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California tortoise with cracked shell gets $4,000 repair

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A wayward tortoise that cracked its shell after falling off a 10-foot wall in California is recovering after vets used screws, zip ties and denture material to repair it.

420's long, strange trip to pot holiday began in California

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) — Friday is April 20, or 4/20. That's the numerical code for marijuana's high holiday, a homage to pot's enduring appeal and universal slang for smoking.

Marx birthplace cashes in on 0 euro notes for anniversary

The German city of Trier is struggling to keep up with demand for 0-euro notes, bearing the face of its most famous son and communism's creator Karl Marx, and sold for 3 euros each as part of celebrations for his 200th birthday. Marx's best known and most influential works are the Communist Manifesto, co-written with Friedrich Engels and released in 1848, and his caustic analysis of capitalism "Das Kapital" two decades later. "The souvenir plays on Marx's criticism of capitalism and of course the 0-euro note fits perfectly with Marx as a motif," said Norbert Kaethler, managing director of Triers' tourism office.

You want tarantula with that? At U.S. burger joint, it's an option

Kristin Barnaby, a self-described arachnophobe, found a way to overcome what she dreads at a North Carolina burger joint. "I am going to eat my fear," the 27-year-old said at the Bull City Burger and Brewery, where she tucked in to a hamburger topped with a crunchy full-grown, oven-roasted tarantula and a side of fries. The tarantula burger was a feature of the restaurant's April exotic meat month, which in the past six years has featured iguana, alligator, camels, python, turtle and various insects.

2 men use signs to spread happiness

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — Two New Hampshire men are trying to spread some positivity in Nashua with their feel-good signs.

Mother's obituary helps officers nab 1981 prison escapee

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Investigators say a woman's obituary helped federal agents capture her fugitive son nearly four decades after he escaped from an Oklahoma prison.

Mower, tooth in a box, Vishnu doll in New Jersey beach trash

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J. (AP) — The bizarre trash items plucked from New Jersey's beaches last year might be enough to cause nausea or heartburn. But don't worry, a bottle of Pepto-Bismol was among the items collected.

Temasek stake values 'Salt Bae' Turkish restaurant owner at $1.2 billion

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Singapore's Temasek and Britain's Metric Capital have bought into Nusr-Et steakhouse owner D.ream in a deal valuing the Turkish firm at $1.2 billion.

Police, fed up with lingering cold weather, 'arrests' winter

DEPEW, N.Y. (AP) — An upstate New York police department fed up with lingering cold weather has placed winter under arrest.

Maine community creates massive ice carousel on frozen lake

SINCLAIR, Maine (AP) — Residents in a Maine town believe they've created the world's largest ice carousel on a frozen lake.

Female lion with a mane has died at Oklahoma City Zoo

The Oklahoma City Zoo says an 18-year-old African lioness that mysteriously sprouted a mane last year has died. The zoo says the lioness, named Bridget, was euthanized Wednesday after a veterinary team ...

Maine petting zoo is site of first reindeer birth in years

WINSLOW, Maine (AP) — A traveling Maine petting zoo says its reindeer has unexpectedly given birth to the first baby reindeer in the state in more than 20 years.

Out-of-control trash truck smashes vehicles in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An out-of-control trash truck smashed into a row of parked cars along a residential street in Philadelphia, but no injuries have been reported.

'Miraculous': Teen survives 12 hours in Los Angeles sewage

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 13-year-old boy was miraculously rescued Monday after falling into a river of sewage in Los Angeles, getting swept away and spending more than 12 hours in the city's toxic and mazelike underground sewer system.

Florida: Gator in backyard pool as reptiles warm to spring

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Florida homeowners beware: one big gator has been found splashing in a backyard swimming pool and it took a trapper to drag it away.

Far from war, Basra's cats lap it up in their own hotel

A world away from Iraq's battlegrounds, Basra's cat-lovers have found a haven for their favorite pets. Veterinary student Ahmed Taher Maki has turned his home in the southern city into what he believes is Iraq's first cat hotel. Taking care of animals gives people a "merciful heart," he said.

No more pain for Philippine devotee nailed to cross for 32nd time

A Philippine man who has been nailed to a cross every Easter for the past 32 years in a Good Friday re-enactment of Jesus Christ's crucifixion says he no longer feels any pain from his wounds. Easter is a festival marking the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. About 80 percent of the 105 million people in the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, are Catholic.

Iowa man wins lawsuit over calling his hometown stinky

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man threatened by city officials with legal action for saying on a website that his hometown smelled like "rancid dog food" won a free-speech lawsuit Thursday when a federal judge prohibited the city from further threats and awarded him damages.

Solved: Portrait of mystery high court justice identified

BOSTON (AP) — The case of the unknown Massachusetts high court justice has been solved.