A raccoon boot camp in Mississippi teaches abandoned kits survival skills
PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi wildlife rescue gives abandoned and injured baby raccoons their best chance of survival through a program they call “raccoon boot camp.” Woodside Wildlife Rescue staff teach the kits by example. They mimic raccoon calls, hide worms in dirt to teach the youngsters to dig for food and break open pine cones and acorns to reveal the seeds inside to theeir charges. Rescuers take raccoons to a pond to learn to swim and provide live prey for hunting practice. When a group of kits is ready for release, the staff hosts a graduation ceremony, complete with Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance Marches," a roll call and a reverend's blessing.
A truck driver built a model of NYC with over 800,000 structures for fun. Now it's a museum exhibit
NEW YORK (AP) — A truck driver who spent two decades building a massive scale model of his native New York City was delighted when it went viral on TikTok. Now, Joe Macken’s sprawling balsa wood and foam board creation is on display at the Museum of the City of New York. The immense model is 50 feet long and nearly 30 feet wide, covering all five boroughs, parts of New Jersey and suburban Long Island. More than 800,000 balsa wood structures are laid out in street-level detail across more than 300 large foam boards like interconnecting puzzle pieces. The exhibit runs through Oct. 12.
Sun, sea and soldiers: Greek island tourists get front-row seats for military drills
MALEME, Greece (AP) — Tourists on the Greek island of Crete got an unexpected, front-row view of Medusa 15, a major military exercise led by Greece and Egypt. The drills held near Chania on Friday featured drone attacks, fast-boat landings, marines, special forces and aircraft flying overhead. Greek military police kept beachgoers away from the exercise area as troops moved through colored smoke onto the shore. France, Italy and Cyprus also participated in the exercises that ran from Sept. 10 to Sept. 18. They reflect expanding military cooperation across the Mediterranean. Visitors have described the spectacle as surprising and impressive.
A tip about a swerving van leads police to 66,000 US silver coins in a fraud case
Police investigating a money laundering case in Norway have recovered thousands of U.S. silver coins. The discovery came after a tip about a swerving van outside Oslo in April 2025. Officers found nearly 67,000 American Eagle silver coins worth about $2.65 million. On Thursday, the economic crime unit announced that three Norwegians have been sentenced to prison for aggravated money laundering. They were involved in a scheme converting U.S. investment proceeds into coins. Two Britons were acquitted. The verdict is not final, and both sides can appeal. An earlier hoard of coins was found in 2019.
Romania sets Guinness record with miles-long table, raises funds for pediatric psychiatry hospital
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Thousands of people have gathered in Romania’s capital to set a Guinness World Record with a miles-long table made of recycled materials. The event, held on Saturday, raises money for what organizers call the country's first purpose-built pediatric psychiatry hospital. The 3.3-mile “Uniting Table” stretched along Unirii Boulevard in Bucharest. Bloom The World, the Romania-based organizers, received a certificate for the “longest table made from recycled materials.” The new children’s psychiatry facility will be located within the Obregia Hospital complex. The project addresses a growing need for mental health services for children in Romania. Construction is scheduled to finish by 2027.
English village votes to leave the UK over migrant housing plan
LONDON (AP) — A small English village has voted to leave the U.K. in a symbolic independence referendum. The vote in Piddington, in Oxfordshire, is a protest against plans to house 1,200 asylum seekers on a nearby disused military base. Results announced on Wednesday showed 285 votes in favor of breaking away, with 26 villagers voting against. Parish chairman Tim McNally said the district will now be known as “the Principality of Piddington.” The vote opposes plans to turn barracks at a military base in nearby Bicester into housing for male migrants. Residents have raised fears about safety, crime, and house prices.
Well-preserved tooth from Pacific mastodon found in a creek in San Francisco Bay Area
Brigid Lynch was working along a wooded creek in a mountainous part of the San Francisco Bay Area on a habitat restoration project when something that didn’t look like the rocks she’d been studying caught her eye. It turned out to be the fossilized tooth of a Pacific mastodon. Lynch, a geomorphologist at Balance Hydrologics, made the discovery earlier this year. She spotted the fossil while working on a project to protect the threatened California red-legged frog in a preserve in San Mateo County. The public land management agency announced the find this week, and that it has been donated to Stanford University.
A Paris court awards Kim Kardashian 1 euro after her 2016 robbery
SAINT-ETIENNE, France (AP) — A Paris court has awarded Kim Kardashian 1 euro in compensation for an armed robbery she experienced in 2016. The court found eight people guilty last year for their roles in the robbery, which Kardashian described as “the most terrifying experience of my life.” The court also awarded a former hotel receptionist 109,516 euros for trauma suffered during the heist. The hotel received 50,000 euros, and Kardashian’s stylist was awarded 1 euro, an amount she had requested. Because of their ages, the robbers became known in France as “les papys braqueurs,” or the grandpa robbers. Kardashian and her stylist expressed gratitude to the French justice system for recognizing the impact of the crime.
Girl Scouts' first cookies for dogs will go on sale in January
Man’s best friend is getting some love from the Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts of the USA says its first cookies for dogs will go on sale in January. The blueberry muffin-flavored cookies were developed with Bark, a New York-based seller of dog treats and toys. The cookies, dubbed Patch Pals, will only be sold online. Also joining the Girl Scout cookie lineup in January are Sparkables, the organization’s first allergy-friendly cookie. The crunchy oatmeal cookie, which has chocolate chips and colored sprinkles, is made in a facility designed to avoid nine major allergens, including eggs, dairy, peanuts and wheat. Sparkables will also be sold online only.
Even snakes have to audition for the opera at the Met. Princess the boa constrictor got the part
NEW YORK (AP) — The Metropolitan Opera in New York requires auditions for everyone on stage. Even the snake in its adaptation of Mozart's "Così fan tutte." Zoe Ziegfeld is the snake handler in the performance. The carnival performer-turned-opera actor auditions each snake to ensure they're comfortable on stage. A boa constrictor named Princess won the role, and another named Nala was chosen as understudy. This is Ziegfeld's third time as the snake charmer in this production. The Met's version of Mozart's opera about love, fidelity and deception is set at a 1950s Coney Island carnival instead of Naples, Italy.
