Scientists hope a newly discovered flower will return after rain in West Texas

DALLAS (AP) — Scientists who want to learn more about a tiny, newly discovered flower in West Texas are hoping it will bloom again in a couple of weeks after rain finally fell in the area. Dubbed the wooly devil, the flower with furry leaves, purplish-striped petals and pops of yellow is a new genus and species in the same family as sunflowers and daisies. It was discovered last year in Big Bend National Park, known for its rugged landscape of desert, canyons and mountains, on the border with Mexico. A Big Bend botanist says there's still “a lot to learn” about the wooly devil.

First disappointment and then a celebration as video captures high school band's big surprise

SNOW HILL, N.C. (AP) — A small high school in eastern North Carolina is celebrating the highest ranking its band has won at a statewide musical competition. The surprise reaction of the students learning they had won a superior ranking was captured on video. It started when band director Andrew Howell solemnly stepped onto the bus and told his students what they had gone through was a learning experience. Some of the students groaned or dropped their heads. Then he pulled out a plaque awarding the band with the competition’s highest ranking. The students erupted with screams and cheers. The video of their celebration has been seen by millions after being posted on TikTok and social media sites.

Child complains of 'monster' under the bed. Babysitter then comes face-to-face with man hiding there

A Kansas sheriff's office says a babysitter looked under a bed to reassure a worried child that there wasn’t a monster hiding there — and came face-to-face with a man who wasn’t supposed to be there. The 27-year-old was booked into jail Tuesday after a struggle with the babysitter that knocked the child to the ground. The Barton County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called late Monday to the home near Great Bend. The suspect was gone when they arrived, but they arrested him the next day. The man once lived in the home, but there was a protection from abuse order issued against him to stay away from the property, the sheriff’s office said.

It was bacteria — not a miracle — on a Communion wafer in Indiana church

MORRIS, Ind. (AP) — It turns out there's nothing miraculous about red marks found on a communion host at a Catholic church in Indiana. The discovery at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Morris was unusual enough for a formal inspection. But the Archdiocese of Indianapolis says a biochemical analysis shows fungus and bacteria commonly found on human hands. The Catholic faith teaches that consecrated wine and a bread wafer signify the body and blood of Jesus Christ at Mass. The host with red marks had fallen out of a Mass kit at St. Anthony Church.

Escaped otters cavort in the snow as the zoo's search continues

A Wisconsin zoo said two river otters, Louie and Ophelia, weaseled their way out of their enclosure last week during a winter storm, as the search continued Tuesday. The two Norther American river otters escaped through a small hole in a buried fence. Their flight was quickly noticed by zookeepers. Louie and Ophelia don’t appear to have gone far. Tracks suggest they are exploring bodies of water nearby and returning to the zoo’s perimeter now and again. The species is native to the area and the otters are capable of surviving, with local ponds or streams offering food and shelter. They do not pose a threat to the public.

Royal Air Force engineers shamed by judge over theft of Paddington Bear statue

LONDON (AP) — Two British service members have admitted they broke and stole half of a statue of Paddington Bear. Prosecutors said Tuesday that Daniel Heath and William Lawrence were on a drunken night out in the town of Newbury when they tried to lift the statue from a bench and it broke in two earlier this month. They then spirited the front half away. The 22-year-old engineers in the Royal Air Force admitted committing criminal damage. They were sentenced to community work and ordered repay more than $3,500. A judge says their actions were the “antithesis of everything Paddington stands for.”

8 new Corvettes go missing from Kentucky car plant, but the conspicuous muscle cars are all found

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Thieves took eight Corvettes from the lot of a Kentucky automobile plant where the legendary muscle car is built. The cars were stolen from the GM Bowling Green Assembly plant, the home of the Corvette since the early 1980s. Police say the cars were valued at $1.2 million. Police say thieves cut a fence at the plant to get the cars out. Police found the Corvettes at different locations around town after determining they had been stolen. Officers arrested one man who they said was trying to load three of the 2025 Corvettes on a transporter truck bound for Michigan.

A new thermal steam vent is grabbing attention in ever-changing Yellowstone National Park

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park has a new thermal vent spewing steam in the air that could be visible to tourists once visitors flock back into the park. The park's roads open up next month after the winter. Last summer, scientists documented the new feature and measured steam venting from the ground at a blistering 170 degrees or more. The steam plume ebbed somewhat over the winter. It still remains to be seen if it will continue in the months ahead. The scientist in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory said Monday that such features are forming and changing all the time in the park, which is famous for its thousands of geysers and hot springs.

Portugal intercepts a semi-submersible vessel loaded with cocaine

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portuguese police have seized a semi-submersible vessel transporting 6.5 tons of cocaine destined for Europe. Portuguese police described the crew as allegedly belonging to an international criminal organization. They said that the operation happened recently, without specifying the date. European authorities occasionally nab homemade semi-submersibles transporting drugs from South America. They lie low in the water to escape detection but rarely are able to fully submerge.

Detectives recover 4 diamond earrings 2 weeks after suspect swallowed them during arrest

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Detectives have recovered four diamond earrings from a suspected thief two weeks after he gulped the Tiffany & Co. jewelry worth nearly $770,000 during his arrest on the side of a highway in the Florida Panhandle. Orlando Police Department officials said Friday that the last of the four earrings stolen from the Tiffany store in Orlando was recovered from the suspect last week. Detectives say the two pairs of earrings matched the serial numbers from the jewelry taken from the Tiffany store. The suspect had been transferred from a jail to a hospital while detectives waited to collect the evidence.