5-year-old saves mother's life, and more

last updated 8 January 2015

5-year-old saves mother's life

A 5-year-old Canadian girl saved her mother’s life after their truck drove off a cliff. Nikki Butler, 30, was driving through the Rocky Mountains with her daughter Mary when their truck skidded on black ice, flipped over the guardrail, and rolled four times before coming to rest at the foot of a steep embankment. Unable to wake her unconscious mother, Mary unbuckled her seat belt, crawled out the rear passenger window, and climbed 150 feet back to the road where she flagged down a passing truck. “I needed to save my mom,” said Mary, “because I love my mom.” Mary was not hurt and her mother suffered only minor injuries.

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Wildlife officials in Oregon have enlisted a robotic elk to help them crack down on poachers. Since 1991, Oregon authorities have employed stationary decoys to catch motorists who shoot from their vehicles—a misdemeanor. But poachers, wising up to that ruse, starting looking for movement before they opened fire. So officials recently introduced a $4,000 animatronic elk with a rotating head and tail, and already have issued 143 citations. “It’s been a good deterrent, said wildlife official Steve Lane, “as more people have come to realize that it’s out there.”

Grateful triplets collect baby blankets for hospital

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