CHICAGO (AP) — A judge has acquitted a Chicago man of animal cruelty charges filed after the man posted a video of himself smoking marijuana with a chameleon.

After viewing the video and hearing the arguments of prosecutors and defense attorneys, Cook County Circuit Judge Robert Kuzas ruled Wednesday that Bruce Blunt’s behavior was “uncalled for and immature” but didn’t rise to criminal behavior.

Blunt posted a Facebook video of himself smoking marijuana with the chameleon, Binna, earlier this year. That prompted a complaint from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

After his acquittal, Blunt said he blew smoke into the chameleon’s mouth because it seemed to calm the aggressive reptile.

Blunt said he hopes to get the chameleon back from Chicago Animal Care and Control.

(AP)–The first report from a big project to improve genetic testing shows it is not as rock solid as many people believe.

Many companies offer gene tests to gauge a person’s risk of developing various disorders. Several years ago, the government helped start a database to track the results. The study finds that labs often disagree on how harmful or benign certain gene variants are. That means some people are wrongly told to worry and others are wrongly told they can relax.

Researchers say consumers getting a gene test should choose a lab that is sharing its results with other scientists to help make testing more accurate for everyone.

The study was discussed Wednesday at a conference in Washington and published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

STANFORD, Ky. (AP) — A central Kentucky teenager has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing her grandparents, who were found in their burned home.

Allison Deshae Wilson pleaded guilty but mentally ill to two counts of murder in April.

Her grandparents, 64-year-old Everett Garland and his 60-year-old wife, Linda Garland, were in their home near Eubank when the fire broke out in November 2013. Everett Garland died at the scene, and his wife died later at a hospital.

The couple had custody of Wilson, who was 16 at the time of the fire. Wilson, now 18, was sentenced in Lincoln County Circuit Court on Friday.

Investigators say the fire was intentionally set. Wilson also was originally charged with arson. But her guilty plea April 7 included only the murder charges.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — Police say the gunman is among the two people who died in a shooting at a Wal-Mart store in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Lt. Derik Zimmel says the shooter was the only person with a gun, and police do not believe there is any further safety risk to the general public.

Zimmel says one other person was injured and taken to a hospital. He says the injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Officers responded to reports of gunshots shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday. Zimmel says no police officers fired a weapon.

The names of the people involved were not immediately released. Grand Forks Air Force Base issued a statement saying an airman was one of the people involved but did not elaborate.

Zimmel says police are investigating.

BEMIDJI, Minn. (AP) — Police say a 15-year-old baseball player has died after being struck by a ball in the northern Minnesota city of Bemidji.

The president of the Bemidji Youth Baseball League, Bruce Dahlin, tells KSTP-TV that Zacharie Schaubhut lived in Des Moines, Iowa, but was living with his grandparents for the summer so he could play baseball in Bemidji.

Police say the incident happened just before 12:30 p.m. Sunday at the Bemidji High School baseball field.

Police say Zacharie was pitching and was struck by a ball that a batter hit. He died later at a hospital.

 

SAN MARCOS, Tx. (AP)–Authorities say a dozen people are missing after flash flooding along the Blanco River in Central Texas that damaged hundreds of homes.

Kristi Wyatt, a spokeswoman for the city of San Marcos, said Monday that 12 people are now missing after the flooding Sunday, when three people were reported missing. Wyatt says she didn’t immediately have more information.

Former Nueces County Commissioner Joe McComb says his son’s wife and their two children are among the missing.

McComb tells the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that his 36-year-old son, Jonathan, is hospitalized in San Antonio with multiple injuries after a house he was staying at was knocked off its foundation and carried down the raging river Sunday. It struck a bridge and then began breaking up.

The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd says five members of two families from the Corpus Christi church also were in the house and are missing.

GOUVERNEUR, N.Y. (AP) — Nine brains were found along a street in a northern New York village, but authorities say there’s nothing to fear.

The brains are believed to have been part of a collection for educational or research purposes. No criminal activity is suspected. Residents discovered the brains on a street near railroad tracks in Governeur and notified police Wednesday.

A local veterinarian determined one of the brains had been professionally removed and preserved in formaldehyde. The organs are believed to be either from dogs or sheep.

Mishaps with preserved brains are not uncommon.

Last year the University of Texas in Austin said dozens of human brains stored in jars of formaldehyde and reported missing were actually destroyed in 2002. Those brains had been donated for teaching and research.

LA PLATA, Md. (AP) — A woman was found in a Maryland park pushing her dead toddler in a swing, and authorities say she may have been there all night.

Charles County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Friday that police found the unidentified woman in a park with her dead 3-year-old son in the town of La Plata after receiving a call early Friday morning. The release said officers saw right away that the toddler was dead, and that his body showed no signs of trauma.

The sheriff’s office says the child’s body was taken to a medical examiner for an autopsy and the mother was taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation.

La Plata, a town of about 8,700 people, is located about 30 miles southeast of Washington, D.C.

NEW YORK (AP) — Running a jail can be even more expensive than previously thought.

A study released Thursday by the New York-based nonprofit Vera Institute of Justice examined all costs associated with operating local lockups beyond budget line items.

The authors found services such as providing inmate health care, programming and funding employee benefits are sometimes covered by other county agencies.

Researcher Christian Henrichson says officials can’t make smart reforms without appreciating the true, total cost of jailing.

The report surveyed 35 jail systems from 18 different states. It concludes reducing the inmate population is the only way to achieve real savings.

The report says that amid falling crime rates in Springfield, Massachusetts, the inmate population has likewise shrunk allowing the sheriff’s department to save millions by closing housing units.

ROMNEY, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia teacher has been suspended without pay for showing part of the erotic movie “Fifty Shades of Grey” to students as a reward for good work.

The county school board unanimously voted this week to suspend Hampshire High School health occupations instructor Kristie Long for the rest of the school year.

The newspaper says students asked Long to show the movie and one brought the DVD to school last week. An assistant principal shut down the movie after 10 minutes after being alerted about it by another adult.

Long told school officials she didn’t know what the movie was about.

The first movie opened this year on Valentine’s Day weekend and became one of the biggest R-rated openings ever.