NEW YORK (AP) – In the fight of pachyderms vs. people – the pachyderms now have the upper trunk. Three circus elephants scored a decisive victory over three human competitive eaters at a cross-species eating contest Friday, chomping down on 505 hot dog buns in six minutes. The humans forced down only 143 buns in […]

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) – Police are searching for three masked teens who burst into a southwestern Pennsylvania convenience store, but were content to steal only several bags of potato chips and bottles of soda. Uniontown police say the bandits struck about 12:45 a.m. Monday at a Sunoco A Plus store. Police say the thieves dropped […]

SYLVANIA, Ohio (AP) – A vacant house in flames must have looked familiar to northwestern Ohio firefighters. Less than 24 hours earlier, they were at the same house putting out fires for a training exercise. The cause of the fire early Wednesday in the Toledo suburb of Sylvania is under investigation. On Tuesday morning, “controlled […]

KIRKWOOD, N.Y. (AP) – Two Pennsylvania men robbed an upstate New York gas station and might have gotten away if they had remembered to fuel up, police said. Lonnie Meckwood, 29, and Phillip Weeks, 51, were caught after their car ran out of gas about a mile from the station late Monday night, state police […]

Linda Beaulieu of Coldwell Banker Millett Realty in Auburn was named 2009 Realtor of the Year by the Androscoggin Valley Board of Realtors for her outstanding service to the real estate industry and her commitment to the community. Each year, the local Board of Realtors honor one who has shown exemplary service, commitment to education […]

ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) – A woman accused of dipping into her ex-husband’s bank account without permission blames her dog. Arlington, Wash., police spokeswoman Kristin Banfield says detectives filed court orders to follow the money trail. They learned the money disappearing from the 42-year-old Arlington man’s account was being used to pay for utility bills and […]

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin teenager using a classic excuse for evading schoolwork missed a class trip to Peru despite his tale being true: The dog ate his passport. Officials at Chicago’s O’Hare airport told 17-year-old Jon Meier the chewed-on document was fine, but authorities in Miami rejected it and wouldn’t let him […]

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – It’s the King of Pop – in butter. Iowa State Fair organizers announced Tuesday that they will have a statue of Michael Jackson made of butter. The sculpture will be on display along with the annual butter cow, a popular attraction at the event. Both will be in a 40-degree […]

SAN ANTONIO HEIGHTS, Calif. (AP) — Deputies say a bear with an apparent sweet-tooth busted into a San Bernardino County home and gobbled up a box of chocolates from a couple’s refrigerator. Sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Alsky says the couple arrived home Saturday afternoon, found the bear chowing down in their kitchen and phoned for help. […]

LONDON (AP) – Next time you’re in Britain, check your change. The Royal Mint admits it’s made a rare error, producing coins without a date on them for the first time in centuries. The mint said Monday that at least 100,000 of the year-less 20-pence coins, normally worth 33 U.S. cents at face value, slipped […]