PORTLAND, ORE. — A Portland woman says she and her pet ball python are inseparable — but they recently became a little too close for comfort.

BLOOMINGTON — When a language disappears, so does the culture of its people. Many Native American tribes face the troubling prospect of losing every song, story, value and piece of history once the few remaining  speakers of their languages die. One of those languages, Arikara, has no native speakers left. The only reason the language survives is because some people …read more.