Nation &World

Jun 21, 09:55 PM

Current Headlines: Eight-year-old We, the two-headed snake, dies

ST. LOUIS - A two-headed snake named "We," the main attraction at the World Aquarium, has died.

The 8-year-old rat snake died of natural causes during the weekend, said caretaker Leonard Sonnenschein.

"It's terrible news," Sonnenschein said. "People come in every day and say: 'I'm here to see the two-headed snake.'"

Sonnenschein said he bought We from a snake breeder in Indiana for $15,000 when the reptile was just a few weeks old.

A taxidermist is preserving We's body, which should be back on display within a week, Sonnenschein said.

15-year-old son of doctors

performs surgery in India

NEW DELHI - The 15-year-old son of two doctors performed a filmed Caesarean section birth under his parents' watch in southern India in an apparent bid to gain a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest surgeon.

Instead, the boy's father could be stripped of his licenses and may face criminal charges, officials said today.

Dr. K. Murugesan showed a recording of his son performing a Caesarean section to an Indian Medical Association chapter in the southern state of Tamil Nadu last month, said Dr. Venkatesh Prasad, secretary of the association. The video showed Murugesan anesthetizing the patient.

"We were shocked to see the recording," Prasad told The Associated Press, adding that the IMA told Murugesan that his act was an ethical and legal violation.

Murugesan told the medical association that he wanted to see his son's name in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Rat, four cats rescued,

resuscitated after fire

POCATELLO, Idaho - Firefighters resuscitated four cats and an albino rat from a charred apartment in southeastern Idaho.

The animals received oxygen through a special mask designed for small animals that the department got two years ago.

Electrical failure likely caused the fire, which resulted in at least $10,000 in damage, fire officials said. No people were injured.

Firefighter Kirby Jonas, who whisked the rat to safety, said he was astonished anything survived the flames that engulfed the apartment. He found the rat huddled in blackened bedding in a cage.

Firefighters used hydrant

to fill pool, authorities said

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Police spotted a fire crew hooking their hose into a hydrant and filling a private swimming pool with water, authorities said.

An internal investigation into Sunday's incident is under way and the three-person fire crew could face disciplinary action ranging from suspensions to being fired, said Mike Taylor, spokesman for Wyandotte County's Unified Government.

Criminal charges could also be filed, he said.

"Taking water from the hydrant to fill a private swimming pool without paying for it is theft," Taylor said Wednesday at a news conference.

Taylor said the resident with the pool will get a bill after the Board of Public Utilities estimates the amount of water taken.

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