Strange little bits of news. ...

LA Zoo animals involved in inter-species romance

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Shortly after his mate went to hog heaven, Willy the Red River porcine spied a new mud-pen pal in what officials are calling one of the oddest pairings at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Willy is a 10-year-old, 187-pound hog and his new mate is a 16-year-old bongo named Nicole, the largest member of the forest antelope family.

The couple shares a muddy zoo exhibit where they nap and cuddle together -- even nuzzling snout to nose.

''It's adorable. Wherever that bongo is, the hog is usually nearby,'' zoo spokesman Jason Jacobs said.

Willy's previous mate Ruby died last summer of cancer and within a week the hog turned to Nicole for companionship.

''I think he was probably lonely. He definitely was aware that his mate was gone,'' exhibit curator Jeff Holland said.

Nicole wasn't interested in Willy at first, but the persistent pig eventually won her over. They now share breakfast, groom each other and walk together. Nicole leads, and Willy trails closely.

''I think he definitely likes her more than she likes him,'' Holland said.

Psychics are on case of the missing whippet

NEW YORK (AP) -- With few physical clues to the whereabouts of an escaped show dog, the hunt for the award-winning whippet has entered another realm.

About 12 psychics are counseling searchers as they check the heated cargo buildings near where Vivi escaped from a travel cage at Kennedy International Airport, Paul Lepiane, the dog's co-owner, told Newsday.

''They are telling us that she is alive and they are telling us she is warm,'' said Honi Reisman, a friend of the dog's owners. ''They are saying she's in a building -- but there are hundreds of buildings.''

According to breeder Bo Bengtson, the animal bolted across the tarmac last week at 25 mph as workers chased her on foot and in three cars. The 3-year-old whippet, also known as Champion Bohem C'est La Vie, nosed into a marsh area and disappeared.

The dog's escape came within days of winning an award of merit at the Westminster Kennel Club show, the nation's most prestigious.

Lepiane said dog droppings consistent with the 30-pound whippet's were found Monday behind an airport cargo building. He has announced a $5,000 reward for Vivi.

It was about then that he regretted getting tattoo

COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) -- Officers began to suspect that the man they pulled over was lying when he identified himself as Robert despite a tattoo with the name Cecil on the back of his neck.

They arrested Cecil S. Carmer, 25, of Indianapolis and charged him with false informing, said Maj. Mark Gorbett of Bartholomew County Sheriff's Department.

After being pulled over for driving erratically, Carmer had identified himself as his brother Robert.

Sheriff's deputies also found equipment and ingredients used to make methamphetamine in Carmer's car, Gorbett said.

Carmer also was charged with possession of anhydrous ammonia and other ingredients for making meth and with driving with a suspended license. He was being held Tuesday on $90,500 bond at Bartholomew County Jail.