Snake on a plane delays a flight in Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian domestic airline flight has been delayed for two hours after a stowaway snake was found in the plane’s cargo hold. The snake was found on Tuesday as passengers were boarding a Virgin Australia flight at Melbourne Airport bound for Brisbane. Snake catcher Mark Pelley said turned out to be a harmless 60-centimeter green tree snake. Because the snake is native to the Brisbane region, Pelley suspects it escaped from a passenger’s luggage during a flight from Brisbane to Melbourne. The snake is a protected species. It has been given to a Melbourne veterinarian to find a home with a licensed snake keeper.

China's humanoid robots generate more soccer excitement than their human counterparts

BEIJING (AP) — Humanoid robots have captivated fans in Beijing with a fully autonomous soccer match powered by artificial intelligence. On Saturday, four teams of robots competed in a 3-on-3 tournament, marking a first in China and previewing the upcoming World Humanoid Robot Games. Organizers highlighted that the robots operated independently, using AI-driven strategies without human intervention. Equipped with advanced sensors, they navigated the field and even stood up after falling, though some needed assistance. Tsinghua University’s team won the final match, defeating China Agricultural University 5–3. The event reflects China’s push to develop AI-powered robots, using sports as a testing ground.

What's that in the sky? We're not sure, but the fireball was very bright

McDONOUGH, Ga. (AP) — An object bright enough to be seen streaking across the midday sky has fallen across parts of the Southeast U.S. The National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia, says the object was likely either a meteor or space junk. Most of the reports of sightings came from Georgia and South Carolina around 12:30 p.m. Thursday. Authorities say someone in Henry County, Georgia, reported a rock came through their roof about the time they heard the sonic boom from the fireball. The weather service posted photos of a hole in the ceiling about the size of a golf ball and reported a crack in a laminate floor.

Erie Seawolves will be renamed the Moon Mammoths after being picked for rebranding by John Oliver

NEW YORK (AP) — The Detroit Tigers’ Double-A Erie Seawolves will be renamed the Erie Moon Mammoths after being picked by John Oliver of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight.” Oliver devoted a May 4 segment to names and promotions of minor league baseball teams, announcing his rebranding proposal. Two weeks later, he said Erie, based in Pennsylvania, had been selected after 47 submissions. On Sunday, Oliver announced he had picked Moon Mammoths. The name was inspired by the 1991 discovery of woolly mammoth remains by George Moon, a Summit Township resident who found a bone while scuba diving in Lake Pleasant, about 8 miles south of Erie. The mammoth remains are housed in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.

An Alaska brown bear has a new shiny smile after getting a huge metal crown for a canine tooth

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — An Alaska brown bear at the Lake Superior Zoo in northeastern Minnesota has a gleaming new silver-colored canine tooth after a first-of-its-kind procedure. The 800-pound bear named Tundra was put under sedation Monday and fitted with a new titanium alloy crown. The zoo says it's the largest dental crown ever created. The hour-long procedure was done by Dr. Grace Brown, a board-certified veterinary dentist who helped perform a root canal on the same tooth two years ago. Brown plans to publish a paper on the procedure in the Journal of Veterinary Dentistry later this year.

Volunteers play music to soothe shelter animals

DENVER (AP) — It's often said music is the universal language of humanity. Now a 12-year-old Houston boy is putting that to the test for an unlikely audience — man’s best friend. Yuvi Agarwal started playing keyboard when he was 4 and several years ago noticed his playing soothed his family’s restless dog, Bozo. He grew curious if it also could help stressed, homeless animals. With help from his parents, he founded the nonprofit Wild Tunes to recruit musicians to play in animal shelters. He says after a few minutes of playing, most animals calm down and some even go to sleep.

Colombian waste pickers inundate iconic Bogota square with plastic bottles to protest falling wages

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Dozens of Colombian waste pickers have inundated one of Bogota’s most iconic squares with about 15 tons of recyclable goods. It's part of a protest against decreasing income and tougher conditions for scavengers who collect trash from homes, factories and office buildings, and sell it to local recycling plants. The demonstration was organized by 14 waste pickers associations in Bogota, a city where there are approximately 20,000 scavengers who work long hours gathering items like plastic bottles, scrap metal and cardboard boxes.

Czech family of 3 is accused of running a fake dental clinic

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech police say they have detained three suspects who allegedly treated patients in a fake dental clinic without a proper licence or professional training. The three have pleaded guilty to charges including running an illegal business and attempted bodily harm. They face up to eight years in prison. Police say the 22-year-old son consulted the internet to do procedures, including extractions. They say his mother, a nurse by profession, worked as his assistant and his father made prosthetic devices. Police say they opened the clinic two years ago and made $185,000 before they were detained earlier this month.

A Michigan bear roamed the woods for two years with an awful lid on his neck. Not anymore.

A Michigan bear is feeling much, much better. Wildlife experts finally were able to trap a black bear and remove a large lid that was stuck around his neck for two years. Michigan bear specialist Cody Norton said Wednesday that it's “pretty incredible” the bear survived and was able to feed himself. The bear first turned up on a trail camera as a cub in 2023. After that, the Department of Natural Resources was on the lookout. The bear was safely trapped and the lid removed on June 3.