A mountain lion in a casino? Don't roulette out

(not quite a cougar in the casino but they probably have enough of those already)

By MARTIN GRIFFITH, APRENO, Nev. — An underage mountain lion has been caught after trying to slip into a casino in downtown Reno, Nev., ahead of the breakfast rush.

Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy says the young male cat's behavior was "almost the equivalent of being a stupid teenager."

Healy says coming-of-age cougars often end up where they shouldn't after being chased out of a territory by adults.

Guests at Harrah's reported seeing the 100-pound cat trying to walk into the casino Friday morning. When the animal couldn't negotiate the revolving door, it hid under an outdoor stage in a nearby plaza.

State wildlife officials tranquilized the roughly 2-year-old cat and plan to release it into the wild after tagging it for participation in a University of Nevada, Reno study.

No injuries were reported.

Md. city fails to break bikini parade record

(this is terrible! Where is our American pride and know how? We invented the bikini! We tested nukes on Bikini atoll, we have entire issues of sports magazines dedicated to the bikini! How oh America How could we fail? Well buck up, grab those bikini straps and pull yourself up America! If it first you don’t succeed outsource! Oops um I mean, try again!! I’m lookin’ at you California! If you don’t have enough bikini clad persons who can congregate in one place all hope is lost.)

OCEAN CITY, Md. — A city in China still holds the bikini parade record after a failed attempt in Maryland.

Organizers of Saturday's effort in Ocean City to take the title from Huludao City in China fell short. Only about 325 woman turned out under rainy skies. Brad Hoffman, who organized the parade for the North Ocean City Business Alliance, blamed the rain for the poor turnout.

Organizers were trying to attract more than 1,085 to break the record set in China earlier this month.

The 25-block parade included women of all ages.

The $10 registration fee for the event benefited charities including the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life

Togo women push sex strike to unseat president

( talk about hitting where ya live. Although I’m generally against the idea of less sex this plan is brilliant. It’s certainly gained attention after all when have you last read anything in the news about Togo? )

by KUDJO KAGLAN and EBOW GODWIN, APLOME, Togo — The female wing of a civil rights group is urging women in Togo to stage a week-long sex strike to demand the resignation of the country's president.

Women are being asked to start withholding sex from their husbands or partners as of Monday, said Isabelle Ameganvi, leader of the women's wing of the group Let's Save Togo. She said the strike will put pressure on Togo's men to take action against President Faure Gnassingbe.

Ameganvi, a lawyer, told The Associated Press that her group is following the example of Liberia's women, who used a sex strike in 2003 to campaign for peace. "We have many means to oblige men to understand what women want in Togo," Ameganvi said.

The sex strike was announced at a rally Saturday of several thousand in the capital city, Lome. The demonstration was organized by a coalition that is protesting recent electoral reforms which they say will make it easier for Gnassingbe to win reelection in the polls set for October.

Gnassingbe came to power in 2005, following the death of his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled the West African country for 38 years. Gnassingbe has not commented on the sex strike, nor has his wife. Earlier this month, two anti-Gnassingbe protests were dispersed by police using tear gas and more than 100 people were arrested.

At Saturday's rally, which ended peacefully, Jean-Pierre Fabre, leader of the National Alliance for Change opposition party, called for Gnassingbe's resignation. Other opposition leaders called for civil disobedience.

But it is the sex strike that has people talking in this small country of 7 million people.

"It's a good thing for us women to observe this sex strike as long as our children are in jail now. I believe that by observing this, we will get them released," Abla Tamekloe said. "For me, it's like fasting, and unless you fast, you will not get what you want from God."

When asked if her husband would agree, Tamekloe said: "It is easy for me to observe it. I am used to it, but I am not sure my husband will accept, but I have to explain to him."

Another Togolese woman said she supports the sex strike, but she does not know if she can carry it out for a full week.

"I do agree that we women have to observe this sex strike but I know my husband will not let me complete it. He may agree at first, but as far as I know him, he will change overnight," Judith Agbetoglo said. "So I don't believe I can do the one-week sex strike. Otherwise, I will have serious issues with him. He likes that too much."

Though the call for a sex strike seemed to please many women, some men, including heads of opposition parties and human rights groups in the anti-Gnassingbe coalition, did not believe it would be a success.

"One week sex strike is too much," said Fabre of the National Alliance for Change, who suggested a shorter period, amid laughter from the crowd at the demonstration. "Let's go for only two days".

Others were skeptical of Isabelle Ameganvi's call.

"It is easy for her to say because she is not married herself. She does not live with a man at home," said Ekoue Blame, a Togolese journalist. "Does she think women who live with their husband will be able to observe that? By the way, who controls what couples do behind closed doors?"

Tiger escapes, kills keeper in German zoo

( so there’s a blood crazed German tiger on the loose! Run for your lives!!)

BERLIN — A tiger escaped its enclosure at Cologne Zoo in western Germany on Saturday and killed a female keeper before being shot dead by the zoo's director, police said.

The tiger slipped through a passage between the enclosure and an adjacent storage building, where it fatally attacked the 43-year-old keeper, said police spokesman Stefan Kirchner.

"It appears the gate wasn't properly shut," Kirchner told The Associated Press.

The zoo was evacuated and a SWAT team was called in, police said. But before it arrived the zoo's director managed to kill the tiger by climbing onto the storage building and shooting it through a skylight using a high-caliber rifle.

Kirchner said it was unlikely that members of the public had witnessed the incident.

"This is the darkest day of my life," the zoo's director, Theo Pagel, was quoted as saying by Cologne newspaper Express.

The paper said on its website that the Siberian tiger was a 4-year-old male called Altai that came to Cologne Zoo from an animal park in England. In November it fathered three cubs with a 7-year-old Siberian tiger called Hanya, according to the zoo's website.

Police said the zoo reopened after Saturday's incident, which occurred around noon (1000 GMT; 5 a.m. EDT). However, a planned late-night opening of the zoo has been canceled.

Cologne Zoo is one of the oldest in Germany. It was founded in 1860 and houses some 10,000 animals comprising more than 700 different species.