A man smuggling endangered bonytongue fish through customs at JFK Airport was caught when the airline lost his luggage.

Chee Thye Chaw, 47, returned from a family visit in Malaysia in April, but his suitcase did show up until the next day, a story by the NY Post said. A customs agent performing a random check discovered 16 of the highly-sought-after fish in a blue suitcase, which Chaw later identified as being his, the story said. He was arrested by US Fish and Wildlife Service agents at his home in Elmhurst, NY, and faces up to 33 months in jail if convicted.

Bonytongue fish are kept as pets by owners who believe the 5-inch to foot-long fish are good luck charms that can protect them from death. They go for $5,000 to $10,000.

Two sea otters aboard a flight from Houston to Columbus, Ohio managed to escape from their cages and delay the flight until they were caught.

The otters managed to get loose on the tarmac and the cargo hold, causing an 80-minute delay, a story by KHOU.TV.

"They told us there were a couple of otters loose in the cargo area," passenger Nicky Devanny told the television station. "People thought it was a joke at first, I think."

The otters were being shipped to the Columbus Zoo.

LAS VEGAS -- (AP) Las Vegas police say they have arrested a 69-year-old man who was caught on video throwing paint on Sin City's famous sign welcoming tourists to the Las Vegas Strip.

Police spokesman Bill Cassell said Joseph Peter Pepitone of Las Vegas was arrested and booked into county jail on a misdemeanor property damage charge. A local Fox television crew filming a segment about graffiti Friday morning caught a shirtless and barefoot Pepitone throwing red paint on the front of the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. The paint hit the first "U" in "Fabulous, then smeared through the word "Vegas."

Pepitone earlier told The Associated Press that he was planning a health care demonstration while wearing a barrel and a Santa Claus hat. He didn't mention defacing the sign.

After a four-year hiatus, Walt Disney, Co. unveiled a new high-tech replica of Abraham Lincoln that scholars say sounds nothing like the 16th president of the United States.

The mechanical replica used in the "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" show at the Opera House on Main Street in Disneyland, now features nuanced facial movements with each quote. But historians say the remastered 40-year-old voice by character actor Royal Dano sounds nothing like Lincoln, a story by the LA Times said.

While some historians think its important to get Lincoln's high-pitched voice and rural dialect right, some believe that Disney's interpretation is perfect for an audience who is not there for a history lesson, the story said.

Two passengers aboard a flight from Singapore to Australia got into a fistfight over the lack of space in an overhead baggage compartment.

On man was so angry he punched another passenger and had to be separated by airline staff, a story by News.com.au said. "When there is no room above their seat, they take the space above someone else's and people don't like it when these turkeys do that," aviation expert Ben Sandilands told News.com.au.

The victim was relocated to another seat, the story said, and the plane continued to Australia where Singapore Airlines is working with Australian police. Industry officials warn that the incident of "air rage" may be the first of many as airlines start charging for checking in luggage, the story said.

The Holland American Line cruise ship The Veendam will not be docking in St. George's Bermuda because the 1,350 passenger ship won't fit, a story by USA Today said.

Instead, the ship will anchor offshore during each of it's 24-weekly visits from New York, and passengers will be able to take a ferry into the town, the story said. The ferry can carry up to 700 passengers, weather permitting, the story said.

St. George community leaders are concerned that tourism will be hurt by the ferry system, but Holland America Line says that it "will be very efficient," the story said. The cruise ship will also dock for two nights in downtown Hamilton, Bermuda.

A man who stepped on glass after he removed his shoes at the request of Buffalo Airport security, is suing the government for his injury.

Joel Mombrea, 50, says he cut his foot on a piece of glass after Transportation Security Administration officers asked him to remove his shoes before a December, 2007 flight, a story by the Buffalo News. The injury caused Mombrea to be hospitalized and confined to his home for some time, the story said. He is suing Homeland Security and other government agencies for negligence and asking for $500,000 in damages.

His wife is also suing for $100,000 in damages for losing the “service, society, consortium and companionship of her spouse," the story said.

Thousands of surfers and onlookers flocked to the shores of Maui and Oahu to catch sight of some of the highest Hawaii waves in decades.

A historic northwest swell caused waves as high as 50-feet, and spectators and surfers packed Oahu's Kamehameha Highway and the North Shore beach to get a look at them, a story by KITV.com said. While some were there just to see the massive waves, conditions were just right for the competitors in "The Eddie," a surfing contest only held when waves measure 20 ft and higher. The last competition was held five years ago.

Surfers travel from all over the world to participate in the surf contest in honor of Eddie Aikau, a surfer and lifeguard who lost his life during a sea voyage in 1978. This year's winner was Greg Long, 24, who walked away with $55,000 after edging out his idol, Kelly Slater. Slater took home second place.

Some New Zealand swimmers have vowed not to go back into the water as long as the "delinquent dolphin" Moko is there.

Moko, a teenage dolphin, is terrorizing visitors of the Gisborne seaside resort by tipping over water skiers, headbutting surfers and stealing their boards, and making amorous advances to young women, a story by the Telegraph said. At least six people have needed to be rescued by lifeguards recently because he's gotten more aggressive, the story said. Two of them were 12-year-old girls who couldn't get back to shore after Moko stole their surfboards.

Grant Fussell, president of the local surf club, is worried that Moko could try to mate with a human female partner. "He relates more to humans than to other dolphins," Fussell told the newspaper. "There is a danger he could literally become a lady killer."

A German tourist was caught leaving New Zealand with geckos and skinks hidden in his underwear.

Hans Kubus, 58, was searched by Christchurch Airport security when they discovered a small box containing the reptiles in his underwear, a story by The Local said. A total of 20 skinks and 24 geckos of various species were recovered, including a gecko found rolled in one Kubus' socks in his luggage, the story said.

The geckos had a black market value of $35,850, while the skinks value is unknown. Kubus admitted to taking the reptiles from the wild, trading and transporting them without a permit, the story said.

A close inspection of a fully-cooked chicken by Customs and Border Protection agents at Dulles International Airport revealed 2.3 ounces of cocaine.

The cocaine, which has an estimated street value of $4,300, was found stuffed inside the chicken in two plastic bags, a story by WTOP.com said. "CBP officers have seen many unique narcotics concealment methods, and they all present the same challenges to discover them. Our officers' inspection was very thorough and earned solid results," Christopher Hess, Customs and Border Protection director for the Port of Washington, told WTOP.com.

CBP officers turned over the drugs and their alleged owner, Wagner Mauricio Linares Aragon, 32, of Guatemala, to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police.

A couple claiming their "once in a lifetime cruise" was "stressful" despite penthouse accommodations and a butler, has won a suit against the cruise company for "loss of enjoyment."

Terrence and Cynthia Milner sued Cunard Cruise Lines after abandoning their 15-week cruise on the Queen Victoria after just six weeks, a story by the Telegraph said. The Milner's said the cruise, which cost them nearly $100,000, was plagued by sleepless nights, stormy conditions, mouth ulcers and a noisy cabin, the story said. When the couple complained, they were offered a series of other rooms and eventually moved to a penthouse suite where they said they felt "trapped," according to the Telegraph.

After receiving nearly $80,000 in a refund, the couple won an additional $36,310 in damages.

Budget airline Jetstar was forced to apologize to a visually-impaired couple after refusing to allow their guide dog fly with them.

Glen Bracegirdle called to book a flight for himself, his legally-blind companion, Kathryn Beaton, and her guide dog, when he was told that Jetstar doesn't allow dogs on flights, a story by News.com.au said. Bracegirdle asked to speak with a manager who was "quite loud and angry," the story said.

Jetstar spokesman Simon Westway told News.com.au that the airline "unreservedly apologizes" for the "unfortunate one-off customer service issue." This apology comes just weeks after the airline was forced to apologize to a paraplegic who was forced to check his wheelchair, and then dragged himself through the airport and onto the plane.

Travelers flying in and out of Raleigh-Durham International Airport have more than long security lines to worry about this holiday season. Airport officials have noticed an increase in coyotes on the runway, causing major take-off and landing delays.

Airport workers and federal wildlife agents try to scare the coyotes off with cap guns and bottle rockets, but that doesn't keep them from walking out in front of taxiing planes, a story by the Los Angeles Times said. Earlier this year, a coyote was hit by a American Eagle jet, the story said.

Airport officials have recently put the finishing touches on a wildlife management plan to try keep the coyotes at bay. It includes improving fencing and keeping the grass low on the 5,000-acre property.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – (AP) Visitors to South Africa's premier holiday destination who are worried about becoming victims of the country's high crime rate could find themselves instead robbed by a more furry kind of felon: baboons.

The cheeky primates have learned how to open car doors and jump through windows in pursuit of tasty sandwiches and snacks. City officials are battling to control the increasingly aggressive troupes and there are fears the problem will only worsen with the influx of visitors to Cape Town during the World Cup next year.

On Tuesday, a troupe of 29 baboons raided four cars outside Simon's Town, a small coastal neighborhood. A baboon dubbed "Fred," the leader of the group, opened unlocked doors and jumped through windows to search for food. He ransacked a bag in the back seat of a red car as a couple panicked about their passports. A girl screamed nearby as a baboon hopped into her car through a back window. Others climbed on car roofs and hoods, looking for ways inside.
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Paralympian Kurt Fearnley dragged himself through an airport and onto the plane after the airline made him check his wheelchair.

Jetstar, a budget offshoot of Qantas airline, has offered an apology for any "embarrassment and hurt" that was caused by the incident, a story by FOXNews.com said. Jetstar told FOX that it followed its policy for passengers in wheelchairs, and offered to push Fearnley in an airline wheelchair that is easier to steer on the plane. But Fearnley, who has won gold medals in two paraolympics, refused, saying for the able-bodied it "would be having your legs tied together, your pants pulled down and be carried or pushed through an airport," the story said.

Jetstar told Fearnley they are working on an alternative boarding procedure for disabled passengers, the story said.

LOS ANGELES -- (AP) Federal officials say they arrested a man who strapped 15 live lizards to his chest to get through customs at Los Angeles International Airport.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Friday that 40-year-old Michael Plank of Lomita, Calif., was returning from Australia when U.S. Customs agents found two geckos, two monitor lizards and 11 skinks - another type of lizard - fastened to his body Tuesday. Plank has been released on $10,000 bond and will be arraigned in federal court on Dec. 21.

Authorities say the lizards' value totals more than $8,500. All Australian reptiles are strictly regulated and Plank did not have a permit for them.

A Las Vegas gambler who lost $112 million in a year is suing casino Caesars Palace, claiming the staff took advantage of him by supplying him with alcohol and drugs.

Terry Watanabe 52, said he lived at Caesars Palace for six months, gambling nonstop on the roulette wheel and slot machines, a story by the Telegraph reported. After a losing streak and running up around $15 million in debt, he was charged with theft, the story said. Watanabe has pleaded not guilty and filed a counter-suit against the parent company Harrah's for fraud, breach of contract, conspiracy and negligence, the story said.

Watanabe also alleges that casino staff gave him prescription painkillers and an unlimited alcoholic beverages, which "rendered him utterly intoxicated and unfit to gamble," the story said. Harrah's denies any wrong doing, and they stand by their long history of "responsible and ethical practices," the story said.

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