Latest Oddities News

The fate of Nibi the beaver lands in court as rescuers try to stop her release into the wild

Oct. 02, 2024 19:10 PM EDT

Whether a 2-year-old beaver named Nibi gets to stay with the rescuers she has known since she was a baby or must be released into the wild as winter approaches in Massachusetts has ended up in court — and caused such an uproar that even the governor has weighed in. “To literally...

Online voting in Alaska's Fat Bear Week contest starts after an attack killed 1 contestant

Oct. 02, 2024 18:50 PM EDT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Let the chunk-off begin. Voting started Wednesday in the annual Fat Bear Week contest at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, with viewers picking their favorite among a dozen brown bears fattened up to survive the winter. The...

Second fan files lawsuit claiming ownership of Shohei Ohtani's 50-50 baseball

Oct. 02, 2024 14:07 PM EDT

MIAMI (AP) — The claim to Shohei Ohtani's potentially lucrative 50th home run ball grew more complicated this week, with a second fan filing a lawsuit asserting he had possession of the historic baseball. According to online records, the latest suit was filed by Joseph Davidov in...

American Family Field adds padding to area of wall that Brewers' Frelick hit while chasing foul ball

Oct. 01, 2024 14:49 PM EDT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Sal Frelick returned to the Milwaukee Brewers' lineup for the start of the playoffs without needing to worry about hitting any metal if he crashed into a wall again. Frelick bruised his hip Friday when his left side made contact with the metal chain link inside a...

Damian Lewis herds sheep over a London bridge in homage to a medieval tradition

Sep. 30, 2024 12:52 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — Actor Damian Lewis drove a flock of sheep across the River Thames on Sunday in homage to a centuries-old tradition. Lewis is among thousands of people granted the honorary title of Freeman of the City of London, which in medieval times came with the right to bring...

Are digital tools a way for companies to retain hourly workers?

Sep. 30, 2024 09:08 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — The COVID-19 pandemic and the resetting of the economy that followed it made hourly workers more aware of their value. Some experts think employers should expect to field demands for flexible hours and other workplace incentives even as the labor market weakens. ...

Earth will have a temporary 'mini moon' for two months

Sep. 27, 2024 17:36 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Earth's moon will soon have some company — a “mini moon.” The mini moon is actually an asteroid about the size of a school bus at 33 feet (10 meters). When it whizzes by Earth on Sunday, it will be temporarily trapped by our planet's gravity and orbit the...

Detroit judge who put teen in handcuffs during field trip is demoted to speeding tickets

Sep. 26, 2024 14:58 PM EDT

DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit judge who was temporarily removed after ordering a teenager into jail clothes and handcuffs during a field trip is back on the bench but assigned to speeding tickets and other relatively minor offenses. Judge Kenneth King lost courtroom duties in August...

Hey, where's your card? Another Detroit-area library deals with bugs

Sep. 25, 2024 18:06 PM EDT

OAK PARK, Mich. (AP) — Bugs in a library — again. The Oak Park Public Library in suburban Detroit was closed Wednesday for a scrubbing after bedbugs were found in two chairs in the computer area. A library nearby in Royal Oak was closed Sunday and part of Monday after staff said...

The last of 8 escaped bulls from a Massachusetts rodeo is caught on highway

Sep. 24, 2024 06:52 AM EDT

NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) — A lone bull on the lam, one of eight that escaped from a rodeo in a Massachusetts mall parking lot, has been caught, but not before a pursuit that ended on a highway. The bull was lassoed and led into a trailer on U.S. Highway 1 in North Attleboro on...