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Siblings return bag of found money

EUGENE, Ore., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- A pair of honest siblings from Eugene, Ore., said they decided to return a bag holding $13,000 they found lying in the street because "obviously, we couldn't keep it."

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Ryan and Katie Moi spotted the blue bank deposit bag lying in the street as they were driving Monday, The (Eugene) Register-Guard reported.

Katie said she pulled over and Ryan jumped out to retrieve the bag.

"Our hearts were racing," Ryan said. "We couldn't believe it."

"Obviously, we couldn't keep it," Katie said. "When I had my laptop stolen, that was the worst feeling. I would not do that to someone else."

The siblings said they brought the bag to their dad's home for advice. Their father, Erik, said he immediately noticed paperwork enclosed in the bag showing that the money belonged to Reliable Credit, a firm that provides direct loans to people.

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Ryan and Katie told their father they wished to return the bag and Erik volunteered to take care of it.

"They were dumbstruck," he said in reference to employees at Reliable Credit.

Lee Holzman, president of Reliable Credit, confirmed the story, but declined to comment on any details of the story.

"The cool part of the story is the kids and what they did," he said. "I've instructed our manager to talk with their dad and find out what would be appropriate to show our appreciation."


Hotel takes down Che-style picture

SOUTH BEACH, Fla., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- A Florida hotel said a portrait appearing to depict communist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara was taken down a week after it was put on display.

An employee of the W Hotel in South Beach said complaints about the portrait, which bears some differences from the iconic image of Che Guevara taken by Alberto Diaz "Korda" Gutierrez in 1959 and may not actually depict the Argentine revolutionary, started almost as soon as it was put on display last week, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.

"He was a mass murderer, killed thousands of Cubans execution-style," outraged local man Gus Exposito said in an email. "I spoke to the manager and he referred to it as art!"

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Damien O'Connor, manager of the hotel, said the picture was taken down Tuesday.

"We did it as a matter of respect and sensitivity toward the local community," he said. "We are sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused."


Owl survives 140 miles in front grille

PLANTATION, Fla., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Veterinarians in Florida said a great horned owl that survived a 140-mile trip stuck in the front of a sport utility vehicle is expected to recover fully.

Sonji Coney-Williams said she apparently struck the owl on her way from her Central Florida home to her son's South Florida home Thursday night when she thought she spotted a bird standing in the road, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Thursday.

Coney-Williams said she stopped for the night in Plantation and was flagged down when she began driving again the following day.

The pedestrians revealed the owl was trapped between the front grille and radiator of the vehicle. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer responded to the scene and freed the owl, which was taken to the South Florida Wildlife Center in Fort Lauderdale.

Sherry Schlueter, director of the center, said the avian was dehydrated but responsive when it arrived.

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"It was a good sign," Schlueter said.

She said the owl was treated with antibiotics for anemia and is being kept in a raptor habitat ahead of its scheduled release Friday in Yeehaw Junction.

"It's going in a nice, padded carrier this time," Schlueter said.


Museum uses beloved bear's pelt for model

BERLIN, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Berlin's natural history museum said an exhibit honoring beloved zoo polar bear Knut uses the animal's real pelt.

The museum said Knut, who died at age 4 in March 2011 when he suffered a seizure and drowned in his enclosure at the Berlin Zoo, will be honored with a full-size model covered in the bear's actual pelt, The Local.de reported Thursday.

"It's important to make clear we haven't had Knut stuffed," museum spokeswoman Gesine Steiner said. "It's an artistically valuable sculpture with the original fur."

Knut became one of Berlin's most popular celebrities when he was hand-raised by zookeepers as a tiny cub.

The tribute will go on display Saturday and remain in place for four weeks.

"We are creating an extra entrance into the museum solely for Knut visitors," Steiner said.

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