Free Republic

Thibodaux. a 36-year-old white alligator, had 70 coins removed from his stomach An alligator at a US zoo had to undergo surgery after veterinarians discovered 70 coins in the animal's stomach. The coins were found in a rare, 36-year-old leucistic alligator, which has translucent white skin and blue eyes. Veterinarians identified "metal foreign objects in the stomach of an iconic resident" - Thibodaux. The Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in Omaha, Nebraska said patrons threw coins into the enclosure, which were eaten by the animal between cleanings. He has recovered from the procedure and is back in his habitat. The...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration may suspend a major post-9/11 security initiative to cope with increasingly angry complaints from Americans whose summer vacations are threatened by new passport rules. A proposal under consideration would temporarily waive a requirement that U.S. passports be used for air travel to and from Canada and Mexico, provided the traveler can prove he or she has applied for a passport, officials said Thursday. The proposed six-month suspension in the rules is aimed at clearing a massive backlog of passport applications at the State Department that has slowed processing to a crawl, they said. But...