100s of Oregon ‘witches’ paddle down river, minus the brooms
Portland, Ore. (AP) – Hundreds of “witches” traded in broomsticks for paddles in Oregon during the last weekend before Halloween. The costumed coven paddled six miles (10 kilometers) on boards Saturday along the Willamette River, which divides the city of Portland. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that the paddleboard event started two years ago with a handful of participants but now attracts hundreds. Participants donated packages of socks, underwear and T-shirts to a local nonprofit group before they started paddling. Spectators who were caught off guard by the witches watched from the shoreline.
Police: Men arrested in pumpkin smashing crime spree
Grants Pass, Ore. (AP) – Police in the southern Oregon town of Grants Pass have arrested two men suspected in a pumpkin-powered crime spree, ending weeks of incidents of smashed gourds and broken car windows. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Jacob Solomon and Adrian Ochoa, both 19, face multiple counts of criminal mischief in connection with at least 50 vehicles vandalized and damaged between Oct. 7 and 23, authorities said. Police say Solomon and Ochoa drove around town at night snatching pumpkins from outdoor supermarket displays which they would hurl through car windows. Lt. Misty English says damages reported by victims are at about $30,000 and continue to climb. Police say they were helped in finding the suspects because they carried out the alleged vandalism in an easily-recognizable gold Buick with a large dent in one side. It wasn’t immediately known if the men had lawyers.
Python presents slithery situation at Texas Goodwill store
Fort Worth, Texas (AP) – A Goodwill worker collecting clothes and other items at a Texas sorting center was surprised to find an albino python clinging to the side of a bin. The python was huddled in a pile of clothes when the worker discovered it Thursday at the center in Fort Worth. Manager James Murphy says it’s not clear if the snake slithered away from its owner and was accidentally dropped off or if its donation was intentional. The python had a serpentine journey: It arrived at one of nearly 40 Goodwill donation drop-offs in the area before being transported to the Fort Worth sorting center. Goodwill staffers will care for the python until the owner claims it or a permanent home is found.
Look what we found: Tiny female lion cub in French garage
Paris (AP) – France’s customs agency says it’s made an extremely surprising discovery in a garage in Marseille: a lion cub. Marseille’s customs brigade found a small female lioness inside a cage Wednesday that weighed just “a few kilograms.” Experts say she’s 1 to 2 months old and has not been weened. The agency said a man who was placed in detention said he acquired the cub from some people in “a building” in the southern French city who said they didn’t know how to look after a wild cat and gave the animal up. The custom agency says the feline was immediately handed over to France’s animal protection group for specialized care. In January 2007, two lion cubs were discovered by Montpellier customs before being given to the Marseille Zoo.
