Watercooler news from The Associated Press

Odd News

Double-swiping the rewards card led to free gas for months — and a felony theft charge

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 […]
7 days ago

Rare 2-faced calf born last month at a Louisiana farm is flourishing despite the odds

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, […]
11 days ago

A small earthquake and ‘Moodus Noises’ are nothing new for one Connecticut town

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 […]
11 days ago

4 are charged with concealing a corpse, evidence tampering in Long Island body parts case

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 […]
12 days ago

Venus flytrap poachers face arrest warrants in taking of hundreds of rare plant

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 […]
14 days ago

2 police horses on the lam cause traffic jam on I-90 in Cleveland area

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 […]
15 days ago
This image provided by Tyler Watts shows Florida Man Games competitors, from left, Joshua Barr, Mic...

At the Florida Man Games, big crowds cheer competitors evading police, wrestling over beer

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 […]
24 days ago
Andie Nelson, right, embraces Brian Jaskot, both of Virginia, after their race during the 25 meter ...

‘Totally cold’ is not too cold for winter swimmers competing in a frozen Vermont lake

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 […]
24 days ago

Caught at border with pythons in his pants, New York City man fined and sentenced to probation

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 […]
1 month ago

CBP dog sniffs out something unusual in passenger’s luggage — mummified monkeys

BOSTON (AP) — A U.S. Customs and Border Protection dog sniffed out something unusual in luggage from a traveler returning from Africa — mummified monkeys. The passenger returning from a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo reported that the luggage contained dried fish, but an inspection at Boston Logan Airport revealed dead and dehydrated […]
1 month ago

An Oklahoma judge who sent more than 500 texts during a murder trial resigns

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge who sent more than 500 texts to her bailiff during a murder trial will resign, according to a court filing. In a proposed settlement agreement filed Thursday with the Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary, District Judge Traci Soderstrom agreed to resign on Friday and never again seek a […]
1 month ago

Sheriff’s deputies corral wayward kangaroo near pool at Florida apartment complex

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A wayward kangaroo was corralled safely by sheriff’s deputies Thursday after it was spotted hopping around the pool area of a Florida apartment complex. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office released video and still photos of the kangaroo, including some footage shot from a helicopter. The agency also released audio of a […]
1 month ago

Police: Inert Cold War-era missile found in garage of Washington state home

BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) — An inert rocket of the type used to carry a nuclear warhead has been found in the garage of a home of a deceased resident in Washington state, police said. Bellevue police responded Thursday to a report of a military-grade rocket in the garage of a home in the city across […]
1 month ago

Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early spring at Groundhog Day festivities

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring Friday at Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania, the scene of the largest and best-known Groundhog Day celebration in the United States. The annual event is a tongue-in-cheek ritual in which Phil’s handlers, members of a club with roots in the late 19th century, reveal whether the […]
2 months ago
This photo provided by David Lei shows Flaco the owl, April 28, 2023, in New York. As Flaco enters ...

Who freed Flaco? One year later, eagle-owl’s escape from Central Park Zoo remains a mystery

New York (AP) — This New York love story begins with a criminal act of sabotage. Under cover of darkness a year ago Friday, someone breached a waist-high fence and slipped into the Central Park Zoo. Once inside, they cut a hole through a steel mesh cage, freeing a majestic Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco who […]
2 months ago

Woman tossing trash falls into dumpster, survives getting compacted in garbage truck

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A woman fell into a dumpster while throwing out her garbage and was later rescued from a trash truck that had compacted the contents while she was inside, fire department officials in New Hampshire said. Luckily, neighbors heard her screams and the trash compartment was equipped with a camera. The driver […]
2 months ago
FILE - Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating gro...

Groundhog Day’s biggest star is Phil, but the holiday’s deep roots extend well beyond Punxsutawney

KUTZTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The spotlight will be on Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania early Friday morning, when handlers of a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil will announce whether he saw his own shadow and predicts there’ll be six more weeks of winter — or didn’t, which signals an early spring. Thousands are expected to attend […]
2 months ago
This image provided by the Minnesota Department of Transportation shows Plowy McPlowFace in St. Pau...

In wintry Minnesota, there’s a belief that every snowplow deserves a name

Snowplows are essential to enduring winter in Minnesota, so maybe it’s not surprising that every year thousands of people vote on names for the giant machines that clear the state’s roads, such as Plowy McPlowFace and Darth Blader. The often-icy state began naming its 800 plows in 2020 and is expected to announce winners of […]
2 months ago

A bear was killed by a hunter months after it captivated a Michigan neighborhood

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A 350-pound black bear that perched for hours in a tree, causing a Mother’s Day spectacle last spring in northern Michigan, was killed by a hunter, authorities said. “It makes me sad, because I was just envisioning it living peacefully in the forest somewhere, thriving as a bear does,” said […]
2 months ago

YouTuber accused topping 150 mph on his motorcycle on Colorado interstate wanted on multiple charges

DENVER (AP) — A motorcyclist who authorities say posted a video of himself on YouTube speeding from Colorado Springs to the Denver metro area on Interstate 25 in 20 minutes — a trip that typically takes about an hour — is wanted on multiple charges. Rendon Dietzmann, a 32-year-old from Texas, recorded himself Sept. 28 […]
2 months ago

A blast of cold lets gators show off a special skill to survive icy weather

The recent blast of cold weather has given alligators a chance to show off their way of coping with freezing temperatures. The Swamp Park Outdoor Adventure Center in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, posted eerie videos on social media on Sunday showing alligators suspended in frozen ponds with just the tips of their snouts peeking […]
2 months ago

ET welcome: Kentucky city beams message into space inviting extraterrestrial visitors

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky city has come up with an out-of-this-world campaign to promote tourism. The Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau used an infrared laser to beam a message into space to invite extraterrestrial travelers. “The first thing you’ll notice as you descend through Earth’s atmosphere above Central Kentucky is the lush green […]
2 months ago

No joke: Feds discourage humorous electronic messages on highways

PHOENIX (AP) — It’s no joke. A federal agency is discouraging humorous and quirky messages that could distract or confuse drivers on highways and freeways across the country. The Federal Highway Administration recently released an updated 1,100-page manual that spells out how signs and other traffic control devices are regulated. In it, the agency strongly […]
2 months ago

Nude man nabbed by police after ‘cannonball’ plunge into giant aquarium at Bass Pro Shop in Alabama

LEEDS, Alabama (AP) — A man crashed his car outside a Bass Pro Shop in Alabama, stripped down to his birthday suit and plunged into the giant aquarium inside the store, police said. The ordeal happened Thursday night in front of shocked shoppers in the town just outside Birmingham, Leeds Police Chief Paul Irwin said. […]
2 months ago