Man receives response to message in bottle 9 years later

ROCKPORT, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts college student has received a response to a message he threw into the ocean when he was 10 years...

Michigan hunters use branch saw to free entangled bucks

BOWNE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Quick-thinking hunters in central Michigan have rescued two deer who literally became locked in battle. WOOD-TV reports that insurance agent...

Special South African gin is infused with elephant dung

MOSSEL BAY, South Africa (AP) — The makers of a South African gin infused with elephant dung swear their use of the animal’s excrement is...

Mesa police: 5-year-old boy calls 911 to order a kid’s meal

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — Police in a Phoenix suburb got a strange 911 call recently. A 5-year-old boy didn’t have an emergency; he just wanted...

Orangutan granted ‘personhood’ settles into new Florida home

WAUCHULA, Fla. (AP) — A 33-year-old orangutan granted legal personhood by a judge in Argentina is settling into her new surroundings at the Center for...

Alaska university taking PB&J as payment for parking tickets

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — What a lip-smacking offer! Anyone with unpaid parking fines at the University of Alaska Anchorage campus has the option to reduce...

Lobsterman rescues deer trapped in water off Maine coast

HARRINGTON, Maine (AP) — A Maine lobsterman hauled in an unusual catch 5 miles off the coast — a live deer. Ren Dorr says he...

California deputies help dumpster-diving bear escape

KINGS BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Sheriff’s deputies in Northern California have helped a massive dumpster-diving bear get out of a sticky situation. Placer County sheriff’s...

S. Carolina man: McDonald’s sweet tea came with weed inside

HILTON HEAD, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina man who went to McDonald’s for a sweet tea says he received a little extra herbal substance...

Iowa inmate’s claim he briefly died won’t end life sentence

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Appeals Court has ruled against a convicted killer who says he “died” during a medical emergency and thus...

Millions at stake in dinosaur fight: Are fossils minerals?

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The discovery of two fossilized dinosaur skeletons intertwined in what looks like a final death match could make a Montana ranching...

Sweet of taste of freedom: Chocolate Berlin Wall destroyed

PARIS (AP) — So this is what freedom tastes like. A French chocolate sculptor celebrated the 30th anniversary Saturday of the opening of the Berlin...

Coin toss rule could determine village’s tied mayoral race

MAGNOLIA, Ohio (AP) — A mayoral election in a small Ohio village could once again be decided by a coin toss. The Canton Repository reports...

Customers help Waffle House worker left to run diner alone

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Waffle House is known to not close for anything – even if there’s only one worker behind the counter. Ethan Crispo...

Grinch steals Christmas from nuns, but they get it back

COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) — The Little Sisters of the Poor have a theory about how they got Christmas back from the Grinch who stole half...

North Carolina woman given wrong lottery ticket wins $277K

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina woman who was given the wrong lottery game ticket is celebrating that mistake. The N.C. Education Lottery said...

Steer too beefy to become burgers reprieved to life on farm

LAKE PRESTON, Australia (AP) — Knickers the steer is huge on the internet — for being huge. The black-and-white Holstein Friesian won social media fame...

Court: Man put clothes, ID on stand-in corpse in $2M scheme

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man accused of faking his own death seven years ago to collect a $2 million life insurance policy arranged for...

Teen freed after being stuck in vault at abandoned bank

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) — Officials say a teen has been freed after spending more than three hours in the vault of an abandoned Florida bank....

Officials: Woman passes gas, pulls knife on offended man

DANIA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Florida woman faces an aggravated assault charge after authorities say she passed gas in line at a dollar store...

Hawk native to South America wows crowd in Maine park

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A hawk that is native to Central and South America drew a lot of attention from Maine’s birding community Friday after...

FanDuel pays out bets on Alabama to win title ahead of game

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Roll in dough, Tide! FanDuel sportsbook is paying out bets from people who picked Alabama to win the college football...

Royal Mail delivers: Postman, can you take this to heaven?

LONDON (AP) — A 7-year-old Scottish boy who sent a birthday card to his father in heaven has received a heart-warming reply. A Royal Mail...

Minnesota church ends 70-year tradition of lutefisk dinner

FOREST LAKE, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota church has ended its 70-year tradition of serving a dinner of lutefisk, a Nordic dish of dried cod...

DC clerk stalls marriage over ‘foreign’ New Mexico ID card

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A District of Columbia clerk and a supervisor refused to accept a New Mexico man’s state driver’s license as he...

Stranded camel entertains motorists along snowy roadway

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The surprisingly powerful winter storm that swept across Pennsylvania brought some surprising sights with it, including a camel stranded along a snowy...

Iowa council gives final approval to ‘toy’ firearms ban

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A city council in northwest Iowa has banned people from carrying some types of “toy” firearms. The Sioux City Council...

Dog snarls Phoenix freeway traffic, bites state trooper

PHOENIX (AP) — A German shepherd snarled traffic as it loped on and off two Phoenix freeways during Tuesday morning’s commute before it was captured...

Canadian scientist names beetle after Jose Bautista

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Jose Bautista has a new namesake buzzing around. Entomologist Bob Anderson of the Canadian Museum of Nature has dubbed a newly...

Bedazzled pigeon found in Arizona city reunited with owners

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — A pigeon that had flown the coop with only its bedazzled vest is nesting back home in Phoenix. The Arizona Republic...

Money laundering: Dutch police find cash in washing machine

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Dutch police who found 350,000 euros ($400,000) hidden inside a washing machine have detained a man on suspicion of — what else?...

19-year-old Yorkshire Terrier retires from ‘The Nutcracker’

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — After more than 125 performances in “The Nutcracker” in Rhode Island, a 19-year-old Yorkshire terrier named Archie is leaving the stage....

2 Utah teens accusing of stealing small airplane

VERNAL, Utah (AP) — Sheriff’s deputies arrested two teenage boys they say stole a small airplane at a private airstrip in rural eastern Utah and...

State trooper who stopped speeding van helps deliver baby

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Here’s one way to get out of speeding ticket: A North Carolina state trooper helped deliver a baby on the side...

Burger joint closes after video appears to show rat cooking

HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii-based burger chain has closed a Honolulu restaurant for cleaning after a video posted to social media appeared to show a...

Houston-area ATM mistakenly dispenses $100 bills, not $10s

HOUSTON (AP) — An ATM in the Houston area has been shut down and was temporarily guarded by law officers after mistakenly dispensing $100 bills...

Police officer rescues chicken from fire

OSSINING, N.Y. (AP) — A police officer who saved a chicken from becoming a roaster is taking a ribbing from his fellow officers. Body cam...

Vermont couple looking for family peacock among the turkeys

SPRINGFIELD, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont woman whose family peacock ran off with a flock of turkeys says she’s hopeful to get close enough to...

Sleeping pilot overflies Australian island destination

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A commercial pilot is under investigation after falling asleep in the cockpit of a freight plane and overflying his Australian island...

What a break! Man’s fall leads to hospital lottery pool win

STRATFORD, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey man walking to buy a lottery ticket for this week’s massive Mega Millions jackpot fell and broke his...

Soap believed to be cocaine lands dealers, buyer behind bars

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Police say the only clean part of an intended drug deal at a North Carolina airport was the fact that the...

UK police hunt shoplifter who looks like David Schwimmer

LONDON (AP) — British police are hunting a shoplifter who bears a striking resemblance to Ross Geller, the character played by David Schwimmer on the...

Goodwill workers in NJ find original 1774 ‘rebel’ newspaper

BELLMAWR, N.J. (AP) — A quick eye by Goodwill workers in southern New Jersey turned up framed pages from an original 1774 Philadelphia newspaper with...

‘French Spiderman’ barred from climbing UK buildings

LONDON (AP) — French urban climber Alain Robert has been banned from climbing any building in Britain after scaling one of London’s tallest skyscrapers without...

‘Corpse flower’ that smells like dirty diapers to bloom

HANOVER, N.H. (AP) — Just in time for Halloween, a rare “corpse flower” that gets its nickname from its putrid smell is expected to bloom...

100s of Oregon ‘witches’ paddle down river, minus the brooms

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Hundreds of “witches” traded in broomsticks for paddles in Oregon during the last weekend before Halloween. The costumed coven paddled six...

Look what we found: Tiny female lion cub in French garage

PARIS (AP) — France’s customs agency says it’s made an extremely surprising discovery in a garage in Marseille: a lion cub. Marseille’s customs brigade found...

Police: Men arrested in pumpkin smashing crime spree

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Police in the southern Oregon town of Grants Pass have arrested two men suspected in a pumpkin-powered crime spree, ending...

Philadelphia’s decadent ‘Wing Bowl’ no more after 26 years

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia’s annual decadent display of binge eating and bad behavior known as Wing Bowl is over after 26 years. The event hosted...

Bare buns: Half-naked woman falls through Cook Out ceiling

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (AP) — Police in Tennessee say a half-naked woman fell twice through a restaurant’s ceiling and landed in its kitchen. News outlets report...