A castaway cocker spaniel and his companion, a macaw parrot, were rescued by Norwegian Cruise Line workers from a tiny atoll about 1,000 miles south of Hawaii. Snickers, an 8-month-old dog, survived 95 days adrift on a 48-foot boat then four months of being stranded on Fanning Island, one of 33 scattered coral atolls that make up the remote island nation of Kiribati.

General Motors Corp. executives announced recently that within a decade, the cars that can drive and park at their destination could be ready for sale. The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner's announced on Tuesday the company's vision of driverless vehicles and that GM, parts suppliers, university engineers and other automakers are all working together on vehicles that could revolutionize and initiate the short- and long-distance travel.

Britain's Duchess of Cornwall has been blamed for "cursing" a luxury cruise liner. Cunard's Ł300 million MS Queen Victoria - which was officially launched by Camilla in Southampton three weeks ago when she failed to successfully smash the champagne bottle on its side - has been struck by a potentially fatal stomach bug.

A U. S. Navy crew came to the aid of a teenage girl suffering from a ruptured appendix while at sea aboard a cruise ship over the weekend. The girl was lifted onto a helicopter and transported the nearest hospital facility. . . a nuclear aircraft carrier. The girl, 14-year old Laura Montero, became ill Friday while aboard the Dawn Princess, a cruise ship located off the coast of Baja, California. The ship sent out a distress call, which was received by the USS Ronald Reagan, 500 miles away.

A man was apprehended by police officials Sunday for riding his bike along the hallways of a motel, hitting two people in the process. Withholding the name of the suspect, police reported that the man was wearing nothing but a pair of swimming trunks as he was zipping down the hallway of the Best Western Soldiers Field Tower and Suites, reported the Associated Press.