Alligator antics, lunatic leaders, a yearning for Easter eggs, and roving bands of headphone-stealing bandits on mopeds, were among the items that caught our attention this week in this big, ol’, wacky world.

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THAT…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday bestowed a state decoration on Steven Seagal, the American action-movie actor who also holds Russian citizenship. The awarding of the Order of Friendship was announced on the Russian government’s internet portal. The order recognizes people who Russia considers to have contributed to bettering international relations.

Seagal was a vocal supporter of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and last year visited the Russian-held Ukrainian town of Olenivka where dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war were reportedly killed. Seagal was named in 2018 as a Russian Foreign Ministry humanitarian envoy to the United States and Japan.

LISTEN UP!

At least 21 people in New York City have had their fancy Apple headphones stolen right off their heads by a roving team of moped-riding bandits, police say. The thefts started on Jan. 28 and have typically involved four people on two mopeds riding up to victims from behind, snatching their Apple AirPods Max headphones and then speeding off.

The sonic swipers have struck all over Manhattan, including one incident in Central Park, with victims ranging in age from 18 to 41, police said. The bulk of the thefts happened in mid-to-late afternoon. The thieves remain at large, and no arrests have been made.

A SHOWER MIGHT HAVE BEEN BETTER

The alligator that was rescued from a chilly lake in New York had swallowed a bathtub stopper, authorities said. The nearly 1.5-m.-long female alligator was lethargic and suffering from exposure to the cold when it was found in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Lake, according to a spokesperson for the Bronx Zoo, where the gator is recovering. However, x-rays (photo) show that the alligator, estimated to be 5 to 6 years old, had ingested a 10-cm. bathtub stopper. But zoo officials said the animal is too weak for veterinarians to try to remove it. They also declared that leaving the alligator in a lake in Brooklyn in the wintertime was “an irresponsible act and certainly not in the animal’s best interest.” Presumably so was giving it a bath.

SWING AND A MISS

New York City’s Department of Transportation swung and missed with a road sign for the Jackie Robinson Parkway that spelled the baseball Hall of Famer’s first name as “Jakie.” The sign, spotted in Queens, featured a picture of Robinson, Major League Baseball’s first African American player in the modern era, over the words “Jakie Robinson Parkway.” A Department of Transportation spokesperson said the botched sign was replaced immediately.

AY CARUMBA!

Mexico’s president posted a photo on his social media accounts showing what he said appeared to be a mythological woodland spirit similar to an elf. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador did not seem to be joking when he posted the photo of an “Aluxe,” a mischievous woodland spirit in Mayan folklore. López Obrador wrote the photo “was taken three days ago by an engineer, it appears to be an aluxe,” and added “everything is mystical.” López Obrador has long expressed reverence for indigenous cultures and beliefs.

THAT’S MCCRAZY

McDonald’s McNuggets are going fowl-free. The Chicago-based fast-food giant is introducing plant-based McNuggets. Germany will be the first market to get them. McPlant Nuggets – made from peas, corn, and wheat with a tempura batter – are the second product McDonald’s has co-developed with Beyond Meat, an El Segundo, Ca.-based maker of plant-based meats. McDonald’s has been selling a McPlant burger since 2021.

REAL EASTER BUNNY NOT AMUSED

A man who prosecutors said broke into a UK industrial park to steal almost 200,000 chocolate Easter eggs has pleaded guilty to theft and criminal damage. The man used a metal grinder to break through a gate at an industrial park in Telford, then used a stolen semi truck to tow away a trailer loaded with Cadbury Creme Eggs and other chocolate goods worth more than £31,000 pounds ($50,357). West Mercia Police stopped a vehicle “presumably purporting to be the Easter bunny” on a highway and arrested the man on suspicion of theft.