TROY, Ohio - Jail administrator Dee Sandy thought the sheriff was joking when he mentioned painting cellblocks pink. He wasn't.
LONDON (Reuters) - The government said Wednesday it would ban the sale of samurai swords because the weapons had been used in a number of serious, high-profile attacks.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Supposedly ancient Chinese terracotta warriors on show at a German museum are fakes, China confirmed Thursday, condemning the organizers for cheating the public.
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona wants to add an image of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to his well-known collection of tattoos of leftist leaders.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pregnant women may stand out a mile away with their characteristic backward-leaning stance, but that clumsy-looking position is a unique adaptation that evolved over millennia, anthropologists said on Wednesday.
REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - A teen-ager says he convinced the White House he was Iceland's president and managed to schedule a call with George W. Bush but was found out before he got to talk to the U.S. president.
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean producers of a grape brandy known as Pisco petitioned their government on Friday to stop an Argentine producer from selling the product in Europe under the same name, which Peru also claims as its own.
LONDON (Reuters) - U R dumped -- one in seven say they have suffered the same fate as Britney Spears' ex-husband and been told it's all over via text message or email, a survey said on Friday.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Upset that a stray rabid dog was fleeing with a duck from his compound, a man in southern India caught the animal, wrestled with it and bit it hard in the throat before it was beaten to death, a newspaper said.
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's post office and police are trying to track down a "rogue elf" who wrote obscene letters to children on behalf of Santa Claus, a newspaper reported on Friday.
BERLIN (Reuters) - German fathers are staying home with their newborn babies in unexpectedly high numbers in the first year of a generous government subsidy meant to boost the country's low birth rate, officials said on Friday.
BURLINGTON, Maine - A fire chief in Penobscot County has been charged with being drunk behind the wheel while driving a fire truck with its lights on and its sirens going.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Crimes by older people in Japan jumped threefold this year compared with a decade ago, domestic media reported on Friday.
OSLO, Norway - When it comes to wiping out a bank account, forget holiday shopping. Just parking their cars cost some Norwegians between $37,000 and $148,000.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Political prisoners in former East Germany were traded for oil, copper and silver in the 30 years before reunification and human trade with the West formed a lucrative economic linchpin, the author of a new study said.
NORCO, Calif. - The equestrian community of Norco, known has Horsetown USA, has put its boot down: The chubby Bob's Big Boy mascot isn't Western enough, even with a cowboy hat.
LONDON (Reuters) - Hopes of a Led Zeppelin reunion tour faded on Friday when singer Robert Plant said he would tour with U.S. country singer Alison Krauss in May.
GRESHAM, Ore. - A tow truck driver upset over a recent ticket tried to tow a police cruiser, authorities said.
NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand (Reuters) - Brunei's Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah has installed a pool table in his hotel suite to ensure he can practice in luxurious surroundings for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games nine-ball competition.
HYDERABAD, India - Two men attacked an 80-year-old, self-proclaimed holy man in southern India and chopped off his right leg, apparently believing it had magical powers, police said Thursday.
CARACAS (Reuters) - A video of a Gucci- and Louis Vuitton-clad politician attacking capitalism then struggling to explain how his luxurious clothes square with his socialist beliefs has become an instant YouTube hit in Venezuela.
OBERLIN, Kan. - A postcard featuring a color drawing of Santa Claus and a young girl was mailed in 1914, but its journey was slower than Christmas. It just arrived in northwest Kansas.
BURLINGTON, Maine - A fire chief in Penobscot County has been charged with being drunk behind the wheel while driving a fire truck with its lights on and its sirens going.
TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian oil-field worker, stunned to get a C$85,000 ($83,700) cell phone bill, has had the charges reduced to C$3,400, but is still fighting them.
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's post office and police are trying to track down a "rogue elf" who wrote obscene letters to children on behalf of Santa Claus, a newspaper reported on Friday.
NEW YORK - Men are not discriminated against by "ladies' nights" at Manhattan nightclubs, just as people in their 20s do not suffer because some restaurants let children eat for free or have "early bird" specials for older customers, according to nightclub lawyers fighting a federal lawsuit.