At a Glance ...

Family goes to court over treehouse

ANN ARBOR (AP) — A Michigan family is fighting with city officials over the legality of a large wooden treehouse.

The Ann Arbor News reports that a judge has instructed Ann Arbor residents Tamar Boyadjian and Greg Douglas to bring their treehouse up to code by Friday or take it down.
Boyadjian says the family has made numerous changes to the structure and paid multiple fines.

The city took the issue to court last year after complaints from neighbors regarding the structure. Officials say they’re enforcing the city's building and zoning codes.
Boyadjian alleges she’s being unfairly prosecuted. She says her neighbors have a history of complaining about her family, including reporting loud music or their trash cans being on the curb for too long.

The issue will be reviewed in court Sept. 7.


Rhode Island bans guns on school grounds, except by police

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The governor of Rhode Island and the state’s commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education have announced a directive barring all guns from schools except those carried by law enforcement personnel.

The directive issued Wednesday by Commissioner Ken Wagner was in response to what he called “ambiguities and inconsistencies” in state law and different rules among school districts.

While the law guarantees “that all students and educators have the right to attend and work in a school that is safe and secure,” it also allows people with concealed-carry permits in schools.

Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo said Rhode Island was one of only a few of states that allowed non-law enforcement officials to carry concealed weapons into schools.


Shopper shocked by surprise snake on cart

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — A woman shopping for groceries says she was surprised to find a snake on her shopping cart while picking out produce at a New York supermarket.

Laura Walitsky says she was at Wegmans in Pittsford when her daughter spotted the hitchhiking reptile wrapped on the bottom of her cart. The Rochester Democrat &

Chronicle reports the woman then walked the cart outside and had her daughter tell customer service there was a snake on it.

Walitsky was able to flag down two employees who removed the snake and placed it in a nearby wooded area. A Wegmans spokesperson said in a statement that “this was an isolated incident.”

A biology professor identified the pictured snake as a non-venomous milk snake, a common snake species.


Buzz off! Bees swarm Times Square hot dog stand

NEW YORK (AP) — A swarm of bees had caused a brief commotion in Times Square in New York City after they made their home atop a hot dog stand.

It happened at 43rd Street and Broadway at about 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The New York Police Department’s bee keepers unit responded to the scene and safely removed the bees.

WABC-TV shows thousands of bees crowding the top of the vendor’s umbrella as a beekeeper sucks them into a hose.

In a tweet, the NYPD said that “no tourist was harmed and no bee was left behind.”

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