BIG SPRING, Texas – A Texas homeowner who adorned his front lawn with Michelangelo’s “David” as a scantily clad Santa got more than just jolly laughs from his neighbors. Barry McBee says he was aiming to make people chuckle by adding a Santa hat and white beard to the 5-foot-tall …

MELBOURNE, Australia – Australian police said Tuesday they thwarted a terrorist plot in which extremists with ties to an Al Qaeda-linked Somali Islamist group planned to invade a military base and open fire with automatic weapons until they were shot dead themselves. Some 400 officers from state and national security …

TRENTON, N.J. – A New Jersey oncologist suspected by state health officials as the source of a hepatitis B outbreak is now being sued by one of his patients. Roland Jacobsen of Manchester says he contracted the disease after being treated at the Toms River offices of Dr. Parvez Dara. …

LONDON – Somebody’s been feathering their nest with an irreplaceable English archive of rare tropical birds. Curators of the Natural History Museum at Tring, 30 miles northwest of London, said Thursday that thieves have stolen about 300 of their most gloriously hued specimens from a vast collection assembled over centuries. …

Deep beneath the crystalline blue surface of the Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern U.S. lies a virtual rain forest of coral reefs so expansive the network is believed to be the world’s largest. A 23,000-square-mile area stretching from North Carolina to Florida is just part of that entire reef tract …

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Unspeakable acts happened to a woman and her young son one balmy June night in the projects. On that, everyone can agree. As many as 10 masked teenagers terrorized the then 35-year-old Haitian immigrant and her 12-year-old son in their home. It will be up …

LAS VEGAS – Authorities say a toddler has died after being shot by her 4-year-old brother at their Las Vegas home last week. The Clark County Coroner’s office says 2-year-old Elizabeth Zeferina Serrano died Sunday at University Medical Center. No cause was immediately released. The case remains under investigation. Las …

Violent street battles killed at least 156 people and injured 828 others in the deadliest ethnic unrest to hit China’s western Xinjiang region in decades, and the Chinese government blamed Uighur exiles for stoking the unrest. Police sealed off streets in parts of the provincial capital, Urumqi, after discord between …

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Think of the most popular brands in celebrity news, and you’ll probably come up with a small list that includes Entertainment Tonight, US Weekly and People. Consider the most successful celebrity news destinations online, and something else jumps to the top. For more than a year, …

COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Ohio firefighter sentenced to 90 days in jail for killing his dogs has now lost his fire department job. Columbus Public Safety Director Mitchell Brown said Thursday that he has decided to terminate 43-year-old David Santuomo on the recommendation of the fire chief. The firefighter pleaded …