A woman who was furious at police for taking her three preserved snakes stormed down to the police station and smashed a jar of pickled kittens on the counter. The woman was arrested and charged with behaving in an offensive manner. The woman said the kittens, which were preseved in formaldehyde, were still-born from their cat.

Todd Queen, 26, was sentenced to 40 years in prison Monday for acts committed during the theft of a tray of Stouffer’s lasagna. The Florida man thought he was stealing a package containg cash. Queen is a career felon whose previous convictions included attempted second-degree murder and home invasion with a firearm.

A 13-year-old Virginia boy was charged with abducting an exotic dancer when she showed up for an appointment at what turned out to be a vacant house with no electricity. The woman tried to leave but the boy pointed a shotgun at her and ordered her to dance, according to police. The boy was arrested Thursday and charged with abduction by force, conspiracy, using a firearm to commit a felony, brandishing a firearm and transporting and possessing an assault firearm at age 13.

An elephant that stomped his keeper to death at a Chinese zoo has been declared innocent because of mitigating circumstances, Xinhua news agency has said. It was decided that the victim was responsible for his own tragedy because he had entered the elephant pen all alone and without adopting any protective measures, in violation of zoo rules. Zoo officials said it was the mating season and the elephant was possibly suffering from sunstroke at the time.

29-year-old Michael Keith Moore of Austin, Texas, has been charged with capital murder and other charges related to the 2003 murder of Christina Moore. The two are not related. Moore was released from prison only three months before the murder.

The head of DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler division said having the Chrysler 300 win “car of the year” from Motor Trend magazine was “the shizzle.” The reference is to a word coined by Snoop Dogg, a rap star who has been a big fan of the car. Snoop dog even featured his own customized 300 in a recent music video.

A mother dolphin that lost 75 per cent of its tail to disease, is jumping once again after being fitted with the world’s first artificial fin. Fuji, a 34-year-old dolphin held at a Japanese aquarium, wears the rubber fin for about 20 minutes a day. The fin allows her to jump and swim at the same speed as other dolphins.