FILE - Associated Press science writer Randy Schmid is photographed on Oct. 3, 2007, at the Washington bureau of the AP. Schmid, who seldom missed a chance to add a whimsical touch to his authoritative stories, has died. Schmid was 78 when he died Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022, at a nursing home in Falls Church, Va.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)