OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Home runs are few and far between at the College World Series these days, which made Brian Holberton's first-inning shot all the more important for North Carolina.

DETROIT (AP) — Max Scherzer has shrugged off the significance of his undefeated start, saying records are fluky statistics for pitchers and that he's simply playing for a good team.

By Luc Cohen MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Fed up with politicians they call "rats," a group of friends in the eastern Mexican city of Xalapa have put forward their ideal candidate for mayor: a cat named Morris. Xalapa resident Sergio Chamorro, who adopted the cat in August, said the plan began as a joke between friends borne out of their frustration with the Veracruz state government over freedom of speech. "Fed up of voting for rats? Vote for a cat," reads one campaign poster featuring the black and white cat, using the Spanish "ratas" for rats and "gato" for Morris. ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Across the dizzying, colorful show floor at last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo, there were games on display where players could become all manner of things, like a throat-slashing 18th century pirate, zombie killer, a guardian of the last city on earth, music-making sorcerer, ruthless Roman general, shape-shifting creature, goblin slayer and Batman.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Fish and Wildlife Service Tuesday called for protection of all chimpanzees as endangered, an action that could affect use of the apes in medical research.

PRAGUE (AP) — More than a decade after many of its animals drowned, the Prague Zoo is counting the cost of yet another devastating flood. In 2002, more than 100 animals died — among them, Kadir, a male elephant that became stranded up to his ears in floodwaters and had to be euthanized — when the zoo was inundated by the worst flooding in centuries. In June, nature has again taken its toll, with major flooding that has ravaged parts of Central Europe, again submerging the entire lower parts of the park again. This time, only a handful of animals were swept away and an army of volunteers are making sure the hundreds that have been evacuated return home as soon as possible. Meanwhile, plans are underway on how to minimize the impact of future floods.

By Natasha Baker TORONTO (Reuters) - Dog and cat lovers have a new way to make sure their pets get plenty of exercise and nourishment: phone apps that track how much an animal plays, runs, sleeps and eats. Whistle, an iPhone app and monitor worn on a dog's collar that was launched last week, measures an animal's activity throughout the day. The app can track changes over time and can compare exercise levels with other dogs of the same breed. ...

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Obama administration is proposing to lift most remaining federal protections for gray wolves across the Lower 48 states almost four decades after they were added to the endangered species list.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Until she introduced "magic cheese" to her sick and aging bulldog, Laura Bugni-Daniel watched him suffer for two years. He'd spend his days lying down or throwing up.

DETROIT (AP) — Torii Hunter noticed early on that something was amiss with Tampa Bay left-hander Matt Moore.

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Members of a militia run by fugitive African warlord Joseph Kony are killing elephants across Central Africa to support Kony's struggling group, according to a report by watchdog organizations that are urging the expansion of programs to encourage defections from the Lord's Resistance Army.

BALTIMORE (AP) — There seems to be no end to the list of players capable of carrying the Baltimore Orioles to victory this season.