Lafayette

Sheriff's officer corrals donkey on interstate near Chicago

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (AP) — It wasn't a routine day for a sheriff's officer after she spotted a donkey meandering along Interstate 90 near Chicago.

Senior slugger: 65-year-old woman hits burglar with bat

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — When a Florida woman heard a noise and saw a man trying to break into her car early Sunday, she took matters into her own hands.

Customer threw iguana at restaurant manager, police say

PAINESVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say a customer at an Ohio restaurant pulled out a turquoise iguana from under his shirt, swung it around and threw it at the manager.

Thai oil rig workers rescue dog swimming 135 miles offshore

BANGKOK (AP) — A dog found swimming more than 220 kilometers (135 miles) from shore by workers on an oil rig crew in the Gulf of Thailand has been returned safely to land.

Eastern hellbender voted Pennsylvania's official amphibian

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is getting an official amphibian, a nocturnal, unsightly salamander that's sometimes known as a snot otter, lasagna lizard or mud devil.

Muskrat love: Detroit-area Catholics permitted to eat rodent

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit-area Roman Catholics have one more dining option during Lent than most other followers of the faith. The culinary appeal of that item, however, is up for debate.

Oklahoma governor tries 'American Ninja Warrior' course

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma's new Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt is taking a shot at the "American Ninja Warrior" obstacle course outside the state Capitol in Oklahoma City.

Girl not amused by 'SNL' joke about her disabled pet chicken

UNDERHILL, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont girl isn't happy that her disabled pet chicken was joked about on "Saturday Night Live."

Don't like surprises? AI predicts who survives 'Game of Thrones'

If you are a "Game of Thrones" fan and appreciate the element of surprise, stop reading now. Students at the Technical University of Munich have developed an application to predict which character has the best chance to claim the coveted Iron Throne in the HBO hit medieval fantasy series about warring families. "We scraped the results from different Wiki pages and Wiki-like pages about the books and TV show and we took out data like gender and age of the characters," said student Christian Dallago.

German students have algorithm for Game of Thrones deaths

BERLIN (AP) — Spoiler alert: Computer science students at the Technical University of Munich have developed an application that scours the internet for data on the popular Game of Thrones series, and uses an algorithm to predict which characters are most likely to survive to the end of its final season.

Police video shows robber was really robot vacuum cleaner

BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) — Authorities have released police body camera video showing the moment when officers in Oregon realized a suspected robber holed up in a bathroom was really a robotic vacuum cleaner.

Swiss government says coffee 'not essential', stockpiling to end

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland on Wednesday announced plans to abolish the nation's emergency stockpile of coffee, in place for decades, after declaring the beans not vital for human survival, though opposition to the proposal is brewing.

Mistrial declared for man who snapped $4.5M statue's thumb

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A jury was unable to reach a verdict in the trial of a Delaware man who admitted he broke a thumb off a $4.5 million statue at a Philadelphia museum. 

Woman lived to 99 with most organs on wrong side of body

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Rose Marie Bentley was an avid swimmer, raised five kids, helped her husband run a feed store, and lived to the ripe age of 99. It was only after she died that medical students discovered that all her internal organs — except for her heart — were in the wrong place.

Suit targets California's ban on 'Come on You Whites' plate

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A soccer fan says in a lawsuit that the California Department of Motor Vehicles violated his First Amendment rights by rejecting a personalized license plate he said would celebrate his favorite team, but which the DMV determined might be deemed offensive.

Police: Man buys $8 million island then steals from Kmart

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — A man who had just bought an $8 million island off of Key West was arrested Saturday for participating in what police described as a scheme to steal $300 in household items from Kmart.

Panda romance in the air at Berlin zoo, but love takes time

BERLIN (AP) — Sometimes love takes its time, but the Berlin zoo is hoping that this is the year for panda romance.

Yabba dabba don't: California town rejects Flintstones house

HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. (AP) — Towering dinosaurs stand among fanciful mushrooms in the sloping backyard. A life-sized Fred Flintstone welcomes visitors near the front door. And by the driveway on the lawn is a giant "Yabba Dabba Do" sign in orange, purple and red.

Judge: Animal shelter to keep tiger seized from Houston home

HOUSTON (AP) — A judge has ruled that an animal shelter can keep a tiger that was rescued from an abandoned Houston home.

Meow hear this: Study says cats react to sound of their name

NEW YORK (AP) — Hey Kitty! Yes, you. A new study suggests household cats can respond to the sound of their own names.

English-speaking men can face arrest for antics in Poland

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Police in southern Poland say they are investigating four English-speaking tourists spotted last week in the historic city of Krakow wearing only mankinis.

Creepy cargo: Philippines seizes 757 tarantulas from Poland

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine customs officials were astonished when they opened nicely gift-wrapped boxes of cookies and oatmeal flown in all the way from Poland and found a hair-raising contraband: hundreds of live tarantulas.