In the news

• Jerry Kimball of Sioux Falls, S.D., facing a $190 fine for allowing his pet snake to slither freely in a city park, says he's "dumbfounded" by an animal-control officer's suggestion that he broke the law by not having his python on a leash while in public.

• Elizabeth Letendre has filed a lawsuit to block efforts by Currituck County, N.C., to deny her a building permit to finish construction on a $4.6 million, 24-bedroom house along the Outer Banks that she describes as a single-family home.

• Jon Platt, a British man who took his daughter out of school without permission to visit Disney World in Florida, broke truancy laws and must pay a $180 fine, the British Supreme Court ruled, overturning two lower courts that had ruled in favor of Platt.

• John Kaboff, 46, a musician from Vienna, Va., got an apology and was re-booked after being removed from a flight when the crew decided his $100,000 cello posed a safety risk because it couldn't easily be strapped into the extra seat he had bought for it.

• Princess White, 22, of Dallas pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison for not providing adequate nutrition or getting medical care for her 7-month-old son, who starved to death in 2014.

• Kyle Stump, 23, of Sheffield Lake, Ohio, pleaded no contest to criminal mischief but said he doesn't regret spray-painting a marriage proposal on the walls of a shopping center even though he was ordered to pay more than $300 in restitution and perform community service.

• Monsignor Edward Arsenault has been removed from the priesthood by Pope Francis after pleading guilty in 2014 to stealing $300,000 from a hospital, a bishop and a deceased priest's estate, the Diocese of Manchester, N.H., announced.

• Tabbatha Mature, 41, of New Baltimore, Mich., was arrested on a charge of child abuse, accused of choking a teenager who, during a fireworks display at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., refused to stay seated but then left, saying, "You can take our spot," a phrase that reportedly set off Mature's attack.

• John Abdo, 30, of Wagner, S.D., was sentenced to 15 years in prison with eight years suspended after being convicted of assault for biting off his girlfriend's nose and tearing into other places on her body, acts Judge Bruce Anderson called "unforgivable."

A Section on 04/08/2017

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