Weird

CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago authorities are investigating after a human leg was discovered on a Lake Michigan beach on the city's South Side.

Authorities tell the Chicago Sun-Times that the leg had been severed from the rest of the body the hip down.

It was found by someone walking near rocks on Wednesday afternoon.

An autopsy on the limb is expected Thursday.

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NEW YORK (AP) - A homeless man with a history of playing an evil version of the "Sesame Street" Elmo character has been charged in New York with trying to extort $2 million from the Girl Scouts organization.

Dan Sandler pleaded not guilty Wednesday in state court in Manhattan.

Sandler is accused of threatening to publicize false information about the Girl Scouts unless he got the money. Prosecutors say he sent harassing emails and photos to a Girl Scouts employee.

Sandler was arrested last year in Times Square while wearing an Elmo costume and causing a scene that blocked traffic. He was accused of going on an anti-Semitic tirade. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

Authorities say he left New York and took his Elmo act to San Francisco, where he lived in a car.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A Texas banker is upping the ante to $1 million for whoever solves a tricky problem that's been dogging mathematicians since the 1980s.

The Providence, R.I.-based American Mathematical Society on Tuesday said $1 million will be awarded for the publication of a solution to the Beal Conjecture number theory problem.

Dallas banker D. Andrew Beal first offered the Beal Prize in 1997 for $5,000. Over the years, the amount has grown.

American Mathematical Society spokesman Michael Breen says a solution is more difficult than the one for a related problem, Fermat's Last Theorem, which didn't have a published solution for hundreds of years.

Beal is a self-taught mathematician and says he wants to inspire young people to pursue math and science.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A famed dog that lost her snout and upper jaw saving two girls' lives is heading back to the Philippines after treatment at a California hospital.

The dog - named Kabang - was released Monday from the University of California, Davis veterinary hospital.

Kabang had her snout and upper jaw sheared off in December 2011 when she jumped in front of a motorcycle in the Philippines. Newspapers in the Philippines reported she saved the lives of her owner's daughter and niece, who were apparently in the path of the oncoming cycle.

UC Davis veterinary professor Frank Verstraete says doctors were able to heal her wounds and treat other ailments during her seven-month stay at the hospital, but unable to reconstruct her snout and jaw.

Kabang will return to her owner in the Philippines.

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (AP) - Four llamas are being evaluated at a southwest Florida veterinary hospital after being involved in a crash on Interstate 75.

Charlotte County Fire-Rescue officials said a pickup truck carrying a trailer with four llamas crashed near Punta Gorda, shortly after 2:30 p.m. Monday. The truck crashed into a bridge over the Peace River and the trailer tipped onto its side.

One of the llamas was injured.

Photos taken by fire rescue officials show one of the llamas strapped on a stretcher, and another photo with two llamas in the trailer.

Officials say three of the llamas appeared to be uninjured. Charlotte County Animal Control took the four llamas to a veterinary hospital for a checkup.

The pickup driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital.

SUMTERVILLE, Fla. (AP) - In many circumstances, a piglet without the use of its hind legs would be put down. But Chris P. Bacon's unusual condition has made him an international star and an inspiration to those with disabilities.

When Chris was born in Florida, a woman brought him into Len Lucero's veterinary office, assuming the animal would be euthanized.

But Lucero noticed how the little pig pulled himself along with his front legs. Lucero says he couldn't euthanize the pig and brought it home.

Lucero built a wheelchair out of some of his son's toys so Chris could move around, then found a dog-sized harness and cart.

Chris is now 22 pounds and inspires people around the world. His Facebook page and website recently helped him land a three-book publishing deal.