Far and Wide

Gu Gu chomp chomp

(AP Photo/Greg Baker)

Just because they are cute and cuddly does not mean pandas can't be violent when provoked or startled.

A teenage at the Beijing Zoo learned this the hard way when he jumped over a barrier surrounding an outdoor exercise area for pandas while 8-year-old Gu Gu and another bear were being fed. The teen startled 240-pound Gu Gu, who bit the unwanted visitor on both legs.

The 15-year-old boy was so viciously attacked that his bones were showing. Chunks of flesh were left behind in the ambulance, according to medical officials.

Gu Gu had reason to be startled. It was once bitten by a drunk tourist.

For more, check out this AP story by Anita Chang.

-- Jaime Holguin   

Lethal headbutt

William Russell Redfern, an armless artist known for drawings he does with his feet, has turned himself in to face a misdemeanor charge in a fight with a man who later died.

Police say Redfern head-butted and kicked Charles Keith Teer during a Sept. 17 fight over a woman. Teer complained of dizziness and collapsed. The AP reports a medical examiner determined last week that Teer likely died of a heart attack.

Police Chief Roy Whitehead said investigators decided against felony charges but felt Redfern should be punished for the fight.

Redfern was born with no right arm and a stump below his left shoulder. He was released Wednesday on $1,213 bond, a jail official said.

-- Jaime Holguin

Paw Prints: animals in the news

(AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

DOLPHINS: Baby Dolly swims with her mother at the zoo in Duisburg, Germany. The babe was shown for the first time today.

DINOSAURS: Turns out the velociraptor (made famous by "Jurassic Park") might have had feathers. They'll have to make another sequel to the movie to update the dino features.

COWS: Gear up for the big cattle-selling months ahead.

ALLIGATORS: Remember the man who's arm was bitten off by a gator? Well, now he might be getting his just reward.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Who said it?

(AP Photo/Jeff Gentner)

"I don't have any friends," said _______. "Every friend that I've had, practically, has wanted to borrow money or something and of course, once they borrow money from you, you can't be friends anymore."

Answer: Jack Whittaker, who won a record $315 million Powerball game.

Read what Whittaker told AP's Shaya Mohajer about what dark turns his life has taken in the nearly five years since he won.

--Chelsea J. Carter

Paw Prints: animals in the news

(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

ANIMAL RIGHTS: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, protest. PETA demonstrators in Manila, Philippines, rallied against the zoo, saying the animals suffer while in captivity.

DOGS: Silly dog, waves are for surfers. Twenty-five-year-old Matt Smolenski is a hero after rescuing a dog

BIRDS: Are the birds eating your bullets?

MANATEES: The cows of the sea have some more time before they're brought one notch down from "endangered" status.

-- Hillary Rhodes in Lake Michigan.

Surfer dude saves dog

This is how the story might sound if told by a surfer: So this dog was like totally drowning in the chop, and this dude got his stick and saved him.

Translation: A surfer rode a wave on his stomach to rescue a struggling dog Tuesday that had been swept off a pier and into Lake Michigan by a wave.

From today's AP story:

"He put the dog up on his surfboard, and the dog rode the surfboard in to shore," said Royce Rodgers, an off-duty Muskegon Heights police officer who witnessed the rescue.

--Chelsea J. Carter

Frankfurt terror plot: then and now

(AP Photo/Bernd Kammerer)

The images rushed back today -- as they often do for asap reporter Chelsea J. Carter with such news: Three suspected Islamic terrorists from an al-Qaida-influenced group were arrested on suspicion of plotting imminent, massive bomb attacks on U.S. facilities in Germany.

Today's AP story by David McHugh reported: A senior State Department official said German investigators had determined the Frankfurt International Airport and the nearby U.S. Ramstein Air Base were the primary targets of the plot but that those arrested may have also been considering strikes on other sites, particularly facilities associated with the United States.

For many this will be a new chapter, a new incident in the post-Sept. 11 world we now know. For Carter, though, this isn't something new. It's a reminder of events more than 20 years ago where Americans in Germany were targeted by terrorists with deadly consequences.

Follow the jump to read what Carter went through in Germany on Nov. 24, 1985.

Paw Prints: animals in today's news

(AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

MACAWS: This beautiful bird is part of a circus in Allahabad, India. Circuses there ain't what they used to be. In the first half of the 20th century, there were as many as 50 touring the country. Now, there are only ten active groups.

DOGS: Guess what our football players and Ireland's footballers (well, at least one of each) have in common?

EAGLES: Karl Rove's car is covered in eagles. Very funny, Mr. Colbert.

DOLPHINS: It's either a really rare dolphin, thought to be extinct, or ... the Loch Ness monster looking for some Lo Mein.

-- Hillary Rhodes

INSIDER INSIGHT: The buzz at NowPublic

A fire in Boston, protests in Chile and a hip-hop video made at the A&P.

Those are just some of the stories getting attention from contributors to NowPublic, the "crowd-powered media" site The Associated Press recently started working with to selectively incorporate citizen journalism -– especially photos and video -– into its news report.

Listen to this audio clip to get details from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

Those are just some of the stories getting attention from contributors to NowPublic, the "crowd-powered media" site The Associated Press recently started working with to selectively incorporate citizen journalism -– especially photos and video -– into its news report.

Listen to this audio clip to get details from NowPublic's Brian Kennedy.

-- Eric Carvin

In the news Thursday

(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks with media during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, on Tuesday.

Congressional auditors see little progress on Iraq goals
Report: Va. Tech could have saved lives by notifying students, faculty sooner
Iran's cooperation in nuclear probe a 'significant step forward,' U.N. report says
Sen. Craig finding himself a man alone as GOP lawmakers call for his resignation
Elementary school in Colorado bans tag on its playground

-- Jaime Holguin

In the news Wednesday

(AP Photo/via Metropolitan Airports Commission Police Department)

Taliban militants release eight South Korean captives
Are Idaho voters in any mood to forgive Sen. Craig?
Amid criticism, Bush set to tour New Orleans
Helmsley leaves dog $12 million in will
Keith Richards demands apology from Swedish papers for scathing reviews

-- Jaime Holguin

iPhone teen hacker: iWin

(AP Photo/Jeff Christensen)

The teen hacker who spent his summer unlocking the iPhone so that it can be used with cellular networks other than AT&T has traded his modified gadget for "a sweet Nissan 350Z and 3 8GB iPhones."
   
"This has been a great end to a great summer," George Hotz wrote in his blog.

Hotz said he reached the deal with CertiCell, a Louisville, Ky.-based mobile phone repair company. In addition to the car and iPhones, the company also promised him a paid consulting job.

The 17-year-old is giving the three new iPhones to the three online collaborators who helped him unlock the iPhone.

For more, check out this AP story.

-- Jaime Holguin

Paw Prints: animals in today's news

  (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

TURTLES: In the last two weeks seven Reeve's Turtles (aka the three-keeled pond turtle) were born in the former east Berlin zoo.

VOLES: These mouse-like creatures are running rampant in Spain. Click here to find out what officials are doing about it (hint: it ain't pretty).

FROGS, LIZARDS and TURTLES: Buddhists released hundreds of critters into a polluted stream to see if they would reach their karmic potential. Well, the followers must have had some bad karma, because all they got was in trouble with the Department of Environmental Protection.

PANDAS: Four, count 'em, FOUR Pandas were born on the same day in China. That's pretty big, considering how few were born in all of last year.

SQUIRRELS and SNAKES: First there was fright. Then, there was flight. Now? Two shakes of a heated squirrel's tale.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Futuring your Mortgage

The Federal Reserve confirms today that banks are tightening up their mortgage lending standards, according to AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger.

More than half of banks say they're making it tougher to get "nontraditional" mortgages: adjustable-rate loans with multiple payment options, interest-only mortgages, and the like. But even borrowers with strong credit histories may face a tougher go in securing prime loans, as some banks say they're using extra scrutiny in that area, too.

asap columnist Meg Richards writes in "Your Two Cents" today that this all doesn't mean giving up on the American dream -- just that you'll have to learn how to navigate the new landscape, including tougher rules on down payments.

Not that all of this should come as much of a surprise -- AP National Writer Adam Geller wrote early this spring about the effects of subprime lenders on the market at large. Below, seen an abridged version of his story from March 25.

--Josh L. Dickey

Glow-in-the-dark everything

(AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

I don't think this woman needs any lights to put on her makeup or have a meal in the dark.

Fluorescent lipstick and drinks made from a fluorescent protein were on display at the Bio Taiwan Exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan. The fluorescent protein is extracted from algae.

But does it taste good?

-- Donald King

INSIDER INSIGHT: The world in focus

  (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

This picture, of new Indian President Pratibha Patil setting out to receive a Guard of Honor at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi, is one of several top AP photos highlighted by AP International Photo Editor Michael Feldman at this morning's AP global news meeting.

Another photo Feldman showed at the meeting captured a dramatic stunt by European aerobatics champion Zoltan Veres, who flew his plane between the pillars underneath a highway bridge in Hungary:

(AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)
See below for more of Feldman's top-photo picks.

-- Donald King

This Day in History

(AP Photo/File)

In this day in history, American soldiers wade ashore off the ramp of a U.S. Coast Guard landing during the Allied landing operations at the beaches of Normandy, June 6, 1944.  The American soldiers were  under attack of heavy machine gun fire from the German coastal defense forces. 

Known then as Operation Overlord,  The D-Day invastion involved American, British, and Canadian troops landing on the beaches of Normandy, and  launched what has become the largest amphibious invasion in history, and lead to the liberation of France. 

--Donald King

 

World's largest natural pearl for sale to be auctioned

(AP Photo/Life Style Auctions, HO)

The world's largest natural pearl for sale is on the auction block. The "Arco Valley Pearl" -- 3.1 inches in length -- will be up for bidding at Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace and on the Internet, where it is estimated to fetch up to $8 million. The pearl has been passed down for 800 years, from Chinese emperors to Marco Polo. The name of its current owner is a secret.

-- Megan K. Scott

The pentacle papers

                                                    (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
The Wiccan pentacle has been added to the list of symbols permitted on the gravestones of fallen soliders. A settlement between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Wiccans adds the five-pointed star to the list of 38 "emblems of belief,"  which already includes symbols for religions both large and small.

Eleven families nationwide were waiting for pentacle grave markers at the time of the settlement, announced Monday. A survey conducted in 2001 by the City University of New York estimated that 134,000 adults identified themselves as Wic cans in the United States.

VA spokesman Matt Burns said the agency settled in the interest of the families involved and to save taxpayers the expense of further litigation.

For a list of approved symbols, look here.

-- Josh Dickey

Welcome to Far and Wide, an AP News Blog

Looking for a fresh way into the news -- one that puts you squarely in the places where news is happening, and in the newsrooms where reporters' stories go out to the world?

That's just what you'll get from "Far and Wide," a new asap blog that goes live ... now.

"Far and Wide" relies on the global reach of The Associated Press to deliver concise, one-stop shopping for the latest and most innovative text, photos, audio and video -- and who knows what else -- served up by the world's largest newsgathering organization.

asap's team of journalists -- reporters, editors, photographers, designers and audiovisual specialists -- scours the AP's far-reaching report to assemble "Far and Wide" each day. The writers of the blog will also seed in exclusive content, from interviews with reporters on the scene to top AP editors talking about the big stories on video, leveraging asap's unmatched access to the greater AP.

"Far and Wide" will provide an exclusive window into news events as well as the newsgathering process -- one that the AP, as the planet's largest news network, is in a unique position to provide.