Houston

We've got this mountain of trash - why don't we ski down it?

What to do with the mountain of garbage a major metropolitan area produces is an age-old question. Copenhagen has come up with a brand-new answer: ski down the mountain. The waste is actually inside Copenhill, a waste-treatment plant 10 minutes from downtown Copenhagen.

Woman finds tiger in house, tells dispatch: 'I'm not lying'

HOUSTON (AP) — A woman who called Houston's non-emergency dispatch line after discovering a tiger inside a cage at an abandoned home told the shocked dispatcher: "I'm not lying."

'Tinder for cows' matches livestock in the mood for love

A Tinder-inspired app is helping farmers match up potential partners for their cattle. Called "Tudder" - a mix of dating app Tinder and udder - it lets farmers swipe right on cattle they like the look of. Valuable information is available on matters like milk yield and protein content, or calving potential, explained Doug Bairner, CEO of Hectare Agritech which runs SellMyLivestock (SML) and Graindex, a UK-based online agritech trading platform.

We've got this mountain of trash - why don't we ski down it?

What to do with the mountain of garbage a major metropolitan area produces is an age-old question. Copenhagen has come up with a brand-new answer: ski down the mountain. The waste is actually inside Copenhill, a waste-treatment plant 10 minutes from downtown Copenhagen.

Purse lost in school in the 1950s to be reunited with owner

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) — A purse containing a prom invitation, photos and other items from 1950s America will be returned to its now 82-year-old owner after workers found it while demolishing part of an Indiana high school.

Camels found wandering in Arizona yard are back home

SAHUARITA, Ariz. (AP) — Two camels in southern Arizona are back home after going for an impromptu trek in the desert.

Police: Pot smokers find caged tiger in abandoned house

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston police say some people who went into an abandoned home to smoke marijuana found a caged tiger.

Polar bears invade Russian town; locals delighted but wary

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian wildlife specialists are heading for an Arctic archipelago to try to resolve a situation that has both terrified and delighted the locals: the polar bears that moved into a populated area.

NY woman resorts to baseball bat after patty not available

NEW YORK (AP) — A woman who couldn't get a beef patty at a favorite New York eatery used a baseball bat in protest.

A dying disk: Warm weather deteriorates river's wheel of ice

WESTBROOK, Maine (AP) — Maine's giant spinning ice disk may soon meet its end because of unseasonably warm weather.

Russians take to social media to celebrate the cold spell

MOSCOW (AP) — Residents of Russia's Urals and Siberia, where temperatures recently plunged to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (Celsius) have taken to social media to celebrate the cold.

Greek minister caught taking a puff tells EU official to butt out

Greece's deputy health minister has told the European Union's top health official to butt out after getting a reprimand for smoking in public. Deputy minister Pavlos Polakis was caught on video footage this week holding a cigarette while dancing in a club. It drew a rebuke from EU Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, who was in Athens to mark World Cancer Day.

Art exhibit shows Ivanka Trump lookalike vacuuming up crumbs

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new art exhibit at a Washington museum shows an Ivanka Trump lookalike pushing a vacuum cleaner and invites spectators to toss crumbs for her to clean up.

New app lets dog lovers swipe right for perfect pet match

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — If the pooch melts your heart, swipe right.

Super Bowl super fan can't stop because Patriots won't stop

KENNEBUNK, Maine (AP) — One of the handful of fans who has seen every single Super Bowl is keeping the streak alive as he prepares to cheer for his New England Patriots.

Groundhog doesn't see his shadow, predicting early spring

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — It may be hard to believe as a large swath of the U.S. thaws out from a bitter polar vortex, but spring is coming early, according to handlers for some of the country's most famous prognosticating groundhogs.

NFL: Fans in St. Louis can flush away anger at Kroenke

Rams owner Stan Kroenke seems to be particularly reviled in St. Louis, so much so that one chain of sports bars has gone to extra lengths to give erstwhile fans an avenue to flush away their anger. Hotshots will install 35 urinal guards sprinkled through their nine locations, each with a mugshot of Kroenke in the center to help their male customers aim. Hotshots director of marketing Justin Boyd said the light-hearted promotion was a response to the void felt by football fans since the Rams left town.

Who's the daddy? Surprise in Swiss orangutan paternity test

BERLIN (AP) — A paternity test on a baby orangutan has come back with a surprising result.

Indiana town marshal rescues horse that got stuck in tree

WINFIELD, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana town marshal wielding a chain saw rescued a horse that became wedged between two branches of a tree trunk amid subzero cold .

Pungent 'J-Queen' durians sell for $1,000 in Indonesia

An Indonesian variety of the durian - a pungent, spiky fruit considered a delicacy across many parts of Asia -- has been sold in a store on the island of Java for a hefty $1,000 per fruit. The "J-Queen" durian was selected by a panel of farmers in a region of central Java because it was deemed to have a special taste and texture, said Sudarno, a farmer who grew the fruit. Two of the rare durians, which were displayed in a perspex case in a store in Tasikmalaya in the neighboring province, were sold for 14 million rupiah ($1,002) each, said Sudarno, who uses one name like many Indonesians.

Elephant seals take over California beach during shutdown

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A colony of elephant seals took over a beach in Northern California during the government shutdown when there was no staff to discourage the animals from congregating in the popular tourist area, an official said.

'It's too cold!' Mr. Hot Dog says no school in South Dakota

PARKER, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota school district is using a talking hot dog to announce closures due to the extreme cold .

Police: Would-be bank robber gets cold feet, rips up note

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — Police in Massachusetts are looking for a woman they say intended to rob a bank but got cold feet and left without a penny.