Lion dies after eating rubber ball

A lion at a Nevada zoo died after eating part of a rubber ball.

What troubles Dingle, with the zoo 29 years, isn't so much that Midas died. It's the circumstances.

The week before, zookeepers discovered a half-eaten rubber football in the lion exhibit. Dingle believes the lion died as a result of eating the ball.

The exhibit's fence borders the back lot of a Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada thrift store. Dingle said store employees have a history of tossing unwanted items into the exhibit and dumping waste next to the fence. "They (the lions) dig up the ground right by that fence, trying to get at the stuff those guys dump," he said.

Once he discovered a pool of bubbling chemicals that had drained into the hole, which he said has to be refilled with dirt constantly.

After securing the lions and removing the chemicals, Dingle confronted a thrift store employee to ask if he'd dumped the waste.

"He said, 'Yeah, we always dump it there.' I gave him a piece of my mind about that, and they stopped," he said.

Although Dingle said he's complained many times to store employees, Leslie Carmine, community relations coordinator for Catholic Charities, said the information hadn't gotten back to executive management.

Catholic Charities is conducting its own investigation into the matter, including complaint history.

"We don't know the truth yet," she said. "That's part of the investigation. ... It is a real unfortunate tragedy."

Carmine said there's been a history of trespassing at the store, and employees have had to contact police.

"People break in and go through our dumpster, which is near the corner where the lion cage is located," she said.

Because no one saw the rubber football tossed into the exhibit, Dingle can't pinpoint a particular person.

But because of the history, he said he's sure.

"I don't believe in coincidences," he said.

How horrible for the lion to die from something totally preventable.

Teens build swingset on top of high school

Six high school seniors in Wisconsin built a swing set on top of their high school.

The "swing set six" were originally told they couldn't go to graduation. But on the eve of that ceremony, there was a last minute decision by the school's principal. The six Brookfield East seniors will be at graduation.

Student Zachary Domack is relieved. "He has been very gracious enough to let us walk across the stage and actually attend the ceremony." Something the principal announced Friday afternoon.

The teens were originally banned from that ceremony after building a swing set on the roof of their school. The guys admit it was a senior prank but point out it wasn't destructive. They also meant it as a "thank you" for the principal and teachers for a great four years.

They even left a note and snacks for the staff. Nate Hoaglund said, "We're definitely not thinking we should just be let off the hook or anything. We know that we should be punished."

A construction worker spotted the teens on the roof and called police. All six were slapped with $300 tickets for "prowling." They also served a one-day suspension.

I'm glad that their principal used some common sense when giving them their punishment. They can't encourage pranks, but there is no reason to ruin the kids lives like other principals have done. A $300 fine (which hopefully their parents will make the kids work to pay) and a one day suspension sounds perfect.

Fish coughs up watch

A fisherman in Hawaii was surprised when the fish he caught coughed up a gold watch.

Carish says he was enjoying a picnic Wednesday on Port Allen beach when he saw the nenue fish awkwardly swimming close to shore.

He says a friend gave him a bamboo stick and told him to get the fish. So he jumped into the waist-high water and hit the nenue until it went limp.

He noticed the fish had an abnormally large belly as he tossed it into a cooler.

A friend opened the cooler later to discover a gold watch next to the fish's mouth.

Carish says the watch was ticking and keeping correct time.

The fish took away the excuse he wanted to give to his wife for coming home late.

Man holds treasure hunt for diamond ring

A New Zeland man is having a hunt for the engagement ring that was returned to him by his ex.

Anyone keen to pick up the ring, valued at NZ$5,000 ($3,268), will need to be in New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, on Saturday to join the hunt, the Dominion Post newspaper reported.

"I met this girl I thought was pretty cool, bought a ring, turns out she wasn't as keen," Anthony Gardiner, a 29-year-old call-center worker, told the Dominion Post.

Clues to the ring's whereabouts will start being posted on social networking site Twitter (http:/twitter.com/donoogle_com) at 8 a.m. local time on Saturday (2000 GMT on Friday).

Gardiner says he will keep posting clues, and if the ring is not found by the end of the day, "my clues will suddenly change into directions."

Having bought the ring in Hong Kong, he couldn't return it, and didn't want to sell it, so he hit upon the treasure hunt.

See, I would have just sold it. That's a really high dollar item to give away. I hope the lucky winner enjoys their ring though, I know I would.

Have you seen a runaway tortise?

A Pennsylvania woman is missing her fifty two pound tortoise. It ran away.

“I am devastated that this turtle is gone, and I feel responsible and I feel heartbroken,” the Chester Springs woman said.

“It’s just terrible, and I want to make sure she’s safe. People out here eat snapping turtles, so I’m concerned someone will find her and make dinner.”

Last today, the 52-pound, two-foot African sulcata tortoise — one of the world’s largest types — pushed open a gate left partly unsecured after some duck chow was delivered. She is still missing.

Dougherty, 48, who runs Chester Springs School & Little Farm a day care for children in her house, also cares for a lot of pets and rescue animals — a lamb, a miniature horse, dogs, goats, unwanted Easter chicks and ducks — on her acre of propertyNala was an unwanted pet, too — brought about 2 1/2 years ago by a landlord who took her from a troubled tenant trying to terminate the terrapin, hoping to make soup.

Less than a half-hour passed before Dougherty realized the tortoise was gone. But by then, Nala had hightailed it for parts unknown — probably toward the Kimberton-Phoenixville area, Dougherty said.She’s really fast this time of year,” she added.

When Nala escaped two years ago, a deck contractor had put her outside the fence, thinking she was a wild snapping turtle who got trapped.“She got three miles away within 24 hours,” Dougherty said. “She went to my neighbor’s house and tried to get in their door.”

Sounds like the tortise still wins the race.

Company to produce James Bond popsicle

Daniel Craig has won a Del Monte contest as one of the coolest celebrities and will have his likeness made into a popsicle that will be sold for the UK's ice cream week.

The food company said a poll of 1,000 British women resulted in the 41-year-old "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace" star being named Britain's Coolest Smoothie, The Mirror reported Monday.

For just a week, Del Monte will be offering its Craig-inspired Superfruit Smoothies -- blueberry, pomegranate and cranberry flavored -- in the shape of Craig's head and torso. It's all part of Britain's inaugural National Ice Cream week.

"Daniel Craig topped our poll of Britain's coolest celebrities and, thanks to our Del Monte lolly replica, he is officially immortalized as super smooth and licensed to chill," spokesman Matt O'Connor said in a statement.

That's just wrong. You know people would be outraged if those were Pamela Anderson pops. Could you eat one of those in public?

Florida inmates grow veggies for local food banks

Inmates in a Florida prison have been growing vegetables to donate to food banks.

The gardening program has become so successful that it was scheduled weekly into the RECAP program, which includes inmates with substance-abuse problems, county officials said. And Huber inmates without jobs soon will work in the garden.

"They're so proud of what they're doing out here," Sgt. Laurie Sprecher said. "They're doing a good day's work and accomplishing something positive."

Rock County UW Extension and the master gardener program teach inmates about gardening. They work in a half-acre of soil off Highway 14 east of the jail. Inmates grow everything from tomatoes, lettuce and potatoes to peppers, asparagus and strawberries.

"We long ago realized that this is not about teaching them gardening," said Mike Maddox, Rock County UW Extension's horticulture educator. "This is about working together, teamwork and working independently."

The garden is a safe environment for inmates, Maddox said, and inmates talk about their kids, wives and families while working.

"It becomes kind of a reflection time," he said.

What a wonderful program. Teaching the inmates to value hard work and allowing them to produce a product that helps the community. I just hope that they get to eat some of those veggies.

Cemetery flag theif is a squirrel

A squirrel has been stealing the flags off of grave sites at a cemetery in Michigan.

Mount Hope Cemetery superintendent Ron Ceglarek said he witnessed the squirrel take one of the small flags from a grave site and transport it up a nearby tree to help build a nest with its mate, the Port Huron (Mich.) Times Herald reported Saturday.

"He plucks them right off," Ceglarek said. "If I didn't see it, and I didn't follow the squirrel, I never would have believed it."

The cemetery has grave sites for nearly 965 veterans and the small flags are traditional remembrances left at the sites on Memorial Day.

I think the squirrel wants some pretty decorations for his house. Why use sticks and leaves when you can decorate with the stars and stripes.

Yearbook publishes picture of girl with beer

A picture of a girl holding a beer somehow was placed in the school yearbook in Illinois.

The faculty had no idea the picture was included until yearbooks were handed out to students this week, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

"It's clearly defiant and subversive and intentional," says spokeswoman Laura Blair.

Principal Linda Yonke did not consider the prank harmless.

"It sort of casts a pall over the whole yearbook," Yonke said.

The snapshot in question is of two girls hugging each other while one of the girls holds a beer can behind the other girl's back.

School officials say they'll take appropriate disciplinary action against those responsible for the prank, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald reports.

New Trier has a long history of senior pranks, says a New Trier alumni.

One year keys to the school were mailed out, forcing officials to change all the locks. In the 1960s, seniors disassembled a car and reassembled it in the first floor rotunda.

That's a prank, but not a good one. They should have been more inventive, and the yearbook instructor should have checked the pictures better.

Man shoots himself while trying to get party guests to leave

A man in Canada shot himself in the arm while trying to get his guests to leave a party.

Neighbors who heard the shot called police early Tuesday and the unidentified 37-year-old victim first told officers someone had shot him, said police spokesman Constable Blair Good.

However, it was determined there was no other suspect, the Winnipeg Sun reported.

"He was handling the handgun incorrectly and he shot himself in the (right bicep)," Good said.

The man said he wanted about eight guests to leave and so he brought out a gun, although his intentions weren't clear, Good said.

However, he was successful in clearing the house, as everyone ran after the shooting, the Sun said.

I think a supersoaker would have been just as effective and much less painful.

Alligator found in restaurant bathroom

A Florida owner was surprised when she found an Alligator in the bathroom of her restaurant.

Joan Peoples says that when workers prepared to reopen the restaurant, which had been closed due to unseasonable spring flooding from a nearby creek, workers found a 4-foot-long baby alligator hiding behind the commode in the men's bathroom, WJXT-TV, Jacksonville, Fla., reported Wednesday.

"I thought it was a fish or an eel or something, and all I caught was the back of the tail," Peoples told the station. "I got down and started looking, and he got in behind the commode … and I said, 'Oh my God, that's a baby gator!'"

They put the gator back in the local creek. He's lucky he didn't end up on the menu.

Man robs store with beer box on his head

A Nebraska man used a beer box as a mask when he robbed a convenience store earlier this week.

Lincoln police Capt. Bob Kawamoto said the man entered the Kwik Shop store at about 4:30 a.m. Monday with the box on his head and a green rag wrapped around his hand to imply that he was holding a weapon, the Lincoln Journal-Star reported Tuesday.

Kawamoto said the robber left the store with nine packs of Newport cigarettes, worth nearly $50.

I guess he really wanted those smokes. Probably to go with the beer.

Mask eye holes allow for suspect ID

A manager at a KFC in Memphis was able to ID a robbery suspect as one of his former employees because of the large eye holes in the robbers mask.

KFC manager Laketa Hollowell said she unlocked the front door of the restaurant Saturday morning after hearing a knock at the back door and a masked man armed with a knife rushed into the business and demanded money from a safe, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported Monday.

Hollowell said she recognized the man as Ezederick Jones, 18, an employee who had been fired the previous day, because of the large eye holes in his mask. Her hand was cut during a struggle with the man and he fled after she addressed him by name, investigators said.

That would be why it is never a good idea to rob someone that knows you.

Game store employees trapped inside by swarm of bees

Employees at a New York Gamestop were trapped inside their store after a swarm of bees formed outside their store.

Worried employees looked out the window of the Manhattan store while talking on the phone as the bees clustered Saturday afternoon. A sign in the window warned: "Look! ... closed due to bee infestation."

Most passers-by avoided the GameStop store near Union Square, one of the city's busiest shopping areas. But Edward Albers tried to help. Dressed in regular clothes, he lured many bees into a box without getting stung.

Eventually, bee specialist Tony Planakis arrived in protective gear and used the scent of a queen bee to collect the rest of them.

BZZZZZ! I'd be terrified of all those bees.

Komodo Dragons Terrorize Indonesian Village

A small Indonesian village is having problems with attacking Komodo dragons.

The stories spread quickly across this smattering of tropical islands in southeastern Indonesia, the only place the endangered reptiles can still be found in the wild: Two people were killed since 2007 — a young boy and a fisherman — and others were badly wounded after being charged unprovoked.

Komodo dragon attacks are still rare, experts note. But fear is swirling through the fishing villages, along with questions on how best to live with the dragons in the future.

Main, a 46-year-old park ranger, was doing paperwork when a dragon slithered up the stairs of his wooden hut in Komodo National Park and went for his ankles dangling beneath the desk. When the ranger tried to pry open the beast's powerful jaws, it locked its teeth into his hand.

"I thought I wouldn't survive... I've spent half my life working with Komodos and have never seen anything like it," said Main, pointing to his jagged gashes, sewn up with 55 stitches and still swollen three months later. "Luckily, my friends heard my screams and got me to hospital in time."

Komodos, which are popular at zoos in the United States to Europe, grow to be 10 feet (3 meters) long and 150 pounds (70 kilograms). All of the estimated 2,500 left in the wild can be found within the 700-square-mile (1,810-square-kilometer) Komodo National Park, mostly on its two largest islands, Komodo and Rinca. The lizards on neighboring Padar were wiped out in the 1980s when hunters killed their main prey, deer.

Luckily Komodo dragons don't breathe fire.

Reporter convicted for killing fish

A Danish reporter has been convicted of animal cruelty after she poured shampoo into a fish tank to demonstrate the toxicity of chemicals for a news report.

The Glostrup City Court says Lisbeth Koelster poured 0.3 fluid ounces (10 milliliter) of a shampoo containing an anti-dandruff substance into a fish tank for a TV program in 2004.

The show on public service broadcaster DR was aimed to expose the toxicity of chemicals used in some hair products.

Three days later, 12 of the 13 guppies in the tank had died.

A veterinarian reported her to the police two days after the show aired, but the case apparently didn't get any priority treatment and was only brought to court last week.

Tuesday's ruling said Koelster knew the fish would die because the experiment was based on a similar laboratory test. The court didn't fine her, however, saying her rights to a speedy trial had been violated.

Oh, come on, they're fish. Are they going to start fining school kids for doing experiments with microscopic bacteria because they knew they'd kill them? Or how about fining housewives for killing spiders and ants.

Doctor uses houshold drill to save boys life

An Australian Dr saved a boys life by using a household drill to drill a hole in a boys head.

Nicholas Rossi fell off his bike on Friday in the small Victoria state city of Maryborough, hitting his head on the pavement, his family told The Australian newspaper in a story published Wednesday. By the time Rossi got to the hospital, he was slipping in and out of consciousness.

The doctor on duty, Rob Carson, quickly recognized the 13-year-old was experiencing potentially fatal bleeding on the brain and knew he had only minutes to drill a hole through the boy's skull to relieve the pressure.

But the small hospital was not equipped with neurological drills — so Carson grabbed a household drill from the maintenance room.

"Dr. Carson came over to us and said, 'I am going to have to drill into (Nicholas) to relieve the pressure on the brain — we've got one shot at this and one shot only,'" the boy's father, Michael Rossi, told The Australian.

Carson called a Melbourne neurosurgeon for help, and the specialist talked Carson through the procedure — which he had never before attempted — by telling him where to aim the drill and how deep to go. Soon, a blood clot fell out, relieving the pressure on the boy's brain.

That's crazy, brave and amazing.

Neighbors upset by new ordinance allowing chickens

Residents of a small Iowa town are upset over their city council's new ordinance that allows the suburban residents to keep chickens.

Norwalk resident Bev Frideres said she is completely against the ordinance passed by the Norwalk City Council Thursday, saying chickens are not advisable residents for an urban area, the Des Moines (Iowa) Register said Saturday.

"I'm baffled that we're even considering chickens within city limits," Frideres said. "We're an urban area, not agricultural. We're trying to be part of the metropolitan area that is close to Des Moines. I simply do not want smelly, stinky chickens anywhere in the city area."

The new ordinance will not allow roosters to be kept in residential areas of Norwalk, likely due in part to the animal's loud crowing abilities.

I can't imagine that a couple of hens would be any more irritating than a couple of large dogs.

Mom released from Thai jail after stealing a bar mat

An Australian woman has been released from jail and a possible five year sentence after allegedly stealing a bar mat like the one on the left.

Ms Smoel, who had faced a possible five years in jail for allegedly stealing a bar mat, has been given a six-month suspended jail term and a 1000 baht ($38) fine for theft.

Officials at the Phuket Provincial Court said Ms Smoel was initially sentenced to six months' jail but the sentenced was suspended after she pleaded guilty in court.

The officials said Ms Smoel was also placed on a two-year good behaviour bond.

They said Ms Smoel's passport and other documents, initially held with the Thai Police and immigration, were to be returned to her.

It said if the mother of four does not commit any crime in Thailand for the year, her jail term will not have to be served.

Before the court case, which was called at no notice, Ms Smoel had told journalists she was feeling the strain.

"(I'm) not real well, not real well. I'm tired, I'm exhausted and I'm scared," she said.

Ms Smoel's lawyer in Australia, Bernard Murphy, said he was encouraged by the developments, but remained cautious.

"There have been some very good developments today but I'm reluctant to say anything until Annice is on a plane and on her way home," Mr Murphy said.

"The most important thing for us to do is to get her home."

Ms Smoel was arrested on May 2 for allegedly stealing the bar mat from the Aussie Bar in Phuket where she was celebrating her mother's 60th birthday.

She spent four days in a cramped jail cell with three other women and had been told she could have had to wait 14 weeks before her case came to court.

Ms Smoel claimed her friends had put the bar mat in her handbag as a practical joke.

This is why it's not a good idea to get really drunk in a foreign country. Epically one with harsh sentencing laws. She obviously never saw that movie with Claire Daines.

Boy sticks 43 snails to his face

A Utah boy has broken a world record by sticking 43 snails on his face.

Eleven-year-old Fin Keleher likes snails. So he tried to break a world record of putting the most snails on his face..

Keleher had to keep 37 snails on his face for ten seconds. His family helped put them on and then did the countdown.

It took him two tries before he was successful and when he counted them, 43 of the slimy creatures had stayed on his face.

Keleher says the snails pinched his face, but he apparently didn't mind the slimy part.

"I closed my eyes and covered up my mouth with… well, I sucked my lips in so that they could crawl on that," Keleher said.

I think you all will agree with me when I say that middle school boys are weird and gross.