AP - Fluffy, a 24-foot python billed as the largest snake in captivity, is staying put to lure visitors into the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

AP - A man who wrote a vulgar message on the memo line of a check he used to pay a $5 parking ticket has apologized in writing, leading police to drop a disorderly conduct charge against him.

Reuters - It's not often that former prime minister Tony Blair is not recognised. But his first foray into the world of mobile phone messaging left one friend puzzled.

AP - Pig fetuses believed stolen from a biology lab at a Des Moines high school were found impaled on car antennas at a rival school's parking lot in West Des Moines. The incident was discovered on Tuesday at Dowling Catholic High School.

AP - A truck driver was cited after a load of chicken manure spilled out of his semi, covering a road for more than a mile in rural Cerro Gordo County.

AP - Twins who were separated at birth got married without realizing they were brother and sister, a lawmaker said, urging more information be provided on birth certificates for adopted children. A court annulled the British couple's union after they discovered their true relationship, Lord David Alton said.

AP - Dave Carlson says the police in this north-metro suburb thought he was joking when he called to report that his wallaby went AWOL. "And then they wanted to know what a wallaby was," he said. "I explained it was like a kangaroo, but smaller."

AP - A man claiming to be a Catholic priest was arrested Friday at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport after he was caught carrying 7.7 pounds of cocaine under his robes, a spokesman for Dutch border police said.

AP - It's not often that a person orders a plate of fried oysters and walks away with a souvenir. But that's exactly what happened to Mike McHenry, of Washington Township, on Wednesday night when he thought he had chomped down on a piece of shell and instead spit out a pea-sized pearl.

Reuters - New lyrics proposed for Spain's national anthem "stink", according to a prominent politician, and the country's athletes may have to keep singing "la la la" for a while longer in the winner's circle.