Watercooler news from The Associated Press

Odd News

This May 26, 2023, photo provided by the Jennifer Schuh shows a Mastodon Tooth in the sand at an Ap...

Woman walking on California beach finds ancient mastodon tooth

APTOS, Calif. (AP) — A woman taking a Memorial Day weekend stroll on a California beach found something unusual sticking out of the sand: a tooth from an ancient mastodon. But then the fossil vanished, and it took a media blitz and a kind-hearted jogger to find it again. Jennifer Schuh found the foot-long (.30-meter) […]
10 months ago

Fertility doctor accused of using own sperm dies in crash of hand-built plane

YATES, N.Y. (AP) — A New York fertility doctor who was accused of using his own sperm to impregnate several patients died over the weekend when the hand-built airplane he was in fell apart mid-flight and crashed, authorities said. Dr. Morris Wortman, 72, of Rochester, was a passenger in the experimental aircraft that went down […]
10 months ago

Bear helps itself to 60 cupcakes from Connecticut bakery, scares employees

AVON, Conn. (AP) — A hungry black bear barged into the garage of a Connecticut bakery, scared several employees and helped itself to 60 cupcakes before ambling away. Workers at Taste by Spellbound in the town of Avon were loading cakes into a van for delivery on Wednesday when the bear showed up. There are […]
10 months ago

Police: Teenager dies during media stunt on Los Angeles bridge

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 17-year-old boy fell to his death this weekend while climbing a Los Angeles bridge in an apparent social media stunt, police said. Police were sent to the 6th Street Viaduct around 2 a.m. Saturday and found the boy, who was pronounced dead at a hospital. His name wasn’t immediately released. […]
10 months ago

Kentucky man accused of shooting roommate who ate last Hot Pocket, police say

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A man in Kentucky’s largest city is facing criminal charges after allegedly shooting his roommate during a dispute over a Hot Pocket, authorities say. Clifton Williams, 64, was arrested on assault charges Sunday after he accused his roommate of eating their last Hot Pocket and attacked him, shooting him in the […]
10 months ago

Steer on the run for weeks lassoed, captured on Detroit-area freeway

HOLLY, Mich. (AP) — A team of wranglers — including one on horseback — chased down and captured a wayward steer named Lester across several lanes of a Detroit-area freeway. State police in-car video shows the tail-end of Sunday afternoon’s chase on northbound Interstate 75 in Holly, about 57 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of Detroit. […]
10 months ago

LA volunteer police officer hospitalized after getting stung on face by swarm of bees

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A volunteer police officer responding to a report of a bee swarm was hospitalized after getting stung multiple times on his face and collapsing onto the street in a Los Angeles neighborhood. A TV news helicopter recorded dramatic video of the attack Monday afternoon in the Encino area as the man […]
11 months ago
An alligator swims up to the beach on Dauphin Island, near Mobile, Ala., Sunday, May 7, 2023. (Matt...

Surfing gator seen relaxing at Alabama beach amid the waves

There are plenty of alligators in Alabama. But how many enjoy a day at the beach? One such unlikely critter was spotted riding the waves recently on Dauphin Island, bobbing calmly near the human beachgoers sunbathing and wading. Matt Harvill, a 27-year-old Mobile resident, came across the lengthy gator on May 7 while at the […]
11 months ago

Bear in a tree holds Michigan city in suspense for hours on Mother’s Day

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A city in northern Michigan has a new Mother’s Day memory: A 350-pound bear was in a tree for hours, watched by dozens of people, before it fell asleep and dropped onto mattresses below. “It’s like the best block party ever,” Annette Andersen said. The drama in Traverse City began […]
11 months ago
Scabby, a giant inflatable rat used by organized labor, stands at a union action outside a Petco on...

On the front lines of the writers strike, meet the true rat czar of NYC: Scabby the Rat

NEW YORK (AP) — For decades, various labor disputes. As New York City deals with an Buddy the Rat — a rodent New Yorkers can rally behind. But in the era of TikTok and influencer culture, middle-aged Scabby faces a new challenge: staying relevant. “It’s kind of unfortunate, changing times, older members of the public […]
11 months ago
CAPTION ADDITION: CONFIRMED METEORITE: This image provided by Hopewell Township Police Department s...

Experts: Metallic object that crashed into New Jersey home was a meteorite

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — A metallic object that punched a hole in the roof of a central New Jersey home this week, smashing into a hardwood floor and bouncing around a bedroom, was a meteorite, experts announced Thursday. Scientists with The College of New Jersey determined the 6-by-4-inch object, which weighs about 2.2 pounds, […]
11 months ago

Oklahoma police rush to respond to cries for help … from a goat

ENID, Okla. (AP) — Sometimes a wrong call can really get your goat. Police in Enid, Oklahoma at first walked slowly and cautiously through the grassy, wooded area of a farm seeking the source of faint cries in the distance. “That’s a person,” one of the officers said to the other on a video that […]
11 months ago

‘Chonkosaurus,’ plump Chicago snapping turtle captured on video, goes viral

CHICAGO (AP) — Footage of a plump snapping turtle relaxing along a Chicago waterway has gone viral after the man who filmed the well-fed reptile marveled at its size and nicknamed it “Chonkosaurus.” Joey Santore was kayaking with a friend along the Chicago River last weekend when they spotted the large snapping turtle sitting atop […]
11 months ago
This image provided by Hopewell Township Police Department shows a metallic object believed to be a...

Possible meteorite crashes into New Jersey home, no injuries

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — A metallic object believed to be a meteorite punched a hole in the roof of a central New Jersey home this week, smashing into a hardwood floor and bouncing around a bedroom. The family who owns the home discovered the black, potato-sized rock in a corner — still warm. Nobody […]
11 months ago
A Scottish Terrier is bathed during the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, Monday, May 8, 2023...

In dog show world, details obvious and subtle rule the day

NEW YORK (AP) — Doe-eyed dachshunds, push-faced French bulldogs and other nonsporting breeds circle the hallowed rings. A Bracco Italiano receives a jowl massage. Spaniels get blow-dried. Everyone is prepping — lovingly, meticulously — for a hoped-for big moment. With more than 3,000 dogs competing this week at the annual Westminster Kennel Club dog show, […]
11 months ago

Hundreds of pounds of pasta dumped near New Jersey stream

OLD BRIDGE, N.J. (AP) — Authorities in a central New Jersey town say they are no longer noodling over the mystery of how hundreds of pounds of pasta were dumped near a stream. Old Bridge Mayor Owen Henry said Friday that the pasta, including spaghetti and macaroni, was cleaned up last week by public works […]
11 months ago

Snake flips switch, stops traffic at Virginia intersection

MANASSAS, Va. (AP) — A large snake brought traffic to a stop at an intersection in Prince William County, Virginia. The snake was in an electrical panel at the intersection of Prince William Parkway and Sudley Manor Drive and caused a power outage on Monday, the Prince William County Police Department said in a statement. […]
11 months ago
A recreation of Karl Lagerfeld's desk is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Inst...

Pas de chat: Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette won’t be at Met Gala

NEW YORK (AP) — The be escorted up the stairs in New York. “Many people invited me to walk the red carpet of the #METGALA2023 in tribute to Daddy, but we preferred to stay peacefully & cozy at home,” the Choupette Lagerfeld account said in an Instagram post on Monday. “We pay tribute to my […]
11 months ago

Greener pastures? 2,500 hopeful sheep cross Idaho highway

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Why did 2,500 sheep cross the road? Because the grass was greener on the other side. In Idaho, it’s not unusual to see ranchers moving a bleating herd of sheep up to higher elevation at this time of year. But the sight of 2,500 wooly beasts trotting across a highway earlier […]
11 months ago
Dennis Maliq Barnes speaks during an interview at International High School of New Orleans in New O...

New Orleans student’s scholarship offers surpass $9 million

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — He is a senior at 16. His grade point average is 4.98. Even before graduating from high school, he has earned 27 college credits and, perhaps the most impressive numbers of all, he has scholarship offers from around 130 colleges and universities that, as of Thursday, totaled more than $9 million. […]
11 months ago

‘Little hero:’ Boy stops Michigan school bus with ill driver

WARREN, Mich. (AP) — A boy grabbed the steering wheel on a school bus and hit the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a safe stop on a busy Detroit-area road after the driver had passed out, authorities said. “Someone call 911. Now!” seventh-grader Dillon Reeves shouted to dozens of other middle-school kids on the bus […]
11 months ago

‘Mojave Max’ tortoise emerges in Vegas; latest since 2000

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A desert tortoise that is the focus of schoolchild predictions and local lore about the start of spring has emerged from its winter burrow at a nature preserve in Las Vegas, officials said Tuesday. Mojave Max’s appearance above ground with burrow-mate at 3:40 p.m. Monday at the Springs Preserve marked the […]
11 months ago
FILE - The moon rises beyond a sign in the outfield during the fifth inning of a baseball game betw...

What time is it on moon? Europe pushing for lunar time zone

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — With more lunar missions than ever on the horizon, the European Space Agency wants to give the moon its own time zone. This week, the agency said space organizations around the world are considering how best to keep time on the moon. The idea came up during a meeting in […]
1 year ago
This 2021 photo provided by the St. Louis Zoo shows the zoo's Andean Bear named Ben. Zoo officials ...

St. Louis Zoo bear has second brief escape from enclosure

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Zoo officials say they are working to find a way to keep an Andean bear named Ben inside his enclosure after he escaped Thursday for the second time this month. The bear was outside for less than an hour and was found only about 100 feet away from his […]
1 year ago