Raccoon set free after scaling 25-story tower

WASHINGTON - The United States breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday after a scruffy brown raccoon was captured safe and sound following a perilous climb up a 25-story skyscraper in the northern state of Minnesota.

The raccoon became an internet sensation as thousands of Twitter users followed its escapades on Tuesday as it slowly inched up the side of the UBS Plaza building in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Minnesota Public Radio reporters and occupants of the building posted pictures and updates on the animal - dubbed the #MPRraccoon - as it scaled the rough surface of the skyscraper story-by-story in true Spider-Man style.