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A pair of elephants helped rescue the truck they were riding in when it got stuck in the mud on a trip from New Orleans to Dallas. It all happened on Tuesday around 7:03 a.m., when the tractor trailer transporting three elephants pulled over from Interstate 49 near the Powhatan exit in Louisiana and accidentally got stuck in some mud, the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s office said in a statement. “When deputies arrived on scene, they were astounded to find two elephants keeping the eighteen wheeler from overturning,” the sheriff’s office said. The elephants on the truck were being transported to...

The nation’s leading big top act – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus – will phase out elephants by 2018, succumbing to years of pressure from animal rights activists. The Associated Press reported that Ringling Bros. circus’ parent company, Feld Entertainment, will have its stable of 43 pachyderms live out their days at the 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in central Florida.

Two painted chow chow dogs posing as pandas have been seized from a circus in northern Italy, after tricking children into handing over cash, police have said. The male and female dogs were seized by police after it became clear that they were not, in fact, pandas. To an unassuming child visiting the circus in Brescia, a small furry animal with white and black stripes may do the trick. But The Local readers may notice a distinct difference. Here is a real panda: Panda photo by Shutterstock. And here are the dogs-in-disguise: The police were not fooled, who said the...

A 14-year battle over the care of Feld Entertainment's circus elephants ended Thursday with the Humane Society of the United States and others paying a $15.75 million settlement.The lawsuit was filed by a company the Humane Society acquired, along with other animal rights groups, against Feld, parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, over the care of its 43 Asian elephants.The settlement follows $9.3 million that the American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals paid in 2012 for its connection to false claims against Feld in U.S. District Court in Washington."We hope this settlement payment,...

McLEAN, Va. (AP) — The parent company of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has received a nearly $16 million settlement from a number of animal-rights groups, including the Humane Society of the United States, ending a 14-year legal battle initiated over unproven allegations of mistreated elephants. Florida-based Feld Entertainment said Thursday's settlement of the long-running case in the U.S. District Court in Washington is a vindication of its animal care, while the animal-rights groups said the settlement ends a legal quagmire that had spiraled well beyond the core question of how the circus treats its elephants. Kenneth...

House Speaker John Boehner explained to reporters Wednesday morning that he considers the select committee's investigation into the terrorist attacks in Benghazi a very serious matter. “This is all about getting to the truth. This is not going to be a sideshow. This is not going to be a circus. This is a serious investigation,” Boehner said. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has demanded that, for the sake of fairness, the committee be evenly split between Republicans and Democrats.

Nine circus performers were injured in a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus act at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The performers were part of an aerial act during the noon show. Witnesses on scene said scaffolding holding the performers fell more than 20 feet to the ground. A circus official tells WBZ-TV, the accident happened during a “hair hang” act, where performers hang from their hair. Eight performers were suspended above the ground, one performer was on the ground. Providence Fire Department tells WBZ NewsRadio 1030, 9 people were transported to area hospitals. The injuries included broken bones and...

Vice President Joe Biden on Monday embarked on a mission to show U.S. support for Ukraine's embattled interim leaders as pro-Russia gunmen took over more government buildings in eastern Ukraine and the Kremlin's top diplomat blamed Washington for the mounting crisis. Biden was to meet Tuesday with acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov and Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, as well as civil society leaders in Kiev, the capital, before flying back to Washington. Although the White House said the vice president's visit was intended to underscore U.S. support for "national unity and a successful constitutional reform," the trip and other recent...

It's just a show. A CBS reporter from Arizona reveals that President Obama's press secretary, Jay Carney, receives questions from the press in advance of his daily press briefing. In fact, she says, the reporters often receive the answers in advance of the briefing, too. According to the reporter, Jay Carney told her this yesterday at the White House: "It was a very busy day. We started here shortly after 8 o'clock with a coffee with press secretary Jay Carney inside his office in the West Wing," says the reporter. "And this was the off-the-record so we were able to...

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Nearly three dozen people want to be the next mayor of Minneapolis, and thanks to the city's ongoing experiment with an alternative voting system, they all have a shot. Among the 35 candidates who paid a $20 filing fee by Tuesday's deadline to get their names on the November ballot are two current and one former city council members, a past Hennepin County commissioner, a Republican trying to make a mark in the heavily Democratic city, an Occupy movement activist who goes by Captain Jack Sparrow and a perennial candidate who listed himself as Bob "Again" Carney.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. —A huge crowd of protesters gathered in downtown Asheville Monday night. After 13 weeks rallying against the Republican-majority legislature in the North Carolina State Capitol, protesters are taking their Moral Monday Demonstration on the road. The Roger McGuire Green was packed Monday. Many had signs and most were chanting. The group said lawmakers are rolling back progress in education and social equality, rather than moving forward. The North Carolina General Assembly has finished for the year, meaning Moral Monday can begin its tour throughout the state. **SNIP** “They claim they are Christians but they are not Christ-like because...

A monkey was mauled by a bear after a disturbing circus stunt went wrong. A video has emerged online of two monkeys and a black bear being forced to ride bicycles around a track in front of a large crowd. After two laps of the track, one of the monkeys crash and the bear then attacks it as it lies stuck under the bicycle.ok The gruesome video is believed to have been shot at the Shanghai Wild Animal Park, in China, which has hit the headlines in the past for its 'Wild Animal Olympics'. In the video, the audience can...

Bearded woman says facial hair makes her feel sexy German-born Mariam says she feels more confident now that she's stopped trying to hide her facial hair. After failed electrolysis attempts and years of tweezing, the 49-year-old mom embraced the growing goatee and joined the circus. A German woman who struggled with facial hair for nearly two decades said she finally feels sexy, now that she’s ditched the clippers and let her beard grow. “I feel more confident and I know myself better now than when I was younger,” the 49-year-old mom, identified only as Mariam, told the British talk show,...

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — It was the ultimate putdown of state lawmakers caught in the corruption spotlight. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said they’re not qualified to get real jobs. The circus has returned to Albany. The man known in some parts as “El Bloombito” took out his rapier to cut state lawmakers down to size with a jab only a self-made billionaire could fire off, CBS 2′s Marcia Kramer reported Friday. “The average legislator who has to make policy on things that influence our lives, our kids’ lives, our future, would they ever get a job in the private sector making...

People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses — JuvenalIsn’t it grand that we have such a cool couple in the White House? Hollywood would never have deigned to invite any other first lady to present the award for best picture at its annual self-worshipping soporific. Mrs. Obama knew just how to flatter the nearly inexhaustible vanity of people who sell tickets to shows. Advertisement “I am so honored to . . . help celebrate the movies that lift our spirits, broaden...

Columbus, OH --(Ammoland.com)- Last week, a federal court ruled that Feld Entertainment, the owner of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, could move forward with its racketeering and conspiracy claims against the Humane Society of the United States and other anti-hunting, animal rights extremist groups and their attorneys. According to a report by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Feld Entertainment’s claims arose out of a lawsuit brought by the groups and a former circus employee in 2000 that accused Feld of mistreating elephants under the Endangered Species Act. In dismissing the prior lawsuit, the Court found, among other things,...

The meat of what happens here is that Issa questions Holder about the wiretaps and Holder essentially blames Bush, justifying their handling of the wiretap applications based on how the Bush administration handled similar applications. But during Issa’s intense questioning of Holder, Democrats Sheila Jackson Lee and Mel Watt ran interference for him, constantly interrupting over Issa’s refusal to allow Holder to use up his time filibustering. Democrat Ranking member Conyers steps into the fray after the questioning to object to Issa’s style of questioning. Basically the Democrats turned what was legitimate and necessary questioning of Holder into a circus: