Sponsors of the annual holiday festival near Roseburg have commissioned a whopper of a centerpiece — a wooden nutcracker intended to stand 41 feet tall, weigh more than 16,000 pounds and work its jaw with enough force to crush coconuts.

The statue was created by a Willamette Valley woodworker using chain saws, The News-Review (http://bit.ly/1AoMDx3) reported.

Thailand's military-installed prime minister, known for scolding journalists, is trying a new tack: patting their heads and tugging their ears.

A video posted on Facebook by Bangkok Post reporter Wassana Nanuam shows Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha chatting Wednesday with reporters in the northeastern city of Khon Kaen. Some journalists kneeled in front of him to allow cameras a clear view.

No trumpet sounded to mark the historic event -- instead, it was a hollow, springy plop which heralded last week's landing by the comet probe Philae.

Scientists at the German space agency DLR on Thursday said they had recorded vibrations from sensors on Philae's three legs as the robot lab touched down on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

A British couple said Wednesday they had been fined £100 ($155, 125 euros) by a hotel for leaving a bad review on TripAdvisor calling it a "filthy, dirty, rotten stinking hovel".

Tony and Jan Jenkinson said they were told the extra charge -- almost three times the £36 cost of their room and breakfast -- was imposed by the Broadway Hotel in Blackpool, northern England, under a "no bad review policy".

Wednesday's epic snowstorm turned a drive of a few hours into a two-day wintry slog for rock band Interpol, thwarted in its valiant effort to keep its Canada gigs.

The band missed a performance late Tuesday in Toronto and canceled another in Montreal for Thursday after being caught in the blizzard that trapped the musicians in their bus for more than 40 hours.

For 17 years it was a privilege reserved only for high-ranking Colombian police officers.

But the State Council, the highest administrative court in Colombia, has now thrown out a controversial rule that forbade rank-and-file policemen from growing mustaches, it emerged Wednesday.

Some people keep guinea pigs or hamsters as pets.

But in Cuba, where a larger, more exotic rodent runs wild, Ana Pedraza and her husband prefer the hutia.

Britain's film classification board said Wednesday it has removed a warning that the new "Paddington" movie contains "mild sex references" after the creator of the much-loved children's character expressed shock at the advice.

Michael Bond, the 88-year-old author of the books charting the adventures of the marmalade-loving bear, said he was "totally amazed" at any suggestion of sexual content in the film, in which he has a cameo.

Alaska State Troopers say they have detained a man suspected of stealing women's underwear during burglaries in Kodiak.

KTUU-TV (http://bit.ly/1Hfj6rF ) reports an 18-year-old was taken into custody Monday. Online court records early Tuesday didn't indicate he had been formally charged.

An Irish bull destined for the slaughterhouse because he appears to be gay has been saved following a campaign supported by the co-creator of "The Simpsons", animal rights activists said Tuesday.

Benjy's failure to inseminate even one of a herd of cows in which he was mixing rendered him useless on his County Mayo farm, and the farmer decided to send him to the abattoir.