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Workers from Florida’s Department of Agriculture are fighting a slimy and dangerous enemy: giant African land snails that have invaded a residential area in Miami-Dade County. “We have collected over a thousand so far and we have only just begun,” said Denise Feiber, Public Information Director for Florida’s Division of Plant Industry. Florida Department of Agriculture/Division of Plant Industry Investigators aren’t sure when or how the invaders slithered into town, but they are on a mission to eradicate the snails as fast as possible.  Giant African land snails can grow to be as long as 8 inches and consume at least 500 different types of plants.  They also destroy stucco and plaster. “They leave excrement all over the sides of houses. They’re very nasty,” Feiber said.  “These things are not the cute little snails that you see.” They also pose a health risk by carrying a parasite that can cause meningitis in humans. Officials realized they had a problem on their hands last

The red curtain on the central balcony, called the Loggia of the Blessings of Saint Peter's Basilica, where the new pope will appear after being elected in the conclave is seen at the Vatican Roman Catholic cardinals prayed for divine help on Tuesday, hours before a conclave to elect a new pope to tackle the daunting problems facing the Church at one of the most difficult periods in its history. The cardinals, including the 115 aged under 80 who will vote for the next pope, filed into St. Peter's Basilica as choirs sang at the ritual solemn Mass that precedes a conclave. They prayed that God would inspire them to choose the right man to replace Pope Benedict, who abdicated abruptly last month saying he was not strong enough to confront the woes of a Church whose 1.2 billion members look to Rome for leadership. The Mass was the last event for the cardinals as a group before they enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday afternoon and make their choice for the next pontiff be

Prosecutors say a 12-year-old boy has admitted making a prank 911 call that drew police to Ashton Kutcher's home. The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office says the boy admitted responsibility for making a false bomb threat and computer intrusion. He will be sentenced at a later date. Prosecutors say the boy is also accused of making false 911 calls involving Justin Bieber's house and a bank. Those charges will likely be dismissed, but the district attorney's office says the allegations will be considered when the boy is sentenced. The boy's identity has not been released. His calls were among several targeting celebrities in the Los Angeles area in recent months in a practice known as "swatting." The pranks are intended to draw large police responses, including SWAT teams.

Longest female legs: Lady with long Legs The longest female legs measuring 132 cm (51.9 in) belong to Svetlana Pankratova according to Guinness World Records. Svetlana, who is a 6-foot-5 Russian native is, as one can expect, an assistant coach for the George Mason High School girls’ basketball team. Before becoming a coach in Falls Church, the woman with the longest legs in the world “also played basketball in Portugal, Israel, and Spain before retiring in 2000,” wrote CBS DC in a news report on March 11, 2013. When Svetlana Pankratova, who was born on April 29, 1971, grew up in Volgograd in Russia, she was already the tallest one in kindergarten and since children were arranged from tallest to shortest, the little kindergarten girl with the longest legs was always at the head of the line. While having the longest legs was an advantage in kindergarten, it became a disadvantage in high school. Svetlana says that life as a teen with the longest legs “wasn’t easy because kids do

An Indiana woman who wanted to honor her late husband with a headstone that captured his interests in sports and the outdoors is suing a Catholic church for refusing to install it. Shannon Carr spent $9,600 on the black granite headstone to mark the grave of her husband, Jason Carr, who died in an August 2009 automobile accident. The headstone is shaped like a couch and features images of a deer, a dog and color logos of NASCAR and the Indianapolis Colts. Distinctive: The headstone is shaped like a couch and features images of a deer, a dog and color logos of NASCAR and the Indianapolis Colts Row: Shannon Carr spent $9,600 on the black granite headstone to mark the grave of her husband, Jason Carr, who died in an August 2009 automobile accident. Now she's suing the church that won't let her put it up The Rev. Jonathan Meyer, priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church, notified the monument maker that the headstone didn't meet the cemetery

Paris Jackson Gets NFL Cheerleading Offer Michael Jackson’s daughter was recently offered a job cheering for the Philadelphia Eagles. Eagles cheer director Barbara Zaun said: “We think Paris will make a great Eagle cheerleader. We thought that she had a lot of poise, confidence and enthusiasm in her cheer performance … Paris has that ‘wow factor’ that makes a great cheerleader.” Paris was probably flattered by the NFL offer but, unfortunately, it will be a few years until she can cheer on the sidelines in Philadelphia. Paris is only 14-years-old and NFL cheerleaders have to be older than 18. Zaun added: “She is already very comfortable with the limelight … So we think she would definitely stand out and impress the judges…We hope that she will try out for the team and be an Eagles cheerleader!” Here’s a video of Paris Jackson with her high school cheerleading team. Do you spot anything special? Or, you know, could the Eagles be making their offer based on the fact that Paris i

Two Venezuelan diplomats were expelled from the United States, a U.S. official said Monday. Diplomatic tensions between the United States and Venezuela showed no signs of slowing Monday as the State Department announced that two Venezuelan diplomats had been expelled. Orlando Jose Montanez Olivares and Victor Camacaro Mata were declared personae non gratae and ordered to leave the country in response to the South American nation's decision to kick out two U.S. officials last week, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. "Around the world, when our people are thrown out unjustly, we're going to take reciprocal action," she said. "We need to do that to protect our own people." The expulsion of the Venezuelan diplomats comes after Venezuelan officials -- just hours before announcing President Hugo Chavez's death last week -- said they were expelling two U.S. Embassy officials and accused them of plotting to destabilize