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200-Pound Tortoise Is Back Home After Escaping Alabama Pen

FILE: A giant tortoise is seen on the Galapagos islands April 29, 2007. via Reuters
FILE: A giant tortoise is seen on the Galapagos islands April 29, 2007. via Reuters
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200-Pound Tortoise Is Back Home After Escaping Alabama Pen

FILE: A giant tortoise is seen on the Galapagos islands April 29, 2007. via Reuters
FILE: A giant tortoise is seen on the Galapagos islands April 29, 2007. via Reuters

A 200-pound tortoise named Sparkplug that escaped from a pen in Alabama is back home after a journey across two counties and at least one soybean field.

Sparkplug, a 60-year-old African spurred tortoise that lived in an enclosure in Etowah County, pushed its way out of the fenced pen on Thursday. A motorist who spotted the animal on the side of the road took it to his 200-acre (81-hectare) spread in Marshall County, owner Ty Harris told The Gadsden Times in a story Monday.

Harris found out what had happened after using social media to spread the word about Sparkplug, but there was still the matter of finding the tortoise on the land where he'd been released.

A big, roaming tortoise leaves tracks, and area farmers were able to see where Sparkplug had plowed through soybean fields. The man who initially released Sparkplug into the wild found the tortoise and returned it to Harris on Saturday, The Associated Press reported.

“He just had a couple of days out on the town,” said Harris.

Harris used to operate a wildlife sanctuary in the area and got Sparkplug from a family in New Jersey that couldn't keep the animal.

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Saudi Arabia: King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Plants 10,000 Native Trees to Combat Desertification

The project engaged 300 volunteers from government agencies and educational institutions to rehabilitate local ecosystems. SPA
The project engaged 300 volunteers from government agencies and educational institutions to rehabilitate local ecosystems. SPA
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Saudi Arabia: King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Plants 10,000 Native Trees to Combat Desertification

The project engaged 300 volunteers from government agencies and educational institutions to rehabilitate local ecosystems. SPA
The project engaged 300 volunteers from government agencies and educational institutions to rehabilitate local ecosystems. SPA

The King Abdulaziz Royal Reserve Development Authority, in partnership with the Green Dahna Association, has launched an initiative to plant 10,000 Arta trees in the Al-Dahna sands.

The project engaged 300 volunteers from government agencies and educational institutions to rehabilitate local ecosystems and promote a culture of environmental stewardship.

Chosen for its high adaptability to harsh desert climates and its effectiveness in soil stabilization, the Arta tree serves as a strategic investment in biodiversity and desertification control.

Authority CEO Maher AlGothmi‏ highlighted that this collaboration exemplifies the institutional integration required to meet Saudi Green Initiative and Vision 2030 goals, ensuring the sustainability of natural resources for future generations through research and community engagement.

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Hello Kitty Designer Bows Out After 40 Years in Charge 

A participant dressed as Hello Kitty throws beans during the annual Setsubun ceremony to celebrate the upcoming arrival of spring. (Reuters)
A participant dressed as Hello Kitty throws beans during the annual Setsubun ceremony to celebrate the upcoming arrival of spring. (Reuters)
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Hello Kitty Designer Bows Out After 40 Years in Charge 

A participant dressed as Hello Kitty throws beans during the annual Setsubun ceremony to celebrate the upcoming arrival of spring. (Reuters)
A participant dressed as Hello Kitty throws beans during the annual Setsubun ceremony to celebrate the upcoming arrival of spring. (Reuters)

The flamboyant designer behind Hello Kitty -- the cute Japanese character that became a global mega brand -- is stepping down after more than four decades in charge of her look.

Yuko Yamaguchi has been responsible since 1980 for the design of Kitty, who is officially not a cat but a little girl from London, overseeing her rise to the epitome of Japan's "kawaii" -- cute -- soft power.

But now Yamaguchi, who often wore Kitty-style dresses in public and piled her hair in buns -- has "passed the baton to the next generation", Sanrio, the company behind the character, said on its website Tuesday.

The company said new designer "Aya" -- a pseudonym -- was due to start by the end of 2026.

Yamaguchi "listened to the voices of fans, actively collaborated with artists and designers from Japan and abroad and has grown Hello Kitty into a character loved by everyone", Sanrio said, as it thanked her for her work.

Hello Kitty started life as an illustration on a vinyl coin purse.

It has since appeared on tens of thousands of products -- everything from handbags to rice cookers -- and has secured lucrative tie-ups with Adidas, Balenciaga and other top brands.

The phenomenon shows no sign of slowing, with a Warner Bros movie in the pipeline and a new Hello Kitty theme park due to open next year on China's tropical Hainan island.

Unlike other Japanese cultural exports such as Pokemon or Dragon Ball, there is minimal narrative around the character, whose full name is Kitty White.

She has a twin sister Mimmy, a boyfriend called Dear Daniel, and a pet cat of her own, Sanrio says. She loves her mother's apple pie and dreams of becoming a pianist or poet.

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Storm Aftermath Leaves 2 Dead in France; Flood Alerts to Remain Saturday 

A man walks along a flooded street of Saint-Germain de Confolens as severe flooding hits western France amid storm Nils, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP)
A man walks along a flooded street of Saint-Germain de Confolens as severe flooding hits western France amid storm Nils, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP)
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Storm Aftermath Leaves 2 Dead in France; Flood Alerts to Remain Saturday 

A man walks along a flooded street of Saint-Germain de Confolens as severe flooding hits western France amid storm Nils, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP)
A man walks along a flooded street of Saint-Germain de Confolens as severe flooding hits western France amid storm Nils, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP)

The aftermath of a deadly storm continued to disrupt parts of France on Friday, with flooding concerns persisting in the southwest even as wind alerts were lifted, according to weather service Météo-France. 

Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said on TF1 that France had recorded two deaths linked to Storm Nils: one on Thursday in the Landes department and a second “in the last hours” in Tarn-et-Garonne. 

She said the second victim was a man who was found in his garden. 

Network operator Enedis said the storm left up to 900,000 customers without power at its peak; by Friday morning it had restored service to about half of those affected and mobilized 3,000 personnel, including 2,100 technicians. 

Flood vigilance remained high. Météo-France maintained red flood alerts for Gironde and Lot-et-Garonne — to remain in place Saturday — due to a significant Garonne River flood episode. 

Météo-France said the storm had “uncommon strength” and swept in from France’s western seaboard overnight Wednesday into Thursday and has now moved on tracking east into Europe.