PRETORIA, South Africa, Dec. 16 (UPI) — South African President Jacob Zuma unveiled a statue of Nelson Mandela Monday, saying the former leader’s arms are outstretched to embrace the country. The nearly 30-foot bronze statue was unveiled at the Union
MILAN, Italy, Dec. 13 (UPI) —An Italian city revoked a permit for a Christmas tree decorated in sex toys, ordering the entrepreneur behind the tree to have it taken down. Norma Rossetti, co-owner of adult commerce site Mysecretcase.com, said she
LONDON, Dec. 14 (UPI)–The Beatles are releasing session tapes from their debut album “Please Please Me” in order to stop their copyright protection from expiring, Apple records said. European Union law gives copyright protection to songs for 70 years after
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) — Detroit Mayor-elect Mike Duggan met with President Obama in Washington and got some words of encouragement, officials said. On Friday, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden met with 16 newly elected mayors in the capital,
LEIDEN, Netherlands, Dec. 13 (UPI) — A rare meteorite formed soon after the origin of the solar system has sat unnoticed for more than a century in a private Dutch collection, scientists say. Estimated at 4.6 billion years old, the
CULVER CITY, Calif., Dec. 13 (UPI)–Hollywood’s Sony Pictures Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment say they are developing several new projects in the Spider-Man franchise. Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon and Drew Goddard have been hired to collaborate on
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 13 (UPI)–Ed Helms is to star in a reboot of Hollywood’s “The Naked Gun” police comedy franchise, Variety reported Friday. Thomas Lennon and R. Ben Garant, who penned the “Night at the Museum” movies and TV show
VIENNA, Dec. 13 (UPI) — An Iranian delegation broke off talks with six world powers over implementing a landmark nuclear deal to return to Tehran, Iran’s news agency said Friday. The so-called expert-level delegates, meeting since Monday at the Vienna
PRETORIA, South Africa, Dec. 12 (UPI) —The man identified by the deaf community as a fake interpreter during Nelson Mandela’s memorial service also gave a fake reference, Deaf SA (South Africa) said. Deaf SA said Tuesday’s memorial wasn’t the first
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (UPI) —Capitol Hill staff members who signed up through the Washington healthcare exchange are being told to confirm their enrollments in person, the Hill reported. Staff members were told not to rely on data from the troubled
AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 10 (UPI) — Texas football Coach Mack Brown is on the verge of stepping down as early as the end of the week, the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman reported Tuesday. A source told the newspaper Brown had brought
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Dec. 10 (UPI)–A 4-hour miniseries based on Ira Levin’s 1967 suspense novel, “Rosemary’s Baby,” is to begin shooting in Paris next month, NBC announced. The project will be produced by Lionsgate Television, with Joshua Maurer, Alix Witlin
DEER TRAIL, Colo., Dec. 10 (UPI) —Residents in Deer Trail, Colo., voted Tuesday on a measure to allow locals to shoot down federal drones flying within the town, officials said. Resident Phillip Steel said he wrote the ordinance when he
HONOLULU, Dec. 8 (UPI) —United Airlines says bad weather meant it had to bump 41 passengers from a flight to Hawaii, including a 90-year-old World War II veteran. A representative for the airline said inclement weather Wednesday forced the air
DENVER, Dec. 8 (UPI) —Aron Ralston, who cut off his own forearm when trapped by a boulder while hiking a decade ago, was jailed on domestic violence charges in Denver, police said. Ralston, whose harrowing experience was recounted in the
MOSCOW, Dec. 7 (UPI)–Elton John called Russia’s law banning the propaganda of homosexuality “inhumane and isolating” during a concert in Moscow. The British musician, who is openly gay, interrupted his Friday sold-out concert at Crocus Concert Hall to speak out
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (UPI) —The Obama administration will not insist on extending U.S. jobless insurance in a federal budget deal, White House spokesman Jay Carney said. Carney said in a statement it would be “terrible to tell more than a
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (UPI) —Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was honored Friday with the 2013 Lantos Human Rights Award. The award honors U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., who represented a San Francisco-area district from 1981 to his death
SEATTLE, Dec. 6 (UPI) — Second baseman Robinson Cano has agreed to a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Seattle Mariners, ESPN reported Friday. Cano, 31, had played his entire nine-season major league career with the New York Yankees but
REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 5 (UPI) —Microsoft is working on a smart bra with sensors to monitor a wearer’s mood and trigger a smartphone app to reduce emotional overeating, U.S. researchers said. Alerts from the wearable technology would be constantly refined
HYATTSVILLE, Md., Dec. 6 (UPI) —U.S. pregnancy rates declined about 10 percent each for married and unmarried women since 1990, researchers say. Sally Curtin, Joyce Abma and Stephanie Ventura of the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers
ATLANTA, Dec. 5 (UPI) — Fifty years after a vaccine against measles was introduced, the disease still kills 430 children worldwide each day, U.S. health officials say. Dr. Mark J. Papania of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Dec. 5 (UPI) —Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston has been cleared a sexual assault allegations, Florida State Attorney Willie Meggs said Thursday. Meggs said at a news conference his office reached the decision that they can’t go forward
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Dec. 5 (UPI) —A South Florida man killed his wife and younger son with a crossbow at their home, attacked his older son and took his own life in a motel room, police said. Police found the
BELVIDERE, N.J., Dec. 4 (UPI) — A Kentucky woman whose “Liberty Van” is covered in political stickers and figurines said she traveled more than 5,000 miles to beat an obstructed view ticket. Lynda Farley, 62, said she was issued the
