Bag containing weed and cash accidentally donated to a New Zealand charity shop
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Police in New Zealand say a knapsack left in a donation area at a charity shop contained marijuana and more than $2,000 in cash. They say two teenagers mistakenly left the bag at the shop and were arrested after they returned to try to retrieve it. They said Monday that an air pistol, a police scanner and more cash were found in a search of the teens' car. The boy and girl are both 16 years old. Police didn’t divulge what charges may have been filed.
Finnish pair wins a barrel of ale in annual 'wife-carrying' contest in England
LONDON (AP) — About two dozen couples have taken part in the U.K. Wife Carrying Race, one of the country's quirkiest annual sports events. On Sunday, couples sprinted up and down a grassy hillside in southern England with one partner carrying the other. The sport is linked to an old Finnish legend, though organizers and contestants keep things silly with fancy dress, obstacles and buckets of water. Many use the “Estonian Hold,” with the rider hanging upside down. Finland’s Teemu Touvinen and Jatta Leinonen were crowned the winners and won a barrel of local ale.
Bloodhounds in North Dakota are blazing a trail in the Midwest
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota Highway Patrol's newest recruit has floppy ears, four legs and a powerful tool for finding people. Beau the bloodhound pup joins a band of dogs that is in demand for difficult cases around the Midwest. The Patrol now has four bloodhounds, and they've been called to Montana, South Dakota and Utah to help searches. Trooper Steven Mayer helps train dogs around the world. The Patrol's dogs are also something of a social media sensation, which Mayer hopes creates awareness and inspires earlier calls for assistance.
Denmark is set to explore if gastronomy can be recognized as an art form
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark is debating whether top-level cooking counts as art, and the country’s most theatrical restaurants sit at the center of it. The culture ministry is exploring formal recognition for gastronomy. Some chefs say food can carry ideas, emotion, and social messages, like modern performance art. They also say art status could unlock public funding and private grants. But others say food has a different purpose which must be consumed. Art voices say chefs could start competing for the same cultural money.
Punch the orphan macaque is outgrowing his plushie and making friends
ICHIKAWA, Japan (AP) — Punch the baby orphan macaque is outgrowing the orangutan plushie that comforted him through early rejection from his mother and other monkeys. Images of Punch dragging around the toy bigger than him drew attention to the residents of a zoo near Tokyo. When other monkeys shooed the baby away, Punch rushed back to the toy orangutan, hugging it for comfort. But he’s been using the toy less. On a recent day, Punch was seen climbing on the back of another monkey, sitting with adults and sometimes getting groomed or hugged.
Claims of 'rediscovered' Michelangelos unsettle Renaissance experts
ROME (AP) — An independent researcher has asserted that a marble bust of Christ in a Roman church is by Michelangelo. It's the latest purported attribution to the Renaissance genius who is one of the most imitated artists in the world. The unverified claim by Valentina Salerno on Wednesday has unsettled Renaissance scholars, especially since a recent sketch of a foot, attributed to Michelangelo but disputed by some as a copy, recently fetched $27.2 million at auction. Salerno has published her initial claims online.
Crews rescue 2 from hot-air balloon entangled on Texas communications tower
LONGVIEW, Texas (AP) — Crews in East Texas rescued two people stranded hundreds of feet in the air after a hot-air balloon hit a communications tower. Officials in Longview say firefighters responding to the tower on Saturday found the balloon entangled more than 900 feet above the ground. Officials say it took rescuers about an hour to climb up to the man and woman in the balloon’s basket, and it was another hour before the pair was secured inside the tower and could begin their descent. It took nearly two more hours for them to reach the ground. Both were taken to a hospital as a precaution. The Federal Aviation Administration says it will investigate the incident.
US half marathon women's leaders guided off course in error. One asks officials to 'make it right'
ATLANTA (AP) — The runner who was leading the women’s race of the U.S. half marathon championships until she was mistakenly led off the course by a guide vehicle is calling for USA Track & Field to make right an outcome that cost her a spot in the world road running championships this fall. Jess McClain was ahead by a wide margin with about 1.5 miles to go Sunday when she and three other runners followed the guide vehicle on a wrong turn. McClain says in an Instagram post that she followed a police escort, official lead vehicle and a media motorcycle off the course for about one kilometer.
A prehistoric skeleton found deep in a flooded Mexican cave was likely placed there in a ritual
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Archaeologists have found a prehistoric human skeleton deep inside a flooded cave system on Mexico’s Caribbean coast. Cave-diving archaeologist Octavio del Río tells The Associated Press that the team recovered it late last year and experts are studying it now. Del Río says the body sits far from the entrance and about 26 feet down. That suggests the cave was dry when someone placed it there, possibly as part of a burial ritual, at least 8,000 years ago. He says sediment around the bones hints at an intentional burial. Officials say the find could add clues about early migration routes. Mexico is working to protect the threatened caves.
Crocodile caught in an Australian creek 1,200 miles from its tropical habitat
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A crocodile has been caught in an Australian creek on the temperate east coast far from the species' tropical habitat. A family that lives in Newcastle, 1,200 miles south of Australia's crocodile habitat in the north, reported the young croc. Wildlife authorities captured it Sunday. It is a juvenile about 39 inches long and healthy. The freshwater crocodile is a smaller and less dangerous species than Australia's saltwater crocodiles. Authorities suspect it was a pet that was released into the wild.
