Watercooler news from The Associated Press

Odd News

Circus performer accidentally shot in neck with arrow at New York county fair

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. (AP) — A circus performer was accidentally shot in the neck by an arrow during a performance at a county fair in upstate New York, police and organizers said. It happened Friday night at the Orange County Fair in Middletown, northwest of New York City, according to state police. Ana Daza Tavera, 42, […]
10 hours ago
FILE - The sun sets behind the Space Needle as a small plane flies by on the first day of spring, T...

Seattle police are searching for two men who parachuted from the Space Needle

The Seattle Police Department is searching for two men who climbed over the glass wall of the city’s iconic Space Needle on Friday, flipped over the edge and parachuted down from the 605-foot structure. The jumpers face trespassing charges, according to a report provided by Public Affairs Officer Brian Pritchard. The BASE jumpers purchased tickets […]
2 days ago

Man dressed as Spider-Man jumps to assist a person using a wheelchair to cross lanes of traffic

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A man using a wheelchair was struggling to get across six lanes of traffic in an Arkansas city when help came in an unexpected way — from a spidery superhero who jumped into action from a red Jeep waiting at a light. Christopher Hellenthal was still garbed in his Spider-Man […]
4 days ago
Verne the Patriot, a nutcracker sculpture, is unveiled in Luverne, Minn., Saturday, July 18, 2026. ...

A Minnesota town now boasts the world’s tallest nutcracker

LUVERNE, Minn. (AP) — Crossing the open farmland of southwestern Minnesota, you’ll encounter an otherworldly sight: a massive head with a beard, mustache and red-striped top hat looming over the horizon. Pull into the small town of Luverne and the figure — a nearly 66-foot (20-meter) tall nutcracker, decked out like Uncle Sam — comes […]
7 days ago
Kate Witkowski, left, and Erin Lavoie compete in the Jill and Jill event during the Lumberjack Worl...

3 women’s world records set at the annual Lumberjack World Championships in Wisconsin

HAYWARD, Wis. (AP) — Three new women’s world records have been set at the Lumberjack World Championships competition held in a small Wisconsin community, full of high-powered sawing, chopping, log-rolling, speed climbing and cheers of “Yo-Ho!” This year, 66 men and 40 women attended the three-day competition in Hayward that ended Saturday. They represented 16 […]
8 days ago

DNA from bones on a Revolutionary War battlefield solves the case of ‘America’s oldest John Doe’

After 246 years, Pvt. John Pumphrey is unknown no more. Through DNA testing and old-fashioned sleuthing, the Maryland teenager who died in one of the last big battles of the American Revolution can now take his place in history, just in time for the 250th birthday of the nation he fought to create. “There was […]
11 days ago
A goat named Goldie keeps firefighters company while they battle the Rock Creek Fire in Colorado Sp...

The GOAT: Hooved friend provides moral support to firefighters in Colorado

Crews were quashing a small wildfire in Colorado this week when a surprise guest decided to keep them company. A goat named Goldie — short for Golden Oreo — followed firefighters for hours as they actively engaged the Rock Creek Fire in Colorado Springs and cleared brush. She even took care of some of it […]
18 days ago

Female American rower completes record-breaking solo journey from California to Hawaii

HONOLULU (AP) — A Grand Canyon river rafting guide who aimed to become the first American woman to row across the mid-Pacific solo has completed a record-breaking journey from California to Hawaii. Hundreds gathered to cheer on Kelsey Pfendler as she pulled into a Honolulu harbor Friday night on her 21-foot row boat, Lily, after […]
23 days ago
Miki Sudo, left, and Joey Chestnut participate in the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International ...

Hot dog eating champs seek to repeat in Nathan’s Famous contest

NEW YORK (AP) — The Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest marks the United States’ 250th birthday with chomp and circumstance Saturday after an eventful year for the annual wiener showdown and one of its stars. Contest sponsor Nathan’s Famous was sold in January to packaged meat giant Smithfield Foods. A few months later, reigning […]
24 days ago
A figure of Mr. Fox Trot from the Fox Trot Carousel is seen in a state government storage facility ...

Will Red Grooms’ whimsical, wonderful Tennessee Fox Trot Carousel ride again?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — For a few years at the turn of this century, Nashville was home to a remarkable carousel. Described by its artist-creator Red Grooms as a sculpto-pictorama, the “horses” were 36 whimsical figures related to Tennessee. Legendary country musician Chet Atkins rode the neck of a guitar. Davy Crockett wrestled a bear. […]
1 month ago

A giraffe named Gracie escaped in Texas. No one can seem to find her

A giraffe named Gracie is missing in Texas, and the search for her has become a tall order. Gracie, who is about 3 years old, has been missing for nearly two weeks after escaping her enclosure at Cedar Hollow Ranch in the Texas Hill Country, said Vic Jones, who owns the remote property about 100 […]
1 month ago
FILE - A patron passes a painting inside the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswel...

New UFO files describe spinning discs, glowing orbs and one object shaped like a potato

WASHINGTON (AP) — One was a rotating disc that sent out beams of light. Another was a shining red orb of a hue the observer had never seen before. Then there was the one compared to a potato, and also a bean, but with a coat of shimmering, fish-like scales. Those were some of the […]
2 months ago
This photo provided by Evan Pfeufer shows Pfeufer's senior quote, which reads "Knicks in 6. 2026 NB...

Knicks in 6: NY man’s high school yearbook prediction 6 years ago goes viral

NEW YORK (AP) — If the New York Knicks win it all this year, just remember that Evan Pfeufer called it six years ago, and has the receipts to prove it. While his classmates dutifully listed their academic awards, extracurricular activities and sport accolades in the high school yearbook, the Long Island resident opted for […]
2 months ago
Wrestler Llama Jack reads a Llama Llama book in the ring during a Lucha Libro pro wrestling event a...

Wrestling matches provide an action-packed story time at US libraries, in photos

BENICIA, Calif. (AP) — The handwritten sign at a Northern California public library warned patrons to expect more noise than usual. That warning quickly proved to be an understatement as professional wrestlers, accompanied by booming music, thundered into the reading space and jumped into a ring flanked by row upon row of bookshelves. Dozens of […]
2 months ago

What it’s like to go inside New York City’s dank, dangerous, bug-filled sewers

NEW YORK (AP) — It wasn’t the rats. Or the smells. Or the germs. No, the most unpleasant part of descending into New York City’s vast sewer system, according to former urban explorer Steve Duncan, were the cockroaches. “They’re all over the place, crawling on walls, dropping down on you,” Duncan recalled this week. “They […]
2 months ago

Videos showing groups of people entering NYC sewers at night baffle residents and investigators

NEW YORK (AP) — Mole people? Crocodile catchers? Mario brothers? A series of bizarre sightings of people popping in and out of New York City’s vast subterranean sewer system has the city wondering what exactly is going on, with police now probing the underground mystery. Security cameras have recorded at least three nighttime instances where […]
2 months ago
The setting sun is framed between buildings during Manhattanhenge along 42nd Street, Thursday, May ...

What to know about Manhattanhenge, NYC’s sunset spectacle

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City residents and visitors look up at the sky to experience a phenomenon twice a year known as Manhattanhenge. The setting sun was framed by a canyon of skyscrapers Thursday as it sunk below the horizon, perfectly aligned with the Manhattan street grid. The dramatic spectacle was just the […]
2 months ago
Austin Neddo drives a 1940 Farmall A tractor with his father Shay during Tractor Day for graduating...

Tractors, ATVs and golf carts, oh my: Michigan seniors arrive at school in style on Tractor Day

CARLETON, Mich. (AP) — Chase Harvell rolled into the Airport High School parking lot Friday in southeastern Michigan one final time before next week’s graduation. Harvell was driving a family vehicle, just as he had countless times before. This set of wheels, though, topped out at around 25 mph (40 kph). Harvell and dozens of […]
2 months ago
FILE - Joey Chestnut eats hot dogs during the 2025 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating co...

Joey Chestnut to defend hot dog eating title while on probation after pleading guilty to battery

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Competitive eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, the reigning champion and 17-time winner of Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest, will compete in the July 4 spectacle while on probation after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge. Chestnut entered the guilty plea April 20 and was sentenced to 180 days […]
2 months ago
A Berkshire Hathaway shareholder takes a selfie in front of a Pilot truck stops semi truck with pic...

Winner pays $9 million in charity auction for a private lunch with Warren Buffett and Stephen Curry

Someone paid more than $9 million to have lunch with basketball player Stephen Curry and Warren Buffett, and the legendary investor also promised to match the winning bid so both their favorite charities will benefit. The auction on eBay was intended to revive an event that Buffett hosted for more than two decades that raised […]
2 months ago
This photo provided by Jim Wojdyla shows a replica of the black Pontiac Trans Am from the 80s TV se...

Museum’s ‘Knight Rider’ replica car got a speeding ticket. It hasn’t gone anywhere in years

It’s a mystery on the streets of New York City. What traffic law violator with unpaid fines is driving a black Pontiac Trans Am that looks like the car with the talking computer from the 1980s TV series “Knight Rider,” and even has the same license plate? Officials at an Illinois museum are among the […]
3 months ago
FILE - Matt Damon, left, and Ben Affleck attend the world premiere of "The Rip" at Alice Tully Hall...

South Florida officers sue Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, claiming details in ‘The Rip’ are too real

MIAMI (AP) — Two South Florida police officers claim Ben Affleck and Matt Damon ‘s recent action thriller “The Rip” used too many real-life details in its fictionalized narrative, causing harm to the officers’ personal and professional reputations, according to a defamation lawsuit. Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana, sergeants in the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, filed […]
3 months ago
An American flag is seen as people walk among debris at Gene's Mobile Home Supply, a trailer park i...

A kitten survives a tornado and his tiny meows bring rescue

As storm chaser Ashton Lemley picked his way through a tornado-ravaged Mississippi trailer park, he heard the unmistakable meow of a kitten pierce the predawn darkness. The homes were flattened just hours earlier as storms spawned at least three tornadoes across the bottom half of Mississippi, injuring a dozen at the trailer park in the […]
3 months ago
FILE - Alcatraz Island is seen in San Francisco, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)Credit: A...

Male coyote swam 2 miles to Alcatraz Island, twice as far as biologists had expected

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A lone coyote stunned biologists and others when it paddled its way to remote Alcatraz Island earlier this year, a former federal prison in the San Francisco Bay surrounded by swift, choppy waters notorious for thwarting prisoners’ escapes. At the time, biologists guessed the coyote swam from San Francisco, which is […]
3 months ago