Mark Allen compiles rare 147 break at snooker worlds and earns lucky fan $33,000

SHEFFIELD, England (AP) — A rare perfect break of 147 at the world snooker championship has earned a lucky fan $33,000. The experience for Brian Nicholls came with a twist in Sheffield, England. A random member of the audience gets picked each session of the championship to be the recipient of the cash prize should a player complete a maximum break. Nicholls was the chosen fan. He was sitting on one side of the Crucible Theatre watching a match between Mark Williams and Hossein Vafaei while Mark Allen was compiling his 147 on the other table. The two tables are separated by a partition. Nicholls had to watch on one of the TV screens inside the arena as Allen finished his maximum.

Four White Sox pitchers - all from Massachusetts - made their Fenway mound debuts within 24 hours

BOSTON (AP) — Four young Chicago White Sox pitchers all had something in common before they even came to Boston this weekend. All four were from Massachusetts and they were teammates on a major league club together at Fenway Park for the first time. And within a 24-hour span, Sean Burke, Mike Vasil, Jared Shuster and Shane Smith each pitched off Fenway’s mound as major leaguers for the first time. Burke played in high school against Vasil, a reliever who pitched in Saturday’s walk-off loss.

No sweat: Humanoid robots run a Chinese half-marathon alongside flesh-and-blood competitors

BEIJING (AP) — In one small step for robot-kind — thousands of them, really — humanoid robots ran alongside actual humans in a half-marathon in the Chinese capital. The bipedal robots of various makes and sizes navigated the 13.1-mile course on Saturday supported by teams of human navigators, operators, and engineers, in what event organizers say was a first. As a precaution, a divider separated the parallel courses used by the robots and people. While flesh-and-blood participants followed conventional rules, the 20 teams behind their machine counterparts competed under tailored guidelines, which included battery swap pit stops. Tiangong Ultra, from the Tiangong Team, claimed victory among the nonhumans, crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds.

Sweets from the sky! A helicopter marshmallow drop thrills kids in suburban Detroit

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — It rained marshmallows at a Detroit-area park as children raced to collect thousands of the fluffy treats dropped from a helicopter. The annual Great Marshmallow Drop took place at Worden Park in Royal Oak, Michigan, and was hosted by Oakland County Parks. Hundreds of children cheered as the helicopter passed by on its way to the drop zone. Once there, a passenger unloaded the treats out of a sack and onto the grass below. The helicopter made four passes, dropping marshmallows for kids in three age categories. A drop for those of all ages with disabilities came later in the day.

A Russian bucket brigade helps toads and frogs cross the road to get to a spawning site

A NATURE RESERVE NEAR SESTRORETSK, Russia (AP) — It happens every spring along a section of road north of Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg: Volunteers, some in yellow vests, patrol near the Sestroretsk Bog natural reserve, and become crossing guards for thousands of toads and frogs. Konstantin Milta of the St. Petersburg Zoological Institute says the creatures are trying to navigate toward their spawning sites. He says there usually isn’t much traffic, but even the relatively low number of vehicles still used to kill up to 1,000 toads each year. The work usually begins in mid-April and continues for a month or two, with more than 700 volunteers taking part.

Meet Jobu, the good luck charm behind the St. Louis Blues' late-season run to the playoffs

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The force behind the St. Louis Blues late season playoff push can’t be found in the box score. He hasn't scored a single goal. His addition can’t be found on the NHL transaction wire. It’s Jobu. Yes, the same Jobu from 1989 baseball comedy film “Major League.” St. Louis has gone 19-4-3 since the 4 Nations Break and Jobu’s subsequent arrival. That includes a franchise record 12-game winning streak. Jobu has his own spot in the locker room with the players and will join the Blues in Winnipeg for this weekend's playoff opener.

A 'fireball' lights up Mexico City skies, sparking awe and plenty of memes

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A bright fireball lit up the skies over Mexico’s capital, stretching over plains, volcanoes and small towns. Videos of the ball of fire shooting over the country and dissolving in a burst of light over Mexico City struck awe in many and became the fuel for social media memes. Scientists were quick to note that the object rocketing across the skies about 3 a.m. Wednesday was a bolide and not a meteorite. Bolides disintegrate in the atmosphere and often can be seen over a wide area, while meteorites strike the ground.

A restaurant in Havana defies Cuba's tech struggles with digital menus and a robot waitress

HAVANA (AP) — For Sonia Pérez, stepping into Havana’s Doña Alicia restaurant felt like entering a movie. Even as Cuba struggles with power outages and technological scarcity, this eatery has leaped into the 21st century with digital menus, Alexa-enabled assistance, touchless bathrooms and even a food-delivering robot. While commonplace globally, such automation is a complex feat in Cuba due to the island’s frequent power cuts and a lack of modern technology. The prices align with those of other private restaurants, making them unaffordable for the average Cuban and reflecting the island’s inflation.