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NEW YORK

Zoo polar bear is put to sleep

NEW YORK -- Lily, an 18-year-old polar bear that was one of Central Park Zoo's premier attractions, was euthanized Friday because of an inoperable and possibly cancerous growth in the abdomen.

Medication was able to improve Lily's condition for a while after the initial diagnosis, but "ultimately the severity of Lily's disease resulted in a deterioration of her condition and quality of life, and she was humanely euthanized," the zoo said.

The average life span of a polar bear, in the wild as well as in captivity, is 20 years.

WASHINGTON

Mom arrested in girls' deaths

CARSON -- Detectives found the bodies of two young girls at a southwestern Washington rock pit after their mother called police to say she had killed them, authorities said.

Charlene A. Dorcy, 39, told officers Saturday evening that she fatally shot her two children -- 2-year-old Brittney and 4-year-old Jessica Dorcy, Skamania County Undersheriff Dave Cox said Sunday. The undersheriff said she led detectives to the girls' bodies at the abandoned rock pit.