Strange News

Elise Tries animal cafes, from cats to raccoons, with mixed results.

Video: Animal Cafes Are Cool, But Does A Raccoon Cafe Go Too Far?

9:53am June 02, 2017

by Elise Hu

In NPR's Elise Tries series, correspondent Elise Hu tests out new experiences in East Asia. In this inaugural episode, she visits a South Korean animal cafe. Things don't go as smoothly as planned.

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Google Reports On Common Misspelled Words; Spelling Bee Queen Crowned

8:23am June 02, 2017

Google reports the most commonly misspelled words are beautiful and pneumonia. Ananya Vinay of Fresno, Calif., mostly likely can spell them. She is the winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

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Love Of Pizza Helps Gets High School Senior Accepted Into Yale

6:23am June 02, 2017

When it came time to write her college essay, Carolina Williams told The Tennessean newspaper she went with the first thing that popped in her head: How much she loves ordering pizza from Papa John's.

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North Korea Debuts Its New 'iPad'

6:31am June 01, 2017

A North Korean company claims to have invented an iPad. It's called the "Ryonghung iPad." It's a trademark violation but that hasn't stopped the country before.

A New Type Of Drunk Selfie

5:03am May 31, 2017

Two Australian police officers drove a very drunk man home. They made sure to take some selfies with him so he would know how he got home when he woke up.

Sports

When A Catfish Is An 'Instrument Of Crime'

5:03am May 31, 2017

A Nashville Predators fan threw a dead catfish on the ice during a hockey game. He was charged with possessing instruments of crime and disorderly conduct.

The 'Just Clowning Around' Defense Doesn't Get Far

5:44am May 29, 2017

A Massachusetts man representing himself in court is accused of robbing a convenience store. His defense is that he's a clown and was joking around. The judge denied his request to juggle in court.

Tourists Who Steal Volcanic Rock Are Said To Unleash A Curse

8:09am May 28, 2017

Jessica Ferracane of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park explains why hundreds of visitors a year mail back pieces of volcanic rock they've taken from the park. The answer has to do with a mythic curse.

Forty years after The Dallas Morning News ran a review for the original Star Wars calling Chewbacca a "wookie," the paper issued a correction noting that the spelling is actually wookiee.

National

NPR News Nuggets: It's A Win For The Wookiees, Twitter's Power & Baby Bears

9:00am May 27, 2017

by Wynne Davis

Here's a quick roundup of some of the mini-moments you may have missed on this week's Morning Edition.

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Texas Teachers Give Student 'Most Likely To Become A Terrorist' Award

2:00pm May 26, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

The Channelview Independent School District has apologized for the "poor attempt to poke fun" after 13-year-old honors student Lizeth Villanueva received the award.