It may have seemed like a mirage: Two camels nibbling on a pine tree along a street in this desert metropolis on the Texas border. Police tried lassoing the animals, which lunged at the officers with snapping teeth as onlookers chuckled.

as Vegas — When Andy Steele and Michael Turner stepped off their plane in Las Vegas, the first-time visitors from England were worried about how - as a gay couple - they’d be treated. Unsure of the answer and not wanting any unwelcome surprises, they booked a room at an exclusively gay hotel well ahead of time.