It must be true...

I read it in the tabloids

■ A family’s pet cat escaped from a pet carrier and spent three weeks dodging rescuers trying to capture her in Boston’s Logan Airport. The disappearance of Rowdy, who ran off when she saw some birds as her owners returned from Germany, set off a massive search involving airline personnel, animal welfare advocates, wildlife cameras, and traps. “Whether out of fatigue or hunger, we’ll never know,” an airport spokesman said, “but she finally let herself be caught.” Owner Patty Sahli said she’d thought Rowdy might be gone for good. “I’m kind of in disbelief.”

■ An American tourist had to be rescued when he fell into the crater of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius while attempting to take a selfie. Philip Carroll, 23, of Maryland, accessed the 4,000-foot peak through a forbidden trail, said police. After dropping his phone during the selfie attempt, “he tried to recover it, but slipped and slid a few meters into the crater,” said a local official. “If he’d kept going, he would have plunged 300 meters into the crater.” Rescuers used a long rope to pull him to safety.

■ A New Jersey man made a surprise discovery under his front porch: $1,000 in $10 and $20 bills printed in 1934. Rich Gilson of Wildwood found the tightly rolled bills wrapped in burlap and bound with rubber bands. “I thought they were weeds,” he said. He suspects they were either illegal proceeds or hidden by someone who didn’t trust banks. Either way, he plans to hold on to the cash rather than spend it. “The story’s too good for what it’s worth,” he said.