing better. The 10th annual Memphremagog Winter Swimming Festival kicked off Friday with the 200-meter (218-yard) freestyle race […]
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A New York City man who admitted to smuggling three Burmese pythons in his pants through a U.S.-Canadian border crossing was sentenced Wednesday to a year of probation and fined $5,000, federal prosecutors said. Calvin Bautista, 38, crossed into northern New York with the hidden snakes on a bus from Montreal […]
