Oklahoma City

Hop on! Wild rabbits surf on sheep to flee New Zealand flood

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — It was a woolly ride, but three wild rabbits managed to escape rising floodwaters in New Zealand by clambering aboard sheep and surfing to safety on their backs.

Man accused of smuggling king cobras in potato chip cans

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man was arrested on federal smuggling charges Tuesday after customs officers intercepted a shipment with three live king cobras hidden inside potato chip canisters that were being mailed to his California home, U.S. prosecutors said.

L.A. man accused of smuggling king cobras in potato chip cans

A Los Angeles man was arrested on Tuesday after federal prosecutors said he arranged to smuggle into the United States three live, highly venomous king cobra snakes hidden in potato chip canisters. Rodrigo Franco, 34, was charged with illegally importing merchandise into the country in connection with a parcel from Hong Kong that was intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on March 2 containing the 2-foot (0.61 meter)-long snakes concealed inside the canisters. Three albino Chinese soft-shelled turtles were also found in the package, prosecutors said, adding that Franco on that same day mailed a box to Hong Kong with six protected turtles inside.

Cyber staff: Wisconsin company offers to microchip employees

A Wisconsin company is offering to microchip its employees, enabling them to open doors, log onto their computers and purchase break room snacks with a simple swipe of the hand.

926-pound shark won't be recognized as New Jersey's record

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A 926-pound (420-kilogram) Mako shark caught off the New Jersey coast won't be recognized as a state record because more than one angler helped catch it.

Ohio fair butter sculpture features athletes, chocolate milk

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A butter sculpture at this year's Ohio State Fair includes the traditional cow and calf along with four student-athletes and a 6-foot-tall (1.8-meter-tall) bottle colored to look like chocolate milk.

No ho-ho-ho-liday as Santas meet in Denmark

By Stine Jacobsen COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - It's summertime in Denmark but Santas from around the world are already planning for the festive season, with more than 150 gathering in Copenhagen to share some early Christmas cheer. The annual World Santa Claus Congress, now in its 60th year, has drawn attendees from a dozen countries, most sporting traditional red coats and white beards despite the warmer-than-winter weather. "We have a discussion about important things in life -- for example, which day is Christmas Day?" said Santa Wolfgang from Germany, who has been participating in the congress since 1996.

Attorney: Client ate 'everything' bagel, did not take drugs

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An attorney for a man who pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in the takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge says his client tested positive for morphine because he ate an 'everything' bagel with poppy seeds.

He was purrfect: Honorary cat mayor in Alaska town dies

TALKEETNA, Alaska (AP) — Stubbs, the honorary feline mayor of the Alaska town of Talkeetna, has died at the age of 20.

That stinks! Man seeking dropped phone falls in trash chute

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man looking for a dropped cellphone ended up in a stinky situation, tumbling into a building's trash chute where he had to be rescued.

No dye: Cancer patients' gray hair darkened on immune drugs

CHICAGO (AP) — Cancer patients' gray hair unexpectedly turned youthfully dark while taking novel drugs, and it has doctors scratching their heads.

Is that really a beached whale beneath Paris' Notre Dame?

PARIS (AP) — A sperm whale appears to have beached on an embankment in the shadow of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Exhumation of Dali's remains finds his mustache still intact

FIGUERES, Spain (AP) — Forensic experts in Spain have removed hair, nails and two long bones from Salvador Dali's embalmed remains to aid a court-ordered paternity test that may enable a woman who says she is the surrealist artist's daughter to claim part of Dali's vast estate.

A weird Florida mystery: Frozen pork falling from the sky

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Meat falling from the sky is weird, even by Florida standards.

New librarian finds live Civil War-era shells in her office

CARLISLE, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts librarian on her first day on the job has come across live military shells from the Civil War inside a closet in her new office.

Builder of illegal LA mansion gets fines, community service

The father of fashion models Bella and Gigi Hadid has been fined and given community service for illegally building a gigantic mansion in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times reports (http://lat.ms/2ufqHY5 ...

Apollo 11 bag laced with moon dust sells for $1.8 million

NEW YORK (AP) — A bag containing traces of moon dust sold for $1.8 million at an auction on Thursday following a galactic court battle.

Winning toilet paper gowns offered to brides-in-need

By Taylor Harris NEW YORK (Reuters) - A toilet paper wedding dress with 1,500 hand-cut butterflies made by a mother of two in her spare time won the $10,000 first prize in a quirky New York fashion competition on Thursday and a bride-in-need may have the chance to wear it down the aisle. Ripley's Believe It or Not!, which exhibits winning entries every year, is donating about 20 of the top gowns to brides whose plans were shattered by the sudden bankruptcy of wedding dressmaker Alfred Angelo last week. Kari Curletto said she spent three months on her submission "Quilted Enchantment," with its six-foot cathedral train.

McDonald's adds Big Mac onesie, sweatsuit to delivery items

OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) — With McDonald's now offering a delivery service, the fast-food giant is looking to make customers comfortable eating at home with a new clothing line that includes an adult-size Big Mac onesie.

London Zoo welcomes a new kind of visitor: Robotic dinosaurs

LONDON (AP) — London Zoo is welcoming a new star attraction this summer: robotic dinosaurs.

Alabama man to display head of 820-pound hog shot in yard

SAMSON, Ala. (AP) — Hogs aren't unusual in rural south Alabama, but Wade Seago said he'd never seen anything like the 820-pound (372-kilogram) animal he shot and killed in his front yard.

Self-described drug dealer calls 911, reports stolen cocaine

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Calling 911 to report a stolen bag of cocaine probably wasn't the best idea for a self-described Florida drug dealer.

Man beats odds of catching blue lobster, donates to science

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire lobsterman has joined an elite club after catching a rare blue lobster.