LITTLE ROCK — Liz Schmidt, an educator at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, N.Y., said the zoo got a surprise visit from the stork when a 21-year-old woman gave birth on a wildlife path not far from the bear exhibit.
Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa who rose to office after spending 27 years in prison for fighting white rule, was admitted to a military hospital Saturday for medical tests, though current President Jacob Zuma said there was “no cause for alarm” over the 94-yearold’s health.
John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, challenged assertions at an international security summit in Bahrain that Washington seeks to diminish its role in Middle East affairs, calling the idea of a pivot from the region “the height of foolishness.”
Pope Benedict XVI
kept up a holiday tradition, praying at the foot of Rome’s Spanish Steps in the heart of the city’s posh shopping district to honor the Virgin Mary, and warned a crowd against the “poisonous root of selfishness.”
Daniel Whitlow, a school district director in Robertson County, Tenn., said he won’t discipline a teacher in an incident where a pre-kindergarten class viewing an Internet video of Santa feeding reindeer accidentally also saw a pop-up of a naked woman when theteacher later searched for “reindeer art” and clicked the wrong link.
Shawn Smith, a Lebanon, Tenn., jeweler, said his adoption of a new puppy paid off when a man believed to have suffered a medical emergency crashed into Smith’s office, which Smith had left to take the pup home.
Rep. Darrell Issa, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, lost more than 50 items, including watches and rings that San Diego County authorities valued at more than $100,000, when burglars broke into the California Republican’s Vista home.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 12/09/2012