In a colorful annual ritual of dubious accuracy, the groundhog Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow Sunday and saw his shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of winter.

The Pennsylvania rodent is the most famous of the furry weather forecasters for "Groundhog Day," an event with early roots in German folklore -- and rather more in U.S. media showbiz.

Protesters in Kiev have come up with a novel way to torment riot police -- blasting non-stop news from an opposition television channel projected onto a giant white sheet behind their barricade.

The screen has been set up between two poles on the edge of a giant protest camp in central Kiev -- just a few dozen meters (yards) from lines of riot police defending government buildings.

A wheelchair-bound man with a hankering for a sleeker set of wheels drove a car right out of a Florida dealership, leading police on a chase before being arrested for the theft, authorities said Thursday.

Shamal Battice, described as a paraplegic, allegedly stole the vehicle Wednesday from an auto dealership in the central Florida city of Ocala under the pretext of planning to buy a car.

Julie Gayet, the actress reported to have had an affair with President Francois Hollande, was nominated Friday for the French equivalent of an Oscar for playing a suspenders-wearing seductress.

Gayet has played a central part in the soap opera that has gripped France for weeks since she was snapped arriving for secret trysts with the president just yards from his official residence, the Elysee Palace.

Alligator and frog have long been on the menu in Florida, but a new delicacy has slithered its way onto dinner plates in the U.S. state.

A pizzeria now offers Burmese python meat on what it calls the "Everglades Pizza" -- named for Florida's vast national park, where the snakes are being hunted to protect the nature preserve.

A majestic snowy owl that has in recent days captured the hearts of Washington, a city obsessed with its zoo's giant panda cub, was being treated after a bus apparently hit it this week.

The large bird that has gained something of a cult following after perching atop landings and monuments near the White House suffered a broken toe and possible internal injuries, the wildlife clinic tending to it said.

Pope Francis' status as a superhero has bit the dust.

Rome police early Thursday scrubbed the wall near the Vatican where "SuperPope" had been displayed, showing Francis as Superman in flight and clutching his black satchel of values to spread to the world.

A Utah ape that has correctly picked the Super Bowl winner for six straight years predicted Thursday that the Seattle Seahawks will be the next NFL champion.

Eli the ape ran into an enclosure Thursday morning and swiftly knocked down a papier-mache helmet bearing the Seahawks logo, signaling his pick, said Erica Hansen of Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City.

An emaciated man whose boat washed up on a remote Pacific atoll this week claims he survived 16 months adrift on the Pacific, floating more than 12,500 kilometers (8,000 miles) from Mexico, a researcher said Friday.

The man, with long beard and hair, was discovered Thursday when his 24-foot fibreglass boat with propellerless engines floated onto the reef at Ebon Atoll and he was spotted by two locals.

A wheelchair-bound man with a hankering for a sleeker set of wheels drove a car right out of a Florida dealership, leading police on a chase before being arrested for the theft, authorities said Thursday.

Shamal Battice, described as a paraplegic, allegedly stole the vehicle Wednesday from an auto dealership in the central Florida city of Ocala under the pretext of planning to buy a car.