MODIMOLLE, South Africa (AP) — A hippo who wandered into a swimming pool at a South African game lodge three days ago died Friday before a rescue team could pull him out with a crane, a cruel blow to many across this country who hoped the animal would be saved.

The death of the hippopotamus known as Solly, whose plight had captivated South African media with live TV broadcasts from the game lodge and newspaper headlines like "It's all systems go for the rescue of Solly the hippo," left several of those involved pointing fingers of blame.

Alberto Contador declined to comment on the possibility of Lance Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, and instead paid tribute Friday to his former teammate's skill on the bike.

A farmer whose cantaloupes have been linked to a deadly salmonella outbreak says he voluntarily ceased production and has had no other problems at his southern Indiana farm since it began operating in 1982.

The current West Nile outbreak is one of the largest in the U.S., with four times the usual number of cases for this time of year, federal health officials said Wednesday.

Over six frightening months, a deadly germ untreatable by most antibiotics spread in the nation's leading research hospital. Pretty soon, a patient a week was catching the bug. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health locked down patients, cleaned with bleach, even ripped out plumbing — and still the germ persisted.

Four more cases of syphilis have been found in an investigation of an outbreak among porn performers, bringing the total to nine, and the discovery of more cases is likely, Los Angeles County's top health official said Tuesday.

The World Health Organization says an outbreak of suspected Ebola in eastern Congo has infected at least 15 people, 10 of whom died.

A U.S. federal judge on Monday dismissedseven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong's effort toblock a probe into whether the retired cycling champ cheated byusing performance-enhancing drugs.

Hailing NASA's "mind-boggling" Mars landing of the Curiosity rover, President Barack Obama urged the scientists operating the craft on Monday to phone home immediately if they find any extra-terrestrials.

A famous paleontology family has found fossils that they think confirm their theory that there are two additional pre-human species besides the one that eventually led to modern humans.