NASA’s newest Mars lander has started digging into the red planet, but hit a few snags, scientists said Friday. The German drilling instrument on the InSight lander struck what appeared to be a couple of stones. It only managed to burrow between half a foot (18 centimeters) and about 1… Read More

Armed with some outdoor survival training, granola bars and pink rubber boots, 5- and 8-year-old sisters survived 44 hours in rugged Northern California wilderness before they were found dehydrated and cold but in good spirits on Sunday, authorities said. A fire chief and firefighter from a local volunteer department found… Read More

An Ohio library says a 1968 copy of Life magazine with the Beatles on the cover has been returned by a borrower who apologized for stealing it as a “kid” and sent $100 to cover late fees. The Cuyahoga County Public Library says it received the apology this week from… Read More

A cat named Stormy that has spent more than six years as a fixture in a remote Alaska general store is being forced out after officials notified the store owners that the cat’s presence violates food safety standards. The Fritz Creek General Store near the small city of Homer has… Read More

A 7-foot (215-centimeter) sea creature that washed ashore in Southern California has been identified as a hoodwinker sunfish, a recently identified rare species thought to live in the Southern Hemisphere. The University of California, Santa Barbara, said an intern spotted the stranded fish last week at Sands Beach in the… Read More

This rat is getting a lot of mouse clicks. A British tourist visiting Boston captured on video a hungry seagull devouring a dead rat in a single gulp and posted it on social media, prompting thousands of horrified comments. The video shows the gull pecking tentatively at the rodent before… Read More

A federal appeals court has rejected an Ohio woman’s defamation lawsuit against actor James Woods over Twitter posts during the 2016 presidential campaign. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Wednesday a lower court ruling dismissing the lawsuit by Portia Boulger of Chillicothe (chihl-ih-KAHTH’-ee), an activist for Democrat… Read More

Clark James Gable III, host of the reality TV show “Cheaters” and grandson of late Academy Award-winning actor Clark Gable, has died in Texas. The Dallas County Southwestern Institute of Forensic Science says the 30-year-old Gable died Friday at a Dallas hospital. The medical examiner’s office didn’t immediately indicate the… Read More

A Wisconsin man is facing at least his 10th drunken driving charge. Sixty-six-year-old Douglas Kluth of Green Bay was arrested early Wednesday in Oconto County. Authorities allege he had an open beer on the center console of his car. Officials say the State Patrol was helping with traffic when Kluth… Read More

Thirty years ago, a sobering dry spell in Iceland’s history came to an end. On Friday, the country celebrates the anniversary of the lifting of a decades-long ban on beer with — what else? — a nationwide Beer Day. The drink was outlawed in Iceland for 74 years, while all… Read More