TORONTO

Mayor says doctors give him 50 percent chance to survive

Toronto’s embattled Mayor Rob Ford says doctors have told him there’s a 50-50 survival rate for the rare and aggressive form of cancer he has been diagnosed with.

Ford said Thursday that he always “sees the glass as half full” and is taking it “day to day” as he battles malignant liposarcoma, which he was diagnosed with last month.

Ford has refused to step down as mayor despite months of scandal and an admission he used crack cocaine while in a “drunken stupor.”

But he bowed out of the race for re-election on Oct. 27 after doctors detected a tumor in his abdomen. Ford is still running for a seat on the city council. The mayor’s brother, Doug, entered the race to replace him.

BILLINGS, Mont.

American bullfrog invasion poses threat to native frogs

An invasion of American bullfrogs that will eat just about anything – including each other – is spreading downstream along Montana’s Yellowstone River and poses a potential threat to native frogs, government scientists said Thursday.

Bullfrogs were found in recent surveys along a 66-mile stretch of the river from the Laurel area downstream to Custer, said U.S. Geological Survey biologist Adam Sepulveda. The number of breeding sites for the animals almost quadrupled between 2010 and last year, to 45.

“They are going to eat anything they can fit into their mouths. It doesn’t matter if it’s another frog or a bird or a mosquito,” said Sepulveda, who co-authored a study appearing in the journal Aquatic Invasions.

Bullfrogs as long as 12 inches when outstretched have been found. One that was caught near the Audubon Conservation Center in Billings last year had an oriole in its stomach.

State and federal agencies are trying to come up with a strategy to at least contain their spread.

WALDO, Fla.

Town known for speed traps disbands small police force

The tiny town of Waldo in north Florida has such a notorious reputation as a speed trap that AAA erected billboards to warn drivers about it, but all that may be about to change.

On Tuesday, weeks after the police chief and interim chief resigned due to state investigations into ticket quotas and other issues, Waldo’s City Council disbanded its police force.

Town officials never hid the fact that citations paid for Waldo’s small police force. They called the speeding problem a public safety hazard.

While the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office is now policing the town, some citizens worry that speeding will worsen and criminals will feel emboldened.

– From news service reports