NATIONAL NEWS

Giraffe’s nibble turns into airborne safari adventure for Texas toddler

Jun 6, 2024, 11:52 AM

GLEN ROSE, Texas (AP) — A Texas family got a brief scare when a nibble from a giraffe turned a 2-year-old’s safari visit into an airborne adventure.

Paisley Toten was in the bed of a pickup truck on June 1 when her family drove through the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, where visitors can see exotic animals such as zebras, giraffes and sable antelope, and feed some of them from their car.

The family had stopped to feed a giraffe when it grabbed Paisley’s shirt with its mouth and lifted her several feet. Paisley’s mother was in the pickup bed with her and shouted, prompting the giraffe to drop the toddler into her arms unhurt. Video of the encounter taken from the car behind went viral. The girl’s family also shot their own video.

“Paisley was holding the bag and the giraffe went to go get the bag, not get her, but ended up getting her shirt too and picking her up,” Jason Toten, the girl’s father, told television station KWTX.

“My heart stopped, my stomach dropped … it scared me,” Toten said.

The family then took the girl to the shop and bought her a toy giraffe.

Park rules when the family visited allowed riding in an open truck bed as long as an adult was riding with any children. The park on Thursday changed its safety rules to require everyone to stay inside their vehicles with doors closed.

National News

Associated Press

AP Race Call: Democrat Val Hoyle wins reelection to U.S. House in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District

Democratic Rep. Val Hoyle won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing Oregon on Thursday. Hoyle, a first-term congresswoman, defeated Republican Monique DeSpain, an Air Force veteran. She succeeded longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio in 2022. The 4th District runs along the western portion of the state and includes Eugene. The Associated Press declared […]

15 minutes ago

A Norway Spruce that will serve as this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is placed on a fla...

Associated Press

A green giant: This year’s 74-foot Rockefeller Christmas tree is en route from Massachusetts

WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A giant Norway spruce that will serve as this year’s Rockefeller Christmas tree was en route to New York City on Thursday from its tiny Massachusetts hometown. The 74-foot-high (23-meter-high) conifer was cut down Thursday morning in West Stockbridge and hoisted onto a flatbed truck by crane. It will travel […]

25 minutes ago

Associated Press

AP Race Call: Independent Angus King wins reelection to U.S. Senate from Maine

Independent Sen. Angus King won a third term in the U.S. Senate representing Maine on Thursday, turning back challenges from a former Republican state party chair and a Democratic environmental activist. The 80-year-old former governor would be the oldest senator from Maine to serve if he completes his term, which ends in 2030, but he […]

39 minutes ago

Associated Press

Florida’s iconic Key deer face an uncertain future as seas rise

BIG PINE KEY, Fla. (AP) — The world’s only Key deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer, are found in piney and marshy wetlands bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico on the Florida Keys. For years, their biggest threat was being struck by vehicles speeding along U.S. Highway 1 or local […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Rescuers respond after bus overturns on upstate New York highway

CHILI, N.Y. (AP) — Rescue operations were underway after a bus with passengers aboard rolled over on a highway near Rochester, New York, on Thursday morning, according to the governor. It was not immediately clear if there were serious injuries. The bus overturned on Interstate 490 west of Rochester, forcing the highway’s closure in both […]

2 hours ago

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance, R...

Associated Press

The Latest: Biden to deliver remarks following Trump’s win, House control hangs in the balance

President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks to the nation in what will be his first appearance on camera in the aftermath of Donald Trump ’s decisive victory over Kamala Harris. Control over the U.S. House of Representatives hangs in the balance, teetering between a Republican or Democratic majority with dozens of races left […]

3 hours ago

Giraffe’s nibble turns into airborne safari adventure for Texas toddler