Biggest Burmese Python Found In Florida—17.7 Feet, 87 Eggs

Florida has a new attraction—a 17.7-foot-long (5.4-meter-long) Burmese python, the biggest snake ever found in the southeastern U.S. state, scientists say.

What’s more, a necropsy on the euthanized python revealed she was carrying 87 eggs—also a state record for the species, a University of Florida team announced Monday.

Captured in Everglades National Park, the “monstrous” constrictor will eventually be displayed at the Florida Museum of Natural History, according to the university.

The Everglades is home to a growing population the invasive Southeast Asian pythons, many of which have either escaped into or been dumped into the wild. (See Everglades pictures.)

Read more: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/08/120814-burmese-python-snake-florida-eggs-biggest-science/

Taylor Swift’s New Break Up Anthem Rises To Top Of iTunes Chart In 50 Minutes

Bloomsburg Fairgrounds Ready To Reopen 1 Year After Flood

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Columbia County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BLOOMSBURG – Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley reached to a sign posted at the high water mark of the wall of a restroom at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds.

“I can barely touch it,” Cawley said.

The last time he toured the fairgrounds, the water dumped during the twin storms of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee had just receded from the high point on Sept. 9, 2011.

Mud smeared the grounds, and the board of directors canceled the fair for the first time in 157 years.

On Thursday, Cawley returned to rebuilt grounds as vendors set up stands and owners parked collectible cars inside buildings for an automobile show that starts Friday.

Read more: http://www.lockhaven.com/page/content.detail/id/540390/Bloomsburg-fairgrounds-ready-to-reopen-1-year-after-flood.html?nav=5009

110-Year-Old Pa. Widow Gets WWI Benefits Boost

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Cambria County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A 110-year-old Pennsylvania widow is getting a benefits boost because of her husband’s World War I service.

Family members say Alda Collins is now getting about $1,000 a month to assist with her stay at a nursing home near Ebensburg. She had been getting $36 a month.

Her son tells the Daily American of Somerset (http://bit.ly/OURXLU) that Collins lived by herself in a trailer until she was 106.  She can use a walker, feeds herself and knows the Pirates are in second place.

Read more: http://hosted2.ap.org/PATOW/5715a04f327d44b9b9ab039463c2d9db/Article_2012-08-13-World%20War%20I-Benefits/id-949930100c08497dae95b1159d0873fb

Developers Of Planned Lower Macungie Shopping Center ‘Trying To Bridge Financial Gap’

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lehigh County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Developers of a proposed shopping center that would bring a Costco Warehouse and Target to Lower Macungie Township pitched their project to the East Penn School Board Monday night in anticipation of a future request for Tax Increment Financing.

Staten Island developer Timothy Harrison presented his vision for Hamilton Crossings – a $120 million, 580,000 square-foot shopping center proposed on 62 acres on both sides of Krocks Road between the Route 222 Bypass and Hamilton Boulevard. He told the school board he would be returning to ask the district to participate on a TIF committee.

Harrison and his partner Jeremy Fogel, executive director of The Goldenberg Group in Blue Bell, discussed financial hurdles involved with the site that are caused by geotechnical issues resulting from more than 70 years of use as an iron-ore mine. They told directors that much of the site consists of mine wash, a pancake batter-like substance that has to be removed and mixed with concrete or rock before it is returned to the ground. Harrison said the ground could not support buildings or a parking lot without remediation.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/eastpenn/mc-east-penn-lower-mac-tif-20120814,0,2514578.story

“F-Bomb” Among New Words In Merriam-Webster Dictionary

(Reuters) – Popular phrases such as “man cave,” “bucket list” and “game changer” are among the new entries in the 2012 update of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, according to a list released by the company on Tuesday.

“Sexting” – the sending of sexually explicit messages or images by cell phone – and “f-bomb” – the printable euphemism for a four-letter curse word – also made the list.

Merriam-Webster said the list offers a revealing look at U.S. culture and the colorful language English speakers adopt to describe it.

The term “underwater” reflects the familiar struggles of homeowners who owe more on their mortgage loan than their properties are worth, while the lighter “aha moment” gives a nod to media mogul Oprah Winfrey‘s signature phrase describing a flash of sudden realization.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/sns-rt-us-usa-dictionary-new-wordsbre87d0p0-20120814,0,5768026.story