Orphaned squirrel who became social media star was euthanized after being seized from home
PINE CITY, N.Y. (AP) -- An orphaned squirrel that became a social media star called Peanut is dead after being seized by New York state from his caretakers' home. Peanut's owners and the Department of Environmental Conservation reported Friday that the squirrel and a raccoon that was also seized earlier this week have been euthanized. The DEC says the squirrel bit one of the people involved in its investigation. The agency says it removed the animals from the home in rural Pine City after receiving reports about wildlife being illegally kept as pets. Peanut amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on social media during the seven years since his owner took him in.
Shark bites 61-year-old Maui surfer, completely severing his leg below the knee
WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) -- A shark bit a Maui surfer and severed his leg. Authorities say the 61-year-old man was surfing off Waiehu Beach Park Friday morning when a shark bit him. Maui officials say the man's right leg was completely severed below the knee. The man was alert while being treated on shore and then taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition. Authorities report the man says he did not see the shark approach. The incident has prompted officials to close the beach park. There were no details provided on what kind of shark was involved. In June, well-known surfer Tamayo Perry was killed in a shark attack while surfing off Oahu's North Shore.
Meet Decoy Ohtani, perhaps the most valuable pet of the World Series
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shohei Ohtani's dog, Decoy, made an appearance at the World Series victory parade. The much-memed Decoy is a Nederlanse kooikerhondje, or Dutch kooikerhondje. He has become a fixture of Dodgers, and dog, fandom since Ohtani joined the team. The pup was on Ohtani's lap when he learned he was the first Major League Baseball player ever to be unanimously selected twice as Most Valuable Player, which he achieved while with the Los Angeles Angels. After he went on to sign a record $700 million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers, some of the first questions that reporters had for him were about the dog.
Crowds flock to tiny Massachusetts town to send off New York's Rockefeller Christmas tree
WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) -- This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree comes with a strong New England accent, and locals could not be more excited. The Norway spruce that will travel to New York City hails from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It was scheduled to be cut down Thursday and make the roughly 140-mile journey south, arriving Nov. 9 in midtown Manhattan. It will be lit during a live TV broadcast on Dec. 4 featuring 50,000 multi-colored lights with a Swarovski star on top. Local western Massachusetts residents have flocked to the tree this week, which was planted 67 years ago in honor of the homeowner's nieces. It is the first tree to come from Massachusetts since 1959.
Daylight saving time ends Sunday. Time to 'fall back' an hour
It's time to move clocks back on Sunday. Daylight saving time ends in the U.S. at 2 a.m. local time, which means setting your clock back an hour. Standard time will last until March 9 when we will again "spring forward" with the return of daylight saving time. That spring time change can be tough on your body but the fall change should be easier to adjust to. Most countries don't make time changes. It's mostly North America and Europe. In the U.S., there are two exceptions. Arizona and Hawaii stick to standard time year-round.
Wendy's closing 140 more restaurants as part of push to update its locations
Wendy's plans to close 140 U.S. restaurants before the end of this year on top of the 100 it said it would close in May. But the company says those closures will be offset by new restaurant openings. Wendy's plans to open between 250 and 300 restaurants this year. Wendy's President and CEO Kirk Tanner said in a conference call Thursday that the restaurants that are closing are underperforming compared to others, and many are outdated. Wendy's didn't provide a list of restaurants that will be closed, but Tanner said they're all over the U.S.
'Amateurish' thieves steal 2 Warhol prints, damage 2 more in botched heist at Dutch gallery
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Thieves have blown open the door of an art gallery in the southern Netherlands and stolen two works from a famous series of screen prints by American pop artist Andy Warhol. The gallery owner said Friday that they left two more Warhol works badly damaged in the street as they fled. Mark Peet Visser says the thieves attempted to steal all four works from a 1985 Warhol series called "Reigning Queens," which features portraits of the then-queens of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark and Swaziland, a small landlocked kingdom in southern Africa which is now called Eswatini. Visser says the heist early Friday at MPV Gallery in the town of Oisterwijk was captured on security cameras, and called it "amateurish."
Macy's Thanksgiving Parade will feature Ariana Madix, T-Pain, 'Gabby's Dollhouse' and pasta
NEW YORK (AP) -- A eclectic group of stars -- including reality TV's Ariana Madix, hip-hop's T-Pain, members of the WNBA champions New York Liberty and country duo Dan + Shay -- will feature in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The holiday tradition will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 28 in all time zones and will be kicked off by actor Alison Brie. There will be six new featured character balloons, including Minnie Mouse, "Extraordinary Noorah" with "The Elf on the Shelf," "Gabby's Dollhouse," "Goku" and "Spider-Man." One new float will spotlight the Rao's food brand, featuring a knight and a dragon in battle made with actual pasta elements.
Not just for summer: 'Brat' is Collins Dictionary's word of the year
LONDON (AP) -- Collins Dictionary has declared "brat" its 2024 word of the year. The word, used by singer Charli XCX as the title of her sixth studio album, has been defined as "characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude." It spawned the phrase "brat summer," which Collins experts said was one of the most talked about words of 2024." Collins experts monitor their 20-billion-word database to create the annual list of new and notable words. Another word on the 2024 list is "era," in the sense of "a period of one's life or career that is of a distinctive character." It's inspired by Taylor Swift's world-conquering Eras tour.
Heidi Klum and Janelle Monáe wear elaborate E.T. costumes for their Halloween parties
NEW YORK (AP) -- Heidi Klum and Janelle Monáe have opted for out-of-this-world Halloween costumes this year -- both choosing the stubby alien E.T. for their parties on opposite coasts. While the similar costumes will likely spark "who wore it best" debates that are popular in celebrity magazines, the stars chose different interpretations of the creature from Steven Spielberg's 1982 classic, "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial." Monáe waddled on her carpet in a stubbier version of the creature. Klum's costume was bigger and her face was in the creature's neck, allowing her to see and speak. Klum says the costume had been in the works for a year and she has been a fan of E.T. since she was 9.