(UPI) Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve announced a bear known as Grazer has been named the winner of Fat Bear Week for a second consecutive year.

The park said on social media that Grazer, officially designated as bear 128, won her second consecutive competition, beating out other favorites including longtime rival Chunk, No. 32.

"...Read more

(UPI) A crash on a California highway caused an hours-long "traffic yam" when one of the vehicles lost its load of sweet potatoes into the roadway.

The California Highway Patrol's Merced post said on social media that traffic on southbound Highway 99 in Livingston was brought to a standstill when a crash involving a truck caused the vehicle to ...Read more

(UPI) A Nebraska man said a fellow customer at a store inspired him to buy the lottery ticket that earned him a $200,000 prize one day before his birthday.

Springfield resident Michael Henrichs told Nebraska Lottery officials he was at the B&D Pit Stop on Platteview Roa in Springfield when he saw another customer buying lottery tickets and ...Read more

(UPI) The Idaho man with the most concurrently-held Guinness World Records titles added another to his name by dribbling a basketball for over an hour while blindfolded.

David Rush said his first attempt at dribbling a basketball blindfolded lasted for 1 hour, 55 minutes and 21 seconds, but it was disqualified because he sat in a chair during ...Read more

(UPI) Animal rescuers in Texas were surprised when a call about a lemur on the loose in a park turned out to be about an actual lemur and not a raccoon.

Toby's Wildlife Management & Pest Control said on social media that personnel responded to a call about a lemur on the loose in Houston's Bear Creek Park.

"We were extremely skeptical and ...Read more

(UPI) A Canadian speed-eater added another world record to his name by eating 2 pounds and 7 ounces of hot sauce in three minutes.

Mike Jack, who holds multiple Guinness World Records titles for speed-eating and drinking, broke the record for the most hot sauce eaten in three minutes on the same day that he broke the record for the fastest time...Read more

(UPI) A Washington woman who has been feeding the raccoons near her home for 35 years ended up calling the authorities when she found her home surrounded by nearly 100 of the animals.

The Poulsbo woman told Kitsap County Sheriff's Office deputies she has been giving food to raccoons near her home for about 35 years, and about six weeks ago ...Read more

(UPI) Firefighters in England came to the rescue of a calf that fell into the River Thames and couldn't climb back out.

The Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said crews responded alongside the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service after the calf was found stranded in the river near Temple Island in Henley.

"Using expert animal rescue ...Read more

(UPI) A North Carolina man won a $150,000 prize from a scratch-off lottery ticket -- and he said it's all thanks to a pumpkin.

Hertford resident Roy Story told North Carolina Education Lottery officials he has a Halloween tradition of selling pumpkins from his garden.

"I raise a few pumpkins every year and sell them," Story said. Someone ...Read more

(UPI) A member of the Oregon Army National Guard may have reclaimed a Guinness World Record title by performing 1,027 chest-to-ground burpees in one hour.

Maj. Tommy Vu, 36, an officer in the Oregon National Guard's Medical Command, previously set the record at 1,003 of the exercises in March 2023, but his feat was later outdone by Dutch man ...Read more

(UPI) A work of art was rescued from the trash at a Dutch museum after being mistaken for what it depicts: a pair of abandoned beer cans.

All The Good Times We Spent Together, a 1988 piece by French artist Alexandre Lavet, appears at first glance to be a pair of empty beer cans abandoned on the floor.

"However, a closer look reveals that these...Read more

(UPI) A Maryland woman scored a $50,000 lottery prize just three years after her daughter won $100,000 from another game.

The 75-year-old Baltimore winner told Maryland Lottery officials she bought a stack of Ca$h Plu$ scratch-off tickets from Bermuda Bar & Liquor in Baltimore and had some early luck with a $50 winner.

She said the very ...Read more

(UPI) Authorities in Washington are trying to locate the owner of a pair of dogs found running loose on a busy stretch of interstate.

The Washington State Patrol said an off-duty trooper found the two canines running loose on Interstate 90, near milepost 32 in North Bend.

The trooper was able to wrangle the playful pups, and one of the dogs ...Read more

(UPI) A pair of British brothers-in-law worked in tandem to break their own Guinness World Record by pulling a pair of cars a distance of 32 miles in 24 hours.

John Darwen and James Baker originally became co-holders of the record when they pulled their cars side-by-side for a distance of 22.18 miles in October 2021.

In both attempts, the men ...Read more

(UPI) A British woman who applied by mail for a job as a motorcycle stunt rider said her application was returned to her after nearly 50 years lost at a post office.

Tizi Hodson, 70, of Lincolnshire, said she mailed out the application in January 1976, hoping to land her dream job as a motorcycle stunt rider.

"I always wondered why I never ...Read more