Rock legend Lou Reed dead at 71: Music fans in mourning after Velvet Underground founder and American icon passes away

lou reed

Lou Reed, the man who helped shape the music industry, has died at the age of 71. Best known as the founder and lead singer/songwriter of 1960s band The Velvet Underground, the star went on to have an illustrious solo career, with hits such as Walk On The Wild Side. While the cause of death is currently unclear, the influential rock musician underwent a liver transplant in May this year.

Obama 'gave the go-ahead for Merkel phone tapping' so he could 'know everything' about world's most powerful woman

Obama

Bild newspaper in Germany called US denials of eavesdropping 'diplomatic lies' as new documents from Washington suggest the bugging against the politicians began at least ten years ago. Bild quoted a secret intelligence source saying the president was informed in 2010 about the operation against Merkel by NSA boss Keith Alexander and he sanctioned it.

Body found in park by hiker belongs to Mandy Matula, the college softball star who went missing in May, and her family says the alleged killer is a 'good guy'

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NEW A body found Saturday in a Minnesota park has been confirmed to be a 24-year-old woman who has been missing since she broke up with her boyfriend in May.

Neighbor gunned down family of four and their dogs because he was furious over loud barking

Heavy response: Phoenix SWAT police stormed Michael Dante Guzzo's apartment following the rampage - only to find him dead by his own hand

Michael Dante Guzzo, 56, became enraged over the noise from the pets at a neighboring townhouse in a Phoenix apartment complex on Saturday, detectives say.

Walmart heiress appeals for DWI arrest to be wiped from her record after her arresting officer was put on suspension

Like it never happened: 63-year-old Walmart heiress Alice Walton is requesting that a 2011 DWI arrest be taken off her record, and Parker County, Texas prosecutors say she will likely get her way

Alice Walton, the 63-year-old daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, was arrested in 2011 on a DWI charge in Parker County, Texas.

Former deputy director of CIA blasts Snowden, says disclosures have put Americans at greater risk

He's a traitor: Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell blasted Edward Snowden in a 60 Minutes interview aired Sunday night

NEW The former deputy director of the CIA blasted Edward Snowden – calling him a traitor and saying his actions have put Americans at greater risk.

Man, 71, in custody after suspicious package is found in Montreal airport bound for U.S.

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NEW The U.S. screening area at Trudeau airport was closed and a number of American bound flights delayed after the package was found inside a suitcase at the airport's terminal early Sunday morning.

Boy, 16, 'killed his mother with his friend's help' after she confiscated his cell phone

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Mike Helms is facing first degree murder charges after the body of his mom, Tina Helms Spencer, 36, was found at the family's home in Mesa, Arizona, on Saturday.

Obesity doctor declared 'immediate and serious threat' and suspended over treatment of four patients - two of whom died

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NEW Dr. Sheldon Randall, a leading Boston-based obesity surgeon, has been suspended amid accusations of negligence.

Pictured: Jealous man who stabbed his cousin's wife and her four children to death in horrific Brooklyn massacre because he 'envied their possessions'

Pictured: Jealous man who stabbed his cousin's wife and her four children to death in horrific Brooklyn massacre because he 'envied their possessions'

UPDATED Five people, four of them children, have been stabbed to death at a house in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Three victims died at the scene, two at local hospitals. The father of at least some of the victims arrived to the scene just moments too late and was informed of his unthinkable loss by a police interpreter. The killer was reportedly his mentally ill cousin who was staying with them, but has a home in Chicago.

Lanza lined up his victims like criminals, reveals Obama's pastor as he also describes President's intimate moments with Sandy Hook parents

Spiritual guide: Joshua DuBois, Barack Obama's 'Pastor-in-Chief', has revealed in a new book how the U.S. President comforted families of Sandy Hook victims

Barack Obama's Pastor-in-Chief has revealed how the President comforted Sandy Hook victims' families in the days after last year's elementary school massacre.

A VERY debauched walk on the wild side: He did more than any other rock star to give drugs a false and dangerous glamor. Now Lou Reed's own excesses have finally caught up with him

May, 1966 --- Lou Reed and Nico at Scepter Studios during the recording of the first Velvet Underground album

The Velvet Underground musician Lou Reed has died at the age of 71. During his lifetime few rock musicians did as much to glamourise drug use as he did.

'Russian Rambo' who 'stabbed wife and stepdaughter to death in Brooklyn before fleeing' arrested near Moscow

Nikolai Rakossi, 60, a suspected double murderer nicknamed 'Russian Rambo' who fled to Moscow soon after his wife and stepdaughter were knifed to death in April 2011, has been arrested

Nikolai Rakossi, 60, a suspected double murderer nicknamed 'Russian Rambo' who fled to Moscow soon after his wife and stepdaughter were knifed to death in April 2011, has been arrested and charged near Moscow.

Hitler? He fled to Argentina and lived to the age of 73: Bizarre theory that's landed two British authors in a bitter war

According to Grey Wolf: The Escape Of Adolf Hitler, Eva Braun (right) accompanied the Adolf Hitler when he escaped through a secret tunnel from his bunker in Berlin

To most of us, the story of Hitler's escape from his bunker in Berlin sounds like utter fantasy. But there are some who regard it as the absolute truth.

'My beautiful mother': Prince Albert of Monaco's touching tribute to Hollywood star who became a princess as wife Charlene joins him at opening of new exhibition

 Prince Albert II of Monaco

The 55-year-old ruler described his mother as 'beautiful and talented' and added that she was a 'genuine, warm and loving woman'. The Monaco royal made the comments in a film produced for the Michener Art Museum in Philadelphia where an exhibition about the late Grace Kelly opens to the public on Monday. Albert and his wife Princess Charlene opened the retrospective during a black tie event on Saturday night.

BBC accused of defaming Prince Harry after Jo Brand claims he takes cocaine on Have I Got News For You

'Slur': Jo Brand said a joke claiming the prince takes cocaine and it was left in the pre-recorded show by editors

The comedian said: 'George's godparents include Hugh van Cutsem... I presume that's a nickname as in Hugh van cuts 'em and Harry then snorts 'em.'

Obama campaign website taken down by Syrian Electronic Army - the latest target of pro-Assad hackers

The SEA has proven one of Bashar al-Assad's most effective propaganda weapons in the West during Syria's brutal civil war

When users attempted to access a donations site at Organizing for Action, they were automatically directed to a page with the message: 'Hacked by SEA.'

Why were Maddie suspect E-fits kept secret for five years? Images and evidence of sighting uncovered by private detectives were suppressed

Under wraps: This is one of the E-fits drawn up by the investigators

Images of a man seen carrying a child through Praia da Luz at 10pm on the night the then three-year-old vanished were unveiled on BBC1’s Crimewatch two weeks ago.

Alzheimer's to be treated by replacing faulty genes, expert predicts after discovery of 11 key genes that raise risk

Gene therapy: Men and women could be given a nasal spray packed with healthy versions of the defective genes that cause Alzheimer's

Men and women could be given a nasal spray packed with healthy versions of the defective genes that cause the memory-robbing disease.

'I took for granted I knew where I was going': Mother and 10-month-old son get lost in woods and have to shelter in hallowed-out tree after she went back for hat they dropped on walk

Billie-Jean Biria got lost in the woods for 21 hours last month after going on a hike to search for her son's hat

NEW Billie-Jean Biria got lost last month in the woods of Southern Oregon when she brought her 10-month-old son along to search for his missing hat. She only planned to hike about a half-mile, but when she finally found the hat she realized she had lost sight of camp and was lost. That night, she found shelter in a hallowed out tree. She found her way back to camp the next day when she heard her husband's car and discovered the massive search party organized to comb the woods for her. Now, she plans on training to become a search-and-rescue volunteer herself.

Texas 'Save the rhino' fundraiser auctions off chance to shoot endangered black rhino dead

Endangered: Only about 5,000 black rhinos remain in Africa and around 1,795 live in Namibia, where the DSC plans to shoot one

A Texas hunting group has announced it will auction off a permit to kill an endangered black rhinoceros - with proceeds going to the cause of saving the black rhinoceros.

Drunk Utah woman run over and killed by train as she SLEPT on railway tracks with a man

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A Utah woman was killed after falling asleep on railroad tracks and being hit by a slow-moving train early Sunday morning in Salt Lake City.

Rock music - as played by cavemen: Prehistoric paintings were located where sound reverberates strongly

More sophisticated than we thought: Researchers now believe that both sounds and images were significant in caveman rituals

Prehistoric paintings are sited in ‘living’ parts of caves, where sound reverberates strongly, a study of rock art in northern Spain found.

Nothing Bad about it! Johnny Knoxville's naughty Grandpa knocks Gravity off the top spot at the box office with $32 million opening weekend

Nothing Bad about it! Johnny Knoxville's Bad Grandpa knocks Gravity off the top spot at the box office with $32 million opening weekend

The comedy sees the Jackass star take a hidden-camera journey across America as 86-year-old alter-ego Irving Zisman, accompanied by his grandson, Billy

Florida men dress up as Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman for Halloween and spark online storm after proudly posing for pictures

Insensitive: These Halloween costumes featuring two Florida men portraying Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman created an online storm

Pictures of a pair of Florida men dressing as Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman has caused anger after they were published online social media on Friday night. William Filene, 25, is dressed in blackface as Martin, while Greg Cimeno, 22, portrays Zimmerman.

'New York, you lost your nerve': Banksy criticizes design of new World Trade Center in op-ed claiming 'the terrorists won'

Banksy

On Sunday, the artist posted an opinion piece on his website, 'Better Out Than In,' (lower left) and said that his essay had been rejected by the New York Times. He also unveiled a new wall mural in Greenpoint that read 'This site contains blocked messages' in reference to the op-ed he says was rejected (left). In his online screed, he called the new World Trade Center the 'Shyscraper' and said its timid design was evidence New York City had gone soft.

Al Sharpton condemns 'shop and frisk' at Manhattan stores and threatens direct action against Barneys after racial profiling claims

The Rev. Al Sharpton has condemned 'shop and frisk' at Manhattan stores and called for a boycott of Barneys

Reverend Al Sharpton has condemned 'shop and frisk' at Manhattan stores and called for a boycott of Barneys.

Macy's DENIES 'Treme' actor Robert Brown race profiling allegations

Macy's

No Macy's employees were involved in the detention or questioning of a black actor who claims he was stopped because of his race, store officials said Sunday.

Naked baby girl found shivering in boot of car as French police arrest woman 'who kept birth secret from her husband'

A 45-year-old Portuguese mother was in custody in France last night after her 'secret' baby was found naked, filthy and shivering in the boot of her car in Brignac-la-Plaine

The woman left her vehicle at a garage where mechanics discovered the baby, said by some sources to be 12 months old and others 23 months, after hearing her wailing.

Teenager who killed her pimp in 1994 is allowed to go free after sentence was commuted by Arnie

A California woman who has been imprisoned for 19 years, will soon have her first taste of freedom in nearly two decades. Sara Kruzan shot and killed her pimp at the age of 16, in 1994.

A California woman who has been imprisoned for 19 years, will soon have her first taste of freedom in nearly two decades. Sara Kruzan shot and killed her pimp at the age of 16, in 1994.

Now they're just showing off...Ohio State University marching band put on another epic performance - this time with a Hollywood theme

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The Ohio State University marching band played a tribute to classic movie scores at yesterday's game against Pennsylvania State University. During their eight minute performance, they played the music from the films Superman, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and Pirates of the Carribean while creating formations from those movies. The film show was the latest performance for the OSU marching band, following recent tributes to Michael Jackson and classic video games.

Brazil's Miss Bumbum competition rocked by allegations of bribery after rivals accuse contestants of paying judges

Miss Bumbum 2013 contestants

An annual contest to find the sexiest bottom in Brazil has been rocked by scandal after two of the candidates were accused of bribing judges to rig the votes.

Blonde angel Maria 'may never be reunited with mother' and could instead be placed with a foster family in Greece or Bulgaria

Sasha Ruseva insists she wants her daughter Maria back but Greek police suspect that she may have sold her for about £850

The child has been at the centre of a global interpol investigation since she was found during a police raid on the Tabakou gipsy settlement near Farsala, central Greece, earlier this month.

Two Indiana students arrested for pre-dawn stabbing after dramatic campus-wide alert and manhunt

Fear: The two men reportedly got in a fight with a third student and he was stabbed in the back. The victim is in hospital with non life-threatening injuries

Indiana University students Zesen Shen and Kaiyu Lao were were caught after a manhunt in connection with a pre-dawn fight and stabbing of another student.

Obama has known for three YEARS that NSA was monitoring German Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

U.S. President Barack Obama was personally informed of phone tapping against German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which may have begun as early as 2002, according to German media.

The chilling abandoned hospital where Hitler was nursed back to health after being shot at the Battle of the Somme

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In 1916, Adolf Hitler recuperated at Beelitz-Heilstätten hospital after being shot at the Battle of the Somme. Now, some of the buildings feel like a ghost town. Some sections of the hospital remain in operation as a neurological rehabilitation centre and as a centre for research and care for victims of Parkinsons disease. Beelitz-Heilstättenhas become a destination for curious visitors and was used as a film set for movies like The Pianist in 2002 and the 2008 Tom Cruise film, Valkyrie.

Scientists find germs in your GUMS can reveal your ethnicity in the same way fingerprints can

Breakthrough: Dentists previously thought one type of dental treatment worked for everyone

Testing almost 400 different types of microbes, scientists were able to work out which had come from a white, Chinese, Latino or non-Hispanic black person.

Revealed: Michelle Obama's Princeton classmate is top executive at firm that that built disastrous Obamacare website after being awarded no-bid $93m contract

First Lady Michelle Obama¿s Princeton classmate is a top executive at the company that earned the contract to build the Obamacare website

First Lady Michelle Obama's Princeton classmate, Toni Townes-Whitley (pictured), is a top executive at the company that earned the contract to build the Obamacare website.

12-year-old admits to hacking major government websites for Anonymous in exchange for computer games

Hacker

A 12-year-old Canadian boy has pleaded guilty to three charges of hacking government websites under the affiliation of 'hacktavist' initiative Anonymous.

Christian mother confronts thief who stole her wallet, and offers to pay for his groceries instead of calling the police

Grocery store Good Samaritan: Jessica Eaves was shopping at the grocery store earlier this month when she noticed her wallet was missing. Instead of turning the thief into the police, she decided to offer to pay his groceries

A Christian mother of four in Guthrie, Oklahoma recently had her purse pick-pocketed at the grocery store. Instead of turning the man in, she bought his groceries.

Nice day for a height wedding: World's tallest man finds love with woman 2ft 7in shorter than him

The World's tallest man Sultan Kosen poses with his fiancee Merve Dibo during their henna night, the ceremony held one day before the wedding

The Turkish farmer - who at 8ft three ins, dwarfs his 5ft 8 ins fiancee - is set to marry Merve Dibo in a ceremony today. Kosen has long been searching for a woman to share his life with, and had reportedly given up hope - until he met Ms Dibo. Kosen also holds the Guinness World Record for the size of his 27.5cm hands and feet, which are recorded 36.5cm - a massive size 28.

Woman, 60, who almost died from fungal meningitis after being injected with MOLDY MEDICINE is suing the Tennessee hospital who billed her $500,000 to fight the very infection they gave her

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Marjorie Norwood, 60, far left, was one of 750 people who got the mold-contaminated steroid injection in 2012, which gave her the rare fungal meningitis. Sixty-four people were killed by it. Norwood had the shot in her spine at the Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgical Center, bottom right, after injuring her back. Despite months of therapy, the painful infection has left her with permanent nerve damage. She is now suing the hospital, clinic and pharmacy to cover the $500,000 bills for her extended hospital stay and medicine to cure the infection. Her daughter Melanie, second from left and top right in court, says her mother has no energy and can hardly feed the dog.

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Mike Tyson claims first wife Robin Givens and her 'ruthless' mother conspired to make millions from him (and reveals his awkward encounter with her new lover Brad Pitt)

Headshoulders smiling shot of Mike Tyson

Former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson has given his side of the story about his tumultuous relationship with former wife actress Robin Givens. In his new, no-holds-barred memoir 'Undisputed Truth' Tyson writes that Givens and her mother had been 'on the prowl for a big black celebrity for Robin,' and Tyson, at the height of his fame in 1987, fit the bill.

Golfers in cheat war: Champ is kicked out of club after email accuses him of unfair play. Now he's suing rival for libel

Golfer Kenneth Marshall, left, who is suing a fellow golfer Jeff Clargo for calling him a cheat

Wealthy businessman Kenneth Marshall, 50, claims he was expelled from Wimbledon Park golf club after being branded an ‘odious foul-mouthed cheat’ who pretended to have cancer in an anonymous e-mail.

'Oblivion drinker'. It's the chilling new term for middle-class women using alcohol to blot out the stress of trying to be perfect. Read their stories, then ask yourself if you're one...

oblivion drinker

Both Ruti Ahronee (left) and Jackie Brennand used to be oblivion drinkers. Like many other high-powered women, they drank so that they could wind down.

Governor Chris Christie steadily losing weight and is 'fit to serve', says his medical report

Governor Chris Christie arrives at he Emergency Services Building to cast his vote in a special US Senate election which will decide if Democratic Newark May Cory Booker

Since undergoing lap-band surgery in February, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been 'losing weight steadily.'

Michael Jackson doctor Conrad Murray applies to have his medical licence reinstated... days before his prison release

Conrad Murray plans to return to medical profession upon release from prison

Murray was convicted for causing the wrongful death of Michael Jackson in 2011

Modern pop singers lack humanity, says Elton: Musician attacks today's artists as 'processed performers'

The flamboyant Candle in the Wind singer singled out Britney Spears, saying that fans would be better off watching one of her concerts on the TV rather than going to see it

Speaking at the Royal Academy of Music the Candle in the Wind singer said music charts were full of 'packaged c**p' and singled out Britney Spears as an example.

Welcome to my menopause nightmare: She's wrinkling like a prune, sweating like a bull - and going to bed with a man has never been so scary! A brutally honest yet life-affirming account of the menopause

Menopause nightmare

'Strange things are happening to me in the night. It used to be one night every so often, but now it's every night,' says MANDY APPLEYARD.

One family's devastating story of breast cancer as wives of three brothers are ALL diagnosed

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Oklahoma women, Stacy, center, Tammy, right, and Amy, left, Wehrenberg, who are only related by the brothers they married, were all diagnosed with breast cancer. Stacy tragically lost her life. They are sharing their harrowing story in the hope that it will encourage other women to get regular mammograms and inspire breast cancer sufferers to fight hard for their families.

Man found guilty of killing EIGHT family members in mobile home by beating them to death after row over bottle of pills

Guilty: Guy Heinze Jr has been convicted of killing eight family members in a mobile home

A man who beat eight family members to death in a cramped mobile home in Brunswick, Georgia, was convicted of murder yesterday.

Mother and newborn found alive after vanishing just after childbirth

Lost, then found: Jaime Martini and her newborn baby disappeared Friday morning, they were found Saturday morning by authorities

An Amber Alert issued for a Washington newborn who disappeared Friday with her mother shortly after being born has been cancelled after both were found by authorities.

Soldier could be discharged for sending classified information from his personal email - despite the fact it could have saved lives

Maj Jason Brezler, will face a Marine hearing as early as next month for accidentally emailing classified information via his personal email account

The Marine Corps is threatening to discharge Maj Jason Brezler after he turned himself in for accidentally sending classified information from his private email.

FBI launches probe into California cops who shot 13-year-old boy dead: Inquiry after officers killed Andy Lopez only 10 SECONDS after they spotted him carrying a toy AK47

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The FBI is investigating of the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez by a sheriff's deputy in Northern California.

Top turn-ons? Clean sheets and weight loss: Survey finds what really is most effective at getting your partner into bed

Biggest turn on: Losing weight is most likely to get a woman in the mood for passion, say researchers

Slimming, winning money and fresh bed sheets are most likely to get women in the mood for passion, a new study has found.

SHUTDOWN! Trains suspended, flights cancelled and road bridges shut as 110mph St Jude's Storm brings travel chaos for millions

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Millions of commuters were warned ‘not to travel unless necessary’ as emergency services prepared for the 90mph winds predicted to hit southern England.

Photo of mysterious woman who was the face of Obamacare is suddenly taken down from the home page after speculation runs wild over who she is

The mysterious woman who became the face of HealthCare.gov, has had her photo taken down from the home page. She has been replaced by a graphic that shows how to sign up for coverage

The woman whose picture was used on the homepage of HealthCare.gov has since had her picture taken down from the site. Since it first first launched on October 1, the Obamacare website has been inundated with teething problems. But at least one feature on the homepage has always been there - the smiling stock photo of a mystery woman. Conservative blogger David Burge tweeted this week: 'Congrats, vapidly smiling Healthcare.gov splash page stock photo girl! You're now the most despised face on planet Earth.'

I'm glad my parents died young: It's a confession that will shock, but after seeing friends caring for aged relatives, TESS STIMSON reveals why

Tess Stimson, pictured with her parents and younger sister, is glad her mother and father died young

My mother's sudden death at only 59 came like a bolt out of the clear blue sky. My father’s death a decade later, aged just 68, only reinforced the sense I’d been cheated.

Ted Cruz goes pheasant hunting in Iowa and says government shutdown was good 'because it got people talking'

Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas

Texas Senator Ted Cruz, pheasant hunting in Iowa, says this month's partial government shutdown and his key role in it were a success: They got people talking.

Gay art student sparks outrage with plan to lose his virginity in front of audience of 100 then hold a question and answer session afterwards

Clayton Pettet, 19, said he will have gay sex for the first time in a gallery for a project entitled 'Art School Stole My Virginity'

Clayton Pettet, 19, said he will have sex for the first time in a gallery for a project entitled 'Art School Stole My Virginity'.

Ride operator charged with assault with a deadly weapon after five people were injured on his watch

 North Carolina State Fair

Authorities say a man who was operating a spinning 'Vortex' ride at the North Carolina State Fair has been charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

It's fancy dress fright night... but who is spookiest celeb? Alessandra, Kelly and Paris lead Hollywood's Halloween parade

 Paris Hilton

It is the time of year where people get dressed up in weird and wonderful costumes to remember the dead, saints, martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers. And it is fair to say that Halloween would not be a festival without a celebrity bash, with all the glam and glitz of Hollywood packed into one weekend.

I'm NOT pregnant! Mother's anguish at having to tell strangers she suffering from rare condition which makes her stomach swell

Hayley Barley, 24, from Birmingham, suffers from Hirschsprung's disease which causes her abdomen to swell to the point where she appears heavily pregnant

Hayley Barley, 24, from Birmingham, suffers from Hirschsprung's disease which causes her abdomen to swell to the point where she appears heavily pregnant.

The 'glam scammer' strikes again: Incredible story of serial con artist who has struck in Dallas, New York, Washington DC and New Orleans

Money bags: Manos pretended to be wealthy in order to fleece well-heeled locals of their cash in cities around the country

Dubbed the 'glam scammer,' Michael Manos, 49, has been arrested in Louisiana in the midst of planning an elaborate Halloween party to fleece locals out of thousands of dollars.

Why you sleep better if your plane seat is just one inch wider: Extra wriggle-room can improve quality of rest by 50%

Width matters: Making airline seats just one inch wider greatly improves the quality of sleep, research shows

Making airline seats just one inch wider greatly improves the quality of sleep, research by aircraft manufacturer Airbus shows.

Young women use gossip to shun pretty rivals when looking for a sexual partner

Dr Tracy Vaillancourt suggests that women use gossip and social exclusion as a way to repress sexuality in other women, and reduce the competition for mates

New research has shown that women use indirect aggression including social exclusion to see off rivals they deem to be too attractive or sexually available.

Woman who lost husband and daughter in a car crash she survived writes a book through the toddler's eyes to cope with grief

Jenn Hallam

In August 2011, a car accident on a Pittsburgh Interstate robbed Jenn Hallam of her two-year-old daughter Hailey and her husband.

Hip hop manager suspected of hiring robber to shoot Tupac outside studio in 1994 is sentenced to life in prison for drug dealing

Convicted: James Rosemond, pictured in his 2011 arrest in New York, has been sentenced to life in prison for drug trafficking

Hip hop manager James Rosemond, who was suspected of hiring a robber to shoot rapper Tupac outside a New York recording studio in 1994, has been jailed for life.

Building America: Fascinating map that illustrates when country's homes were built showing westward expansion and the 90s housing boom

Visual statistics: In the pale yellow counties, more homes were built pre-1930s than in any other period, and the darker counties have mostly modern structures

In his map, A History of Residential Contruction in the USA, scientist Seth Kadish has tracked the building of houses around the country from pre-1930s to now. The maps uses shades of purple and yellow to show when the most houses were built in a given county. The map shows that vast swathes of the country's homes in the West and Southeast were built in the 1900s, and even more in the Northeast and Midwest were built in the 1930s or before.

Grieving father catapulted into center of football safety issues after tragic death of son, 16, who suffered brain trauma during helmet-to-helmet tackle

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Running back for the Westfield-Brocton Wolverines Damon Janes died days after an illegal helmet-to-helmet tackle during the team's second game of the season.

Three young brothers die in New York apartment fire as mother carries their two sisters to safety

Bronx fire

A 25-year-old mother and her two daughters have survived a blaze that erupted inside their apartment in the Bronx. But the woman's three boys - five, two and four - were killed in the fire.

NSA website goes down and spy agency blames 'internal error', NOT hackers, for outage

DC NSA March

The National Security Agency said that it was a glitch that brought down its public website for a few hours and not hackers, contrary to some online claims.

Saudi women get behind the wheel to protest against ban on female drivers despite warning from authorities

Protest: Activists filmed themselves driving uploading the clips on to the internet

Activist May Al Sawyan said four women, including herself, have successfully driven in defiance of the ban. No law exists banning women from the roads but they are not issued licences.

Futuristic Halo-style helmet being tested by US Army that 'turns war into a video game'

The Army is testing a new helmet that looks like headwear from the 'Halo' video game franchise. Notable add-ons include a heads-up digital display on the visor

The Army is testing a new helmet that looks like headwear from the 'Halo' video game franchise. Developed by ballistic eyewear company Revision, the modular HEaDS-UP system is composed of a standard Army helmet with expanded features that protect the head, neck and face. The add-ons include a see-through ballistic visor and a mandible face mask that protects against 9mm ammunition and offers better eye, face and hearing protection than existing helmets.

Catholic priest may have infected hundreds with hepatitis A through communion wine

Bishop John Folda of the Fargo Catholic Diocese in North Dakota has exposed potentially hundreds of church members in Fargo, Grand Forks and Jamestown to the hepatitis A

Bishop John Folda, of the Fargo Catholic Diocese in North Dakota, is taking time off after being diagnosed with hepatitis A.

Study reveals dinosaurs were able to grow so large because they had 'squishier' joints than modern mammals

They don't make them like they used to: Not only is their weight distributed evenly on their joints, but the 'squishy' joints of dinosaurs like the T Rex, pictured, meant their skeletons could withstand more pressure

Researchers believe that additional layers of cartilage connecting dinosaurs' bones enabled their skeletons to hold more weight and not buckle under their own size.

Pictured: The loaded and defaced rifle found in man's luggage at JFK

Keenan Draughon, 23, checked luggage containing a loaded, defaced rifle at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. Above, a photo provided by the Port Authority and New Jersey Police Department shows three of the guns seized

Keenan Draughon, 23, has been arrested after a loaded, defaced rifle was found in his bag at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday.

Thousands rally to pay medical bills of woman suddenly hit with disease that moved from lower back pain to paralysis below the chest in a matter of weeks

Down but not out: Melissa Smith may not ever be able to walk again, but it hasn't robbed her of living her life

Melissa Smith, 26, was diagnosed by doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore, with Transverse Myelitis. The disease causes the immune system to attack the spinal cord, leading to paralysis.

Beloved World War II veteran nicknamed Sunshine killed by four teens during violent mugging on his own driveway

Lawrence 'Shine' Thornton

Terrance Morgan, bottom left, and Edward Johnson, center, both 19, and Leslie Litt, 18, right, were among the three arrested for the death of Lawrence 'Shine' Thornton. According to his obituary, Thornton, pictured, was a war veteran and retired electrician who kept a liquor store on the side to support his family. He was known in the Delta region for his award-winning Maria's Famous Hot Tamales, which he began cooking in 1984, named after his wife, Mary.

Is Vaseline BAD for you? How petroleum jelly can 'suffocate pores, aggravate acne and cause pneumonia'

Bathroom cabinet essential: Petroleum jelly is known for its skin-soothing properties, but one New York dermatologist warns that it could be doing more bad than good

Dr. Alan Dattner, founder of HolisticDermatology.com says that the ointment can suffocate pores, aggravate acne and even cause a rare form of pneumonia if inhaled.

Arctic temperatures are at 44,000-year high because of greenhouse gases, claim scientists

A couple of walruses are pictured

University of Colorado Boulder researchers said their study is the first direct evidence that temperatures in the Canadian Arctic exceed those of the Early Holocene.

Murdered teen Lauren Astley went to see her ex-boyfriend on the night he killed her because his worried mom asked her to reach out to him

Lauren Astley

Lauren went to Nathanial Fujita's home at the request of his mother because she was worried about her son's behavior since the breakup and had not been able to get through to him.

Police on the hunt for ex-convict who 'shot dead a friend and his 17-year-old fiancee while they were in bed and then set their car on fire'

Karaca

Phoenix police are searching for Hector Karaca, 24, who is accused of gunning down 17-year-old Kristen Furgeri and her 25-year-old fiance, Jose Villa, inside their home.

Behind the scenes at the White House: The First House's instagram followers get their own private tour and even meet the dogs

White House Instagram Preview

Those chosen for the special 'InstaMeet' were people who already followed the White House on Instagram. They toured inside the building and met the staff and President Obama's two dogs, Bo and Sunny, top right. They also saw veggie gardens growing tomatoes and strawberries and even pumpkins. The group was also given an opportunity to sit down with Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza, who spent time talking through some of his photos and answered questions about what it takes to capture a great photo. See the fantastic images from their tour here!

Man charged with sexual battery after dropping to his knees and biting a female bar patron's bottom

David Franklin Cruz, 23, has been charged with sexual battery after allegedly dropping to his knees and biting a 22-year-old woman's buttocks

David Franklin Cruz, 23, has been charged with sexual battery after allegedly dropping to his knees and biting a 22-year-old woman's buttocks in a Georgia bar yesterday morning.

Heart-rending confession in rare interview with Harry Potter author JK Rowling: My desperate urge to take baby from orphanage cot

JK Rowling speaks to Mail On Sunday's Event Magazine of her mission of hope

JK Rowling has revealed the heartbreaking moment she almost snatched a baby in a 'cold and frightening' so-called orphanage in Eastern Europe.

The atomic town that isn't on any maps: Manhattan Project's secretive site where 75,000 scientists and their families lived during race to create a nuclear bomb

Top secret: A billboard in the nuclear research town Oak Ridge, which didn't feature on a map for years

At its height in 1945, 75,000 people lived in the Tennessee town of Oak Ridge which was so secretive it didn't appear on any maps.

Wave of bombings across Iraq kill at least 62 and leave dozens wounded

Baghdad bombings

The coordinated series of blasts included car bombs in Baghdad, an explosion at a market town and a suicide assault in a northern city.

A world apart: Photographer reveals her love affair with New York community one year after it was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy

Last Stop Preview

Rockaway Park lies inside the city limits of New York, but some of its inhabitants exist in a world all their own. Photographer Juliana Beasley became mesmerized with the neighborhood, which is just 20 miles from the international culture Mecca of Manhattan, after first visiting in 2002. Since then, she's photographed a fascinating cast of characters who call the place in the borough of Queens-known locally as Rockaway Beach-home. Her subjects include friendly offbeat grandmothers, the contented occupants of boarding homes, and the oddball regulars at a local diner.

Bitter husband is happy he threw $500,000 worth of gold in the trash to stop his wife getting it in divorce

EARL RAY Jones

A Colorado man has claimed that he converted $500,000 in life savings into gold in May - and threw the lot away to that his wife of 25 years wouldn't receive her share in their divorce settlement.

Don't blame poor parenting for tearaway kids - bad behaviour could be down to a child's GENES

Some children display poor self-control and anger problems in a preschool setting because they have inherited the traits from their parents

Researchers at Oregon State University say the findings mean parents no longer need to worry that all children will develop behavioural problems if sent to preschool.

Kate McKinnon impersonates a troubleshooting Kathleen Sebelius in SNL's mockery of the Obamacare website

SNL makes a mockery of the Obamacare website in this week's cold open

In Saturday Night Live's opening sketch, Kate McKinnon plays Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius who offers friendly tips about HealthCare.gov.

Washing your hands makes you HAPPIER: Cleaning boosts our confidence and washes away feelings of failure

Does hand washing boost self esteem?

University of Cologne researchers found that people who washed their hands after failing a task were more confident they could complete it the next time.

Former atheist says she woke up in heaven and talked to God during the nine minutes she was clinically dead in hospital

Crystal McVea, a 26-year-old married school teacher and mother of four, believes she met God during the nine minutes she died in 2009

An Oklahoma school teacher and mother of four says she met God when she died for nine minutes in 2009. Crystal McVea, 36, was being treated for pancreatitis in December 2009 when she accidentally overdosed on drugs in the hospital. As doctors struggled to revive her, she says she entered heaven where she met God and became a true believer once more. Last June, she published 'Waking Up In Heaven' (left) - a book on that experience.

Adorable birthday message from sports-mad little girl to her 'Papi' takes web by storm as two-year-old proves she is father's number one fan

message

An adorable video of a tiny sports fan wishing her 'Papi' a happy birthday has taken the web by storm as the little girl lists all the things she loves about her father.

Heartwarming actions of cop who bought groceries for shoplifting mom to feed her kids makes her an international star and gets the young mother a job

penniless Miami mom

Not only does Jessica Robles, from Miami, have food for her children, but she now has a steady job and invitations to appear on Good Morning America and Inside Edition.

I'm being swallowed up! Woman with dwarfism who lives with hoarder mother opens the doors of her alarmingly cluttered home

hoarder

Jessica, 21, who appears in the new series of TLC's Hoarding: Buried Alive, says: 'Being a little person and living in a giant hoard is extremely challenging.'

Parents win their daughter back after she was taken away by social services because they used to medicinal marijuana to treat mother's mutiple sclerosis

bree preview

Maria and Steve Green's 8-month-old daughter, Bree, was placed the custody of Child Protective Services in September

'You're it!' How a high school game of tag is continuing more than TWENTY YEARS later between friends who fly across the world and dress up in disguise to avoid being 'it'

'You're it!' How a high school game of tag is continuing more than twenty years later between a group of friends who fly across the world and dress up in disguise to avoid being 'it'

A group of 40-something men from Washington have spent much of the past 30 years engaged in one of the longest running and most elaborate games of tag ever. The high jinks started back in high school when a group of ten friends would entertain themselves by playing the schoolyard game during breaks at Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, Washington. Nowadays even disguises such as mustache's are required as the guys tag each other in the most unsuspecting of circumstances from parking lots to funerals.

Astonishing photographs taken from inside archaic Southern prisons that were built on slave plantations in the 1960s and '70s

Bruce Jackson

Documentary photographer Bruce Jackson has created a striking photographic record of Southern prison farms of the 1960s and '70s, when he was given unsupervised access to prison grounds, guards and prisoners themselves.

Back from the dead! Dog who was shot and abandoned on mountain is adopted by mother who found him and then carried him to safety

Best friends: Jessi says the first time she saw Elijah she knew he was a good dog

An early morning hike turned into a rescue mission for an Arizona mother after she stumbled across a dog that had been shot and abandoned on a mountain.

Major new hurdle in the hunt for an AIDS cure: Research shows dangerous 'dormant' HIV remains in the body after treatment

A cure for HIV could be further away than scientists had hoped, new research suggests

Researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Maryland found that 60 times more HIV remains hidden in the body after treatment than previously believed.

Hunter fires at moose and misses… but hits man who was sat on the toilet in nearby log cabin

A Norwegian hunter took a shot at a moose but missed, instead hitting a man in his seventies sitting on the toilet

The Norwegian hunter's bullet hit a man in his seventies, in the stomach about 74 miles southeast of Oslo, Norway. The moose escaped unscathed.

Trouble in the water: The alligator hunters of the deep south struggling to survive after their industry was hit hard by recession

Louisiana's alligator industry was once thriving thanks to hunting and alligator tourism. The recession has seen the sector fall on hard times with those who live off the gators, struggling to cope.

The state of Louisiana is home to the largest alligator population in the United States, estimated to be almost two million. Alligators are North America's largest reptiles and are considered a renewable resource in an industry that has thrived in America's deep south for centuries. The recession in the US has tightened the noose on the alligator industry. Once considered one of the deep south's renewable natural resources, those who live off it are now struggling to cope with the changing times.

'Look what I came back with!' Disgraced former Louisiana governor, 86, launches reality show with wife, 35, he met in PRISON

Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards' new reality TV show begins tomorrow. Edwards stars alongside wife Trina whom he married after wrote and visited him whilst he was in jail.

Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards' new reality TV show begins tomorrow. Edwards stars alongside wife Trina whom he married after wrote and visited him whilst he was in jail.

Quick-thinking US woman, 26, hailed a hero for stopping runaway car after her boyfriend was hit and killed by debris while at the wheel

NZ crash

A young woman from Alaska has been hailed a hero after she lifted her boyfriend's foot from the accelerator of their car when he was killed by a mystery object.

Twitter overtakes Facebook as the most popular social network for teens, according to study

Teens love twitter

Facebook is no longer cool with teens. The semi-annual Taking Stock with Teens study indicated that Twitter has overtaken Facebook as the most important social media network.

School bus carrying 25 children crashes into house at military base

Three children and two adults have been injured after a school bus crashed into a house at a military base in Texas. The driver of the bus said the brakes failed.

Three children and two adults have been injured after a school bus crashed into a house at a military base in Texas. The driver of the bus said the brakes failed.

Husband blames his wife for letting adopted African teenage daughter starve and freeze to death as they both face up to 20 years jail for manslaughter

manslaughter

Larry And Carri Williams were found guilty of manslaughter last month after their adopted daughter Hana was found frozen and starved to death outside their home in May 2011. On Friday Larry Williams said his wife should spend decades in jail because 'she was the primary actor' in all of the treatment of Hana and Immanuel - another child they adopted from Ethiopia.

   

DON'T MISS

Finding love in the trenches: How lonely soldiers proposed to women they had never met after receiving letters in First World War

First World War

Young women were encouraged to write to servicemen fighting on the front line to kindle relationships - and some eventually led to marriage. Records now available online show newspapers urged women to send ‘small comforts’ like cigarettes and warm clothes. But some commentators warned the matchmaking system confused love for lust. In 1915 the Hull Daily Mail reported that through a local scheme, a housemaid named Mary was able to win the heart of a lonely soldier by sending a bottle of whisky concealed in a cake.

The Florida citrus grove where African elephants roam free

A young elephant makes its way through the remains of an old citrus farm near Fellsmere, Fla.

A family group of African elephants: two mature females, Thandi and Moyo, and two adolescent males, Tufani and Tsavo, has taken up residence in a Florida citrus grove.

Is a $700 pillow the key to a good night’s rest? New luxury store insists high-end comfort can reinvent the way busy New Yorkers sleep

Sleep Studio

They say New York is the city that never sleeps. But one boutique in the metropolis’s SoHo neighborhood is aiming to reform that conception.

Is this Google's secret ‘water-based data center’? Technology giant builds huge mystery vessel in San Francisco Bay

A mystery structure being built on a barge floating off San Francisco's Treasure Island is fueling speculation that Google is turning its idea of a floating data center into a reality

A mystery structure being built on a barge floating off San Francisco's Treasure Island is fueling speculation that Google is turning its idea of a floating data center into a reality.

Living the high life! Magnificent images of death-defying cliff divers tumbling into Thailand's clear seas for world championship final

Warriors: The sport was created as a challenge for Hawaiian warriors to demonstrate their loyalty to King Kahekili

The 14 divers gathered in Thailand for the eighth and final round of the annual Red Bull Cliff Diving competition today. They have all spent months preparing.

The TRIP that outraged Boston: Official's unprecendented ruling costs Red Sox third game of the World Series

Red Sox

The city of Boston and the Red Sox were left frustrated by a wild finish to a World Series game against the St Louis Cardinals on Saturday night. In 109 years, no World Series game has ended with an obstruction call. But this one was decided by the controversial ruling against Boston third baseman Will Middlebrooks.

WORLD NEWS

Baghdad bombings        

Dinner? No fangs! Hungry mongoose's lucky escape after trying to capture adder

Pounce: The yellow mongoose, normally prey for big snakes, is sent running after trying to grab this adder

The feline prowling South Africa's barren desert crept towards the unsuspecting reptile as it lay curled up in the sand. But just inches away, his dinner fought back. It is a rare moment of prey trumping predator in Africa's harsh and wild animal kingdom.

Huge landslide wipes out road in Alaska National Park

National Park officials in Alaska are reporting a massive landslide consisting of 30,000 yards of rock and soil has buried a road. The site is just west of Tattler Creek on the climb to Sable Pass.

National Park officials in Alaska are reporting a massive landslide consisting of 30,000 yards of rock and soil has buried a road. The site is just west of Tattler Creek on the climb to Sable Pass.

Turkish immigrant who 'invented' the doner kebab at his market stall in West Berlin over 40 years ago dies aged 80

'Inventor': Kadir Nurman, who is widely credited as inventor of the popular fast food meal, has died in Berlin aged 80

Kadir Nurman, widely credited as the inventor of the popular fast food meal, passed away in Berlin at the age of 80.

Now THAT'S an ATV! Ultimate boy's toy powered by Ferrari engine can hit 150mph

QUAD BIKE

The Wazuma V8F is designed by French engineers Lazareth and is powered by the same engine as a 1970's Ferrari 308 sports car. The super-quad, which costs a staggering £160,000, looks like the Batmobile dirven by Christian Bale in the Dark Knight Batman films and has been hailed by designers as a 'masterpiece'.