Oklahoma City

No more flying with reindeer: Unique Alaska planes to retire

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Claire Richardson remembers taking off in an airplane uniquely configured for Alaska when a horrible smell seeped into the passenger area.

Japan's baby panda now has a name: Xiang Xiang, or fragrance

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's baby panda now has a name: Xiang Xiang, or fragrance.

After 66 million years, creature wins state dinosaur honor

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — It took about 66 million years, but a duck-billed creature has finally won recognition as California's state dinosaur.

Etching of German rifle ground off AK-47 monument in Moscow

MOSCOW (AP) — Just days after a monument honoring AK-47 designer Mikhail Kalashnikov was unveiled in Moscow, workers have removed a part of it that showed a German weapon that many believe inspired the renowned assault rifle.

Raccoon jumps on moving Colorado police van, takes a ride

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado Springs police officer heading to an accident scene in a van got a big surprise when a raccoon jumped onto the front windshield of the vehicle and stayed there until the officer pulled over.

Prosecutors: Texas lawmaker spent $51K on online psychic

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas lawmaker apparently spent more than $51,000 of her own money on an online psychic, showed up for work at the Capitol impaired by medication and hid a cellphone from investigators, prosecutors allege in a court filing this week.

Tractor-trailer makes wrong turn, gets stuck on boardwalk

VENTNOR, N.J. (AP) — A tractor-trailer apparently made a wrong turn and got trapped on a boardwalk at the New Jersey shore.

Hospital allow kids to drive themselves to operating room

A San Diego children's hospital unveiled a collection of remote controlled luxury mini cars on Tuesday that allow its young patients to 'drive' themselves to the operating room. The cars at the Rady Children's Hospital are actually operated by a nurse or a doctor, and are part of a new program designed to make children more relaxed before their procedures. The parents are seeing that they're relaxed and that they're happy," said Dr. Daniela Carvalho, medical director of surgical services at the hospital.

Geneva toilets flush with cash

Geneva prosecutors are investigating after toilets in a bank and three restaurants were blocked by about $100,000 in high-denomination euro banknotes, they said on Monday. "We are not so interested in the motive but we want to be sure of the origin of the money," spokesman Vincent Derouand said, adding that neither throwing money away nor blocking a toilet was a crime. The Tribune de Geneve newspaper, which first reported the unusual deposit, said the first blockage occurred in the toilet serving the vault at UBS bank in Geneva's financial district, and three nearby bistros found their facilities bunged up with 500-euro notes a few days later.

Pet deaths in Japan: dignified but dog-gone expensive

(Reuters) - In Japan, caring for pets goes beyond the grave. At Pet Rainbow Fiesta, a pet funeral expo, held in Tokyo on Monday, visitors were given a host of options on performing rites for dead pets, including cremation, constructing a household altar and making offerings of incense. The basic funeral service fee starts from 95,800 yen ($860.66) for a one-kilogram hamster or bird and can go up to 114,800 yen for a 20-kilogram dog, according to funeral services company Kokolone.

Staying fit: Japan's elderly hits record in challenge to labor market

The event to mark Respect for the Aged Day in Japan drew over 200 people in an exercise meant to increase their body strength and balance. The exercise was more than just symbolic, as the number of people aged 65 and above has risen to a record high of 27.7 percent of Japan's population, government figures showed. Japan has been struggling with a declining workforce for decades, and its elderly ratio is the highest among Group of Seven nations, followed by Italy at 23.0 percent, Germany at 21.5 percent, and France at 19.7 percent.

Koala survives 10-mile Australia trip in wheel arch

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — For a stowaway who made a 16-kilometer (10-mile) journey squeezed in a wheel arch, a koala was lucky to escape with just scratches.

Man who sent Hannibal Lecter photo to judge to go on trial

MONESSEN, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man has been ordered to stand trial on charges he threatened a judge by sending her a letter including a picture of movie cannibal Hannibal Lecter.

11-year-old boy gets lawn-mowing gig at White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — An 11-year-old boy in khaki shorts and a red polo shirt got the lawn-mowing gig of a lifetime Friday when President Donald Trump put him to work in the Rose Garden.

Police: People dressed as ninjas started fires in building

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Police say two people dressed as ninjas broke into a New Jersey apartment building and set several fires.

Liquid cats, crocodile bets and didgeridoos win Ig Nobel science prizes

By Scott Malone CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters) - Scientists taking on the deep questions of whether cats are liquid or solid, how holding a crocodile influences gambling and whether playing the didgeridoo can help cure snoring were honored Thursday at the Ig Nobel Prize spoof awards. The prizes are the brainchild of Marc Abrahams, editor of the Annals of Improbable Research, and are intended not to honor the best or worst in science, but rather to highlight research that encourages people to think in unusual ways. "We hope that this will get people back into the habits they probably had when they were kids of paying attention to odd things and holding out for a moment and deciding whether they are good or bad only after they have a chance to think," Abrahams said in a phone interview.

Research on big ears, crocodile gambling wins Ig Nobels

BOSTON (AP) — Scientists who discovered that old men really do have big ears, that playing the didgeridoo helps relieve sleep apnea and that handling crocodiles can influence gambling decisions are among this year's recipients of the Ig Nobel, the prize for absurd scientific achievement.