Michael Phelps

[naviga:h3]Phelps loses race to computer shark[/naviga:h3]

Michael Phelps has finally met his match in the water: a “Great White Shark.”

The Olympic champion swimmer was bested Sunday night in the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week special “Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs. Great White.”

But Phelps didn’t swim with a real shark. He competed in the ocean against a computer-simulated fish based on data on the swimming speed of sharks.

Phelps was outfitted with a wetsuit and a monofin to mimic a shark’s powerful tail. He finished the 100 meter race in 38 seconds, two seconds slower than the simulated shark.

Phelps tweeted Sunday that he’d like a rematch, but in warmer water.

[naviga:h3]Governor tries to pardon pooch[/naviga:h3]

AUGUSTA, Maine — A court hearing could determine the fate of a dog that was due to be euthanized before Maine’s governor tried to grant clemency to the pooch.

Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s pardon made a celebrity out of the Alaskan husky named Dakota that was ordered to be put down after attacking two dogs, killing one. The hearing is set for today.

It’s debatable whether the governor has the authority to pardon the dog. But it could become moot depending on the outcome of the hearing that could permanently lift the order to euthanize the dog.

A previous effort to save Dakota by moving her to a New Hampshire shelter failed after a woman who wanted to adopt the dog objected.

[naviga:h3]Lost phone lands man in trash chute[/naviga:h3]

WASHINGTON — A man looking for a dropped cell phone ended up in a stinky situation, tumbling into a building’s trash chute where he had to be rescued.

Washington, D.C., Fire Spokesman Vito Maggiolo says the man was throwing out trash at an apartment building when he thought he dropped the cell phone in the chute. Maggiolo says the man leaned in to check and fell inside.

Maggiolo says the man was able to call 911 from inside the trash chute around 3 a.m. Sunday, though it wasn’t clear what phone he used. A video posted online shows firefighter rescue crews pumping fresh air down the chute to the man through a hose. They eventually hauled him out using a harness.