However, it wasn’t necessarily the snake reproducing asexually that stunned zookeepers—while uncommon, it isn’t impossible for female ball pythons to lay eggs all on their own—it was the fact that the reptile is nearly 62 years old and has managed to reproduce! According to Mark Wanner, zoological manager of herpetology at the St. Louis Zoo, ball pythons—the smallest of the species—usually only live for 30 to 40 years. So housing a snake that’s lived roughly three decades longer is “kind of crazy....

Imus’s show that day was supposed to be the usual mix of the high-minded and the profane. Among the guests: Sen. Chris Dodd, an Imus favorite who had announced he was running for president on the show earlier this year. In a sports segment, talk turned to the NCAA women’s basketball game between Rutgers University and Tennessee. “That’s some rough girls from Rutgers,” Imus cracked. “Man, they’ve got tattoos and … " At that point Bernie McGuirk, Imus’s longtime friend and producer, jumped in....

The ruling represents a resounding rejection not only of censorious cancel culture, but also of the growing trend of criminalizing speech. Longtime civil servant and former minister of the interior, Dr. Päivi Räsänen, was brought to trial on three criminal charges for sharing her faith-based beliefs, including on Twitter. Finland goes so far as to criminalize any “expression of opinion or another message” deemed to be “threaten[ing], defam[ing]” or even just “insult[ing]” with the penalty of up to two years jail time....

An estimated 8 million to 10 million people are infected with the AIDS virus, says Dr. James Chin, head of the World Health Organization’s AIDS surveillance unit; more than half live in sub-Sahara Africa. By 1995, Chin says, newly diagnosed cases will likely plateau in the industrialized world, but transmission will explode in developing nations. During the next couple of decades in the Third World, Chin predicts, “AIDS will become the leading cause of death for adults in their most productive years....

The bricks are worn, and if it weren’t for two large windows framing the door, you might assume the place was vacant. MORE: 99 reasons to be excited for this season | SN’s preseason top 25 But business is bustling. The lack of signage isn’t for lack of funds. It’s just that the owner, Anthony Norris, is a one-man show. He gets to work early and he doesn’t leave until late....

North Carolina has the No. 6 offense in college basketball and the 19th-best defense. So why are the Tar Heels not the overwhelming favorite to win the 2017 NCAA Championship? Why did they lose seven games this season, twice to teams that didn’t even make the NCAA Tournament? Why should we believe the Kentucky team that put 103 points on the Tar Heels and squeezed out a victory over the Heels in December, that has improved so much on defense the Wildcats cut UCLA’s point production against them by 23 percent from their first meeting to the second in Friday’s Sweet 16 — why should we believe Carolina is built to compete in that game?...

“Engagement among countries in the region, engagement with Iran, de-escalation, that’s all things that we would encourage and we think that it’s good for stability in the region,” U.S. Special Representative for Iran Robert Malley said during an online talk Wednesday with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Malley made the comments after announcing he would be traveling to the Middle East to visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to discuss the ongoing negotiations aimed at bringing Washington and Tehran back into full compliance with a 2015 nuclear agreement also signed by China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom as part of a group known as the P5+1....

Each would-be knight has an anti-Clinton sales pitch, implied or explicit. Mitt Romney offers his hyperfunctional, one-marriage family life, his Democratic Blue State home base and a new managerial synthesis. Rudy Giuliani sent out a fund-raising letter asking for help to “go the distance to beat” Clinton on the theory he’d prevail in a National Security Subway Series. Sen. John McCain growls he knows war best—who would argue?—and Hillary never will, even if the two of them became pals on a fact-finding trip....

Instead, Iraq fell apart. Although Hanna and his wife never stopped expressing hope for their country, they were waiting for final approval to immigrate to the United States when kidnappers grabbed him, then her, this past May. A message appeared on an Islamist Web site in the name of the Islamic State of Iraq, a front organization for Al Qaeda in Iraq, trumpeting the killing of “two of the most prominent agents and spies of the worshippers of the Cross … a man and woman who occupy an important position at the U....

Edward Luce goes a long way toward explaining India’s almost inexhaustible resilience in his knowledgeable, witty and sympathetic account, “In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India” ( 383 pages. Doubleday. $26 ). Though Luce’s views of India’s emerging social, political and economic landscape are hardly revolutionary, the former South Asian Bureau Chief for The Financial Times deftly weaves together keen observations, telling anecdotes and scrupulous reportage....

“The Chinese military helicopters were flying very close to the Line of Actual Control,” according to Indian news outlet ANI. “After their movement was picked up, the Indian Air Force fighter jets flew patrols in the area.” While the Chinese helicopters flew close to Indian airspace, they did not enter the territory. A contested area on the India-China border, the Line of Actual Control (LAC), spans a little over 2,500 miles....

Indiana is supposed to be college basketball royalty, so the fanbase doesn’t exactly tolerate mediocrity. Last week, fans created a countdown clock for Crean’s buyout, and now, with the Hoosiers dangerously close to missing the NCAA Tournament, fans have resorted to actions that remind us that “fan” is short for “fanatic.” At a recent Indiana high school sectional championship game, fans began to chant “Tom Crean sucks” when Crean’s son Riley entered the game for Bloomington North, according to reader email sent to CrimsonQuarry....

The inmate assaulted the two correctional officers at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City at around 2:40 p.m. on Friday in a common area, Indiana State Police Sgt. Ted Bohner said in a press release. Both officers were rushed to St. Anthony’s Hospital in the city. One was pronounced dead and the other is in a serious condition, according to the statement. Their identities have not yet been revealed by police....

Police arrested Daniel Schroeder on Thursday after the 61-year-old resident of Evansville, Indiana allegedly called 911 four times. “The male caller kept calling in stating that he was tired,” a police report detailing the man’s arrest said. Schroeder’s arrest came one day after he pleaded guilty to a previous charge of misusing the 911 system. Police arrested Schroeder on the night of September 11 after he called 911 to express his anger that a female relative “was not following his rules....

Villanova could not wait any longer. There had to be someone out there who could get the Wildcats moving in the proper direction. So Jay Wright, just 52-46 in three years, was fired. Wait — that’s not how the story goes, is it? Villanova kept Wright in place, and the next year ended in the Sweet 16, and the year after in the Elite Eight, and three years later in the Final Four, and seven years later with the Wildcats celebrating an NCAA championship....

A leadoff single by Michael Bourn against Phil Hughes gets the Indians rolling in Minnesota. Following Mike Aviles’ lazy fly to right field, it’s Michael Brantley at the plate, and the first real test of the game for Matt Underwood doing play-by-play. “And the 1-0 is lined to center field,” Underwood calls. “Long run back for (Jordan) Schafer – REACHES UP and makes a terrific catch.” He waits a beat....

Martinez reportedly had a BB gun on him and may not have understood the police’s Spanish commands when officers in Salinas City, California shot and killed him. On July 16 at 8:01 p.m. local time, Salinas City police received a call from a neighbor who said that Martínez had pointed a gun at him. The neighbor said the gun might be a BB gun, but added that it could also be a small-caliber pistol, the police department said in a statement....

The Yogyakarta City Police Cyber ​​Patrol found a Facebook page selling the animals without a permit, the Indonesian news website Tempo reported. “After we investigated, the suspect was in Semarang City, then we coordinated with the (the region’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency) to arrest the suspect,” said Commissioner Andhyka Donny Hendrawan, head of the Yogyakarta City Police Criminal Investigation Unit. On October 15, a week after they discovered his alleged Facebook page, police arrested the 27-year-old suspect, identified only by the initials RD....

And so they did. After the scheme was revealed, Jackson and seven other Sox players were banished for life by baseball’s first commissioner, the iron-fisted Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Yet because Jackson is one of the best ever to play, many fans have long argued he still deserves a place in the Hall of Fame. That debate resonated this past Sunday, when the seven newest members were inducted in Cooperstown, N....

Erin Parsons, who describes herself as a “vintage collector,” posted a video about the purchase—an ancient Egyptian cosmetics spoon—on TikTok. She bought the object from an online auction. Although the video has since been deleted by the creator, snippets are still available to see on clips made by other TikTok users. “This is an ancient Egyptian cosmetic spoon from around the 18th dynasty,” she said as she showed the tool to the camera....