Tragedy as body of missing student, 19, is discovered in her car at the bottom of a bayou after she veered off the road while driving drunk to a party four days ago

Hayley Howard crash

Hayley Howard, 19 (left), was last seen dropping a friend off at the University of New Orleans campus early Saturday morning. The search for the missing student ended Wednesday when authorities found her body inside her submerged car in Lake Ponchartrain (center). Authorities believe she went off the interstate and drove on the grass into the Irish Bayou and drowned in an accident. Police initially believed she was driving drunk when she disappeared, and are waiting on toxicology reports. After a press conference on Wednesday, announcing that a body was found, friends and family comforted Howard's boyfriend and he began to cry (right).

Revealed: Oscar-nominated star of Captain Phillips is broke after quitting job as a cell phone salesman in the hope the $200m grossing film would be his way into Hollywood's elite

capt

Captain Phillips star and Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi has had an incredible rise to fame, yet despite his Best Supporting Actor nomination he is now broke and without work. Barkhad, a 28-year-old Somalian refugee from Minneapolis, won critical acclaim for his very first acting role, playing a Somali pirate in the movie in which he stars opposite Hollywood A lister Tom Hanks. He won the role of real-life pirate Abduwali Muse, who led the 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking, in an open casting call and is now planning to move to LA next month in the hope of securing further acting roles and boosting his bank balance.

'Nobody's perfect': Christian Redskins player says he'd 'welcome' a gay player to the team... but makes homophobic slip

Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins says he'd welcome an openly gay teammate, but some are questioning the sincerity of his remarks.

Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins says he'd welcome an openly gay teammate, but some are questioning the sincerity of his remarks.

Harvard tops the list of world's 100 best universities as American schools dominate nearly half the list

Top: Harvard in the US is ranked highest in the table, based on surveys of 10,536 academics in 150 countries

Harvard University tops the Times Higher Education Reputation Rankings, with MIT taking the number two spot. Stanford was ranked third in the world, according to the rankings.

Hero Good Samaritans tell how pregnant mother who drove her kids into the ocean 'was in a daze' and tried to BLOCK them from helping

The woman's sister called police and warned them that she was talking about demons, prompting them to do a welfare check but they released her because she was lucid and not acting in a way that could give them cause

The heroes who helped save three children after their pregnant mother drove their car into the ocean at Daytona Beach have revealed how she did nothing to help them save her kids.

Seafood at New York Chinatown markets suspected of causing outbreak of rare red-lumps skin infection

Outbreak: Thirty cases of Mycobacterium marinum have been reported in the New York Cit area. Everyone who has been infected reported having come into contact with live or raw seafood at Chinatown markets

Outbreak of rare skin has infected more than 30 with red lumps pegged to seafood sold at New York Chinatown markets

Judge rules that 'upskirt' photos taken without consent are NOT illegal (so long as victim is wearing panties)

Upskirt: If the dog were wearing underwear, taking a photo like this wouldn't be illegal, according to Massachusetts' highest court

A man who took cellphone photos up the skirts of women riding the Boston subway did not violate state law because the women were not nude or partially nude, Massachusetts' highest court ruled Wednesday.

PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: Boston bomber's widow cozies up to his mother on trip to see her in former Soviet state months before atrocity - as disturbing video emerges of jihad flag on wall of her home

Katherine Russell

In a picture exclusive, Katherine Russell, 24, (left) the widow of Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev and her mother-in-law flaunt their designer handbags during a trip to Kyrgyzstan just weeks before the atrocity. MailOnline has also obtained a footage inside the Tsarnaev home showing the flag of jihad on the wall. Nearly a year after the killings she is still waiting to find out if she will be charged over it.

He’s flush with ideas: Alabama Democrat posts video of himself sitting on the toilet ranting about the Tea Party and anti-abortion crowd

Wright, who is set to challenge the incumbent Republican Martha Roby in Alabama's 2nd Congressional District, has removed the post from his YouTube channel since taking the decision to run for government

Erick Wright tried to remove the post from YouTube after deciding to run for Congress. His restroom ramblings included criticising Fox News, and the Tea Party.

Another Obamacare delay pushes the pain past 2014 elections and well into 2016 as Obama leaves the fallout for Hillary to face

If you like your plan, you can keep it -- until I'm nearly retired -- Obama seems to be saying, in a mvoe that Republicans are blasting as nakedly political

The federal government won't penalize about 500,000 Americans who have what the president recently called 'substandard' and 'junk' health insurance plans until five weeks before the 2016 presidential election.

And you thought otters were cuddly? Role reversal as animal pounces on a gator – AND EATS IT ALIVE

WHen Otters attack preview

The animals were photographed at Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge in Florida, where the otter attacked the juvenile alligator, completely overpowering the reptile. The otter dragged the gator on to a riverbank and although the photographer did not see the animals, 'crunching noises' was enough evidence to know the otter had a decent meal.

Woman sentenced to 14 years in prison for trying to get her son and brother to kill her husband so she could claim $250,000 on his life insurance policy

A Las Vegas woman was sentenced to almost 14 years in state prison for conspiring with her brother and son to kill her estranged husband for $250,000 in insurance money.

A Las Vegas woman was sentenced to almost 14 years in state prison for conspiring with her brother and son to kill her estranged husband for $250,000 in insurance money.

Veteran Red Sox announcer Jerry Remy locked in bitter custody battle over granddaughter, five, 'after her father stabbed her mother to death'

In limbo: Arianna Remy, 5, pictured here with her now-late mother, Jennifer Martel, has been in foster care since August

Arianna Remy, 5, was seized by Mass state officials after Jerry Remy's son, Jared, 34, was charged with stabbing to death Jennifer Martel. Both sets of grandparents are fighting over custody.

The awful day we knew we'd lost our looks: It's the moment all women dread. Four writers reveal when it hit them

looks

Actress Sharon Stone struck a chord with women everywhere recently when she revealed the terrible panic she experienced when she realized she was losing her looks. We asked four women to reveal when they realized they were aging, and how it made them feel. Jilly Johnson (left), Helena Frith Powell (middle left), Claudia Connell (middle right) and Kate Garraway (right) share the moment they all realized they were losing their looks.

Could AIDS be cured by modifying patients' genes? New treatment could spell the end of daily drug regime

The treatment could free patients from a daily regime of taking antiretroviral drugs

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania say HIV patients who have genetically modified blood cells are better able to resist the virus.

Alzheimer's deaths in US are SIX TIMES higher than previously thought, study reveals

Killer disease: Elderly people may die from Alzheimer's much more than previously thought, a new study has revealed, and experts want research funding to match the true scope of the problem

Alzheimer's deaths are much more common than previously thought, and may rank just behind leading killers heart disease and cancer, a new study has revealed.

On the trail of the Mexican cowboys: Inside the lives of the traditional Vaqueros

Mexican cowboy preview

When Werner Segarra first arrived in Mexico as part of an Arizona high school student exchange program in 1981 he had no idea the unchanging life of ranchers would turn into a 15-year photographic project. As the student got to meet the Vaqueros - Mexican cowboys - he became enamored with honest, hard-working families where boys younger than him could already run the ranch. Over the years, the Arizona-based photographer has returned repeatedly to the small community of 1,000 residents, to document a way of life largely unchanged for generations.

Husband of housekeeper ‘who killed her newborn in boss’s Long Island mansion’ claims he unknowingly threw baby's remains in trash

Santos Elena Ruiz Solano leaves court in handcuffs after pleading not guilty to murder charges.

Selvin Adonis Hernandez claims he unknowingly threw the remains of wife (pictured) Santos Solano's baby daughter in trash at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, NY.

Baby revived on a Miami highway after aunt gave him kiss of life 'has trachea problems'

Cysts: The boy's family revealed that three cysts were removed from his trachea, which doctors say may have caused him to stop breathing

Sebastián de la Cruz, returned home on Friday after spending more than a week in the hospital after he stopped breathing while riding in the car with his aunt.

Michael Jackson is my dad! Singer claims he has DNA evidence that proves he is the dead star's SON and will reveal it tonight

Brandon Howard claims he is the son of Michael Jackson

A singer once praised as the 'reincarnation of Michael Jackson' has claimed he is the dead star's son. Brandon Howard, whose mother is pop singer Miki Howard, said he has 'groundbreaking' DNA evidence proving he is the King of Pop's offspring, TMZ reported. Ms Howard is said to have met Jacko in 1982, shortly before Mr Howard was born.

Sugar, not fat, is real heart disease killer: We got it wrong on diet advice, claims expert

Leading scientist James DiNicolantonio says low-fat diets do not curb heart disease or help people live longer ¿ the real enemy is sugar and carbohydrates

James DiNicolantonio, a cardiovascular research scientist in New York, says a low-carbohydrate diet - as opposed to a low-fat diet - actually improves cholesterol.

How drinking just one can of Coke a day will be too much sugar under latest World Health Organization warning

People should halve their daily sugar intake to improve their health, the World Health Organisation says

Drinking just one can of Coke a day could be bad for you, the World Health Organization said as it urged Americans to lower their daily amount of sugar.

'I want to say thank you for not throwing me away': Woman, 27, launches quest to find mother who left her wrapped in a shirt in a Burger King bathroom after giving birth

Katheryn Deprill - burger king baby

Katheryn Deprill (left and right as a baby) became known as the 'Burger King Baby' after she was found wrapped in a shirt and crying on the bathroom floor of the restaurant in Allentown, Pennsylvania (bottom right) by a customer. Deprill was adopted by a local foster family after a few days in hospital and she has since gone on to marry, work as an emergency medical technician and have three children of her own. On Sunday, the 27-year-old from South Whitehall Township, posted a photo to Facebook of her holding a message asking for help. She said she wanted to find her birth mother to ask her 'why' and to see if she had any siblings - but she said she had no anger towards her.

'My dog is cooler than yours!': Outrage as tattoo artist inks love heart on his sedated pet then BRAGS about it on Instagram

Ink: Artist Mistah Metro tattooed a heart on his dog while she was under sedation after having an operation

Brooklyn tattoo artist Mistah Metro has been criticized by animal rights groups after he inked a design on his dog, pictured, while it was sedated at the vets.

'Tinder for JOBS': App quickly matches employers with job hunters at the click of a button

Emjoyment app

San Francisco-based startup Emjoyment matches job applicants to employers in a similar way to how Tinder matches people to dates.

Orange (Teresa) is the New Black! Real Housewives star set to do time at prison which inspired hit TV series

orange

EXCLUSIVE: Permatanned Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice is set to be put behind bars at the prison which inspired hit TV show Orange Is The New Black, (bottom right) MailOnline can reveal.Teresa, 41, and her husband Joe, 43, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to several charges including bankruptcy fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, and failing to pay taxes. The pair will be sentenced in July and if jailed, Teresa could serve nearly two years at the closest federal women's correctional facility to her home state - Danbury in Connecticut, which is where writer and activist Piper Kerman was jailed (pictured right).

Neighbor of slain sisters of Iowa lawmaker turns himself in after authorities charge him with murder in the brutal deaths of the two beloved women

killer

Allen Darell Wade, 43, has been charged with criminal homicide, robbery, theft and a firearms violation in the slayings of Susan Wolfe and Sarah Wolfe, his former neighbors.

See YOUR designs on the catwalk! Toy app turns sketches you've drawn into virtual models at a fashion show

Crayola

Named My Virtual Fashion Show, the $45 kit allows children - and adults - to design clothes in a colouring book and then see their creations virtually modelled.

'It makes me feel sick that I worked there': US anchor who sensationally quit Russian state-run TV on-air in protest at network that 'whitewashes the actions of Putin'

Russia Today anchor Liz Wahl resigned on-air Wednesday in protest of President Vladimir Putin's incursion into Crimea, a sovereign region of the Ukraine

Russia Today anchor Liz Wahl resigned on-air Wednesday in protest of President Vladimir Putin's incursion into Crimea, a sovereign region of the Ukraine. During her on-air resignation, Wahl talked about how the recent actions have impacted her personally. She is the granddaughter of Hungarian immigrants who left their home country because of the threat of Soviet forces during a revolution in the 50s. Wahl worked at the Washington, DC bureau of the Russian network.

Crimean leadership says region will hold referendum on joining Russia in under two weeks as EU leaders hold emergency summit to discuss sanctions

A boy looks at uniformed men, believed to be Russian servicemen, near a Ukrainian military base. Crimean officials have voted on a referendum over whether the region should join Russia

Crimea's parliament voted to join Russia on Thursday and its Moscow-backed government set a referendum within 10 days on the decision.

The babushkas fight back! Pro-Russia thug is tackled by granny in Ukraine as UN peace envoy is forced out by mob shouting 'Putin'

Scuffle: Tensions broke out between pro-Russian protestors and those who support the revolution with this elderly woman taking one on

The forced-evacuation by Ukrainian police took place after pro-Moscow protesters reportedly planted bombs in a building they have occupied since Saturday. The incident comes as Russian troops continued to occupy military bases in Crimea.

EU names 18 Ukrainians whose assets will be frozen including ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, his son and country's former Prime Minister

The European Union has named 18 Ukrainians who will have their assets frozen including the country's ousted President Viktor Yanukovych

The 28-nation bloc revealed the names of those it believes are responsible for embezzling state funds in Ukraine this morning.

Sobbing Oscar Pistorius clutches rosary beads in the dock as doctor tells of harrowing moment he tried to save Reeva

Oscar preview

Radiologist Johan Stipp dashed to the Paralympian's home in Pretoria after hearing gunshots in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year. He said: 'I got inside and there was a lady laying on her back. I also noticed a man kneeling on her side, on the left side. I remember the first thing he said when I got there was "I shot her, I thought she was an intruder. I shot her".' As he gave his testimony, Pistorius wept into his hands while holding rosary beads on what is the 12th anniversary of mother's death.

The man who's selling his beard for $1million: Australian offers his 'neck mane of rich mahogany' to raise cash for charity after best friend died of skin cancer

For sale: Scott Maggs, also known as Jimmy Niggles, is selling his beard for charity to raise money and awareness for melanoma research after his friend Wes died from skin cancer. This is the poster on his website

Scott Maggs, from Sydney, Australia, started growing his 'epic' beard after one of his best mates Wes Bonny died when a melanoma in his neck spread to his brain at the age of just 26.

Woman accused of holding mentally disabled mother locked in a filthy basement for a year after tempting them down with ice cream says she 'was not doing bad things to them'

preview

Jessica Hunt told jurors that she tried to help the woman care for her daughter and blamed two others who already pleaded guilty and testified against her and her boyfriend. 'I was not doing bad things to her,' Hunt said in federal court.

The remarkable power of a little TLC: Amazing transformations of abandoned and abused dogs

dogs

A group of abandoned and injured dogs that were offered a second chance in a loving home have become the poster pets of a Chicago charity. If it wasn't for the Trio Animal Foundation, these dogs would have faced an uncertain future. But as these before and after photos show, starved and matted dogs including, from left, Filly, Gramps and Arthur, were nursed back to health thanks to the charity, which covers their vet bills.

Lo and behold! Watch Io, Jupiter's third largest moon, as it spews out a 200-mile-high plume from its wobbly surface

Locked in a perpetual tug of war between the gravity of Jupiter and the smaller planet#s moons, Io's orbit is irregularly elliptical created tremendous tidal pressures

The image was captured by Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft and reveals the incredibly dynamic nature of the gas giant's moon, lo.

Asteroid that raced past Earth at 33,000mph last night came closer than the MOON

2014 DX110 is an Apollo class asteroid, which means it has an Earth-crossing orbit. If it hit Earth, an impacting Apollo asteroid would make a crate about 10-20 times its size

At 16:07 EST, the 98ft (30 meter) asteroid made its closest approach, reaching a distance of less than 217,000 miles (350,000 km).

Parents say the funniest things! Father of four creates arty posters illustrating the hilarious phrases he has said to his children

Nathan Ripperger

Nathan Ripperger, from Dubuque, Iowa, often found himself saying bizarre lines to his kids including 'get that toilet seat off your head' and 'stop riding that penguin, we're leaving!'and turned the funny phrases into endearing, arty, posters.

Bing

Like
MailOnline

Follow
@MailOnline

   

Femail Today

Now it's PARENTS at war: Father of boyfriend accused of 'corrupting' cheerleader who's suing her mom and dad furiously hits back at claims he drove her home drunk at 3.30am

rachel_canning_preview.jpg

EXCLUSIVE: Sean and Elizabeth Canning (right), the parents of Rachel Canning, 18, (left) the New Jersey teen suing them for 'abandoning' her have accused the schoolgirl's boyfriend, Lucas Kitzmiller, (pictured center with father Jeffery, mother Lisa and sister) of corrupting her and making her 'obsessed with alcohol'. They even claim that his parents gave them rides to parties 'all over the country' and on one occasion dropped her home drunk at 3.30am. Lucas' father, Jeffery, angrily shot back today, asking why 'it's always the boyfriend who's the bad influence? We have been dragged into this.'

Contestant in South Korean Big Brother-style reality show hangs herself during filming 'because she felt the show was edited to make her look unpopular'

Reality love: Jjak  sees ten men and women put in the same house for one week while their every move is filmed by a crew

The 29-year-old woman (not pictured) was taking part in a matchmaking show on a major TV channel when she committed suicide on the island of Jeju.

Could this wallpaper prove that Napoleon was MURDERED? Décor that might have been laced with arsenic goes up for auction

Deadly? The book is bound in wallpaper from the bedroom of Longwood House, St Helena, where Napoleon Bonaparte died. Since his death, it has been suggested that he died from cancer or was poisoned by British soldiers. A third theory says he died after inhaling toxic vapours from wallpaper which was laced with arsenic

The French emperor mysteriously died while in British custody on the South Atlantic island of St Helena on May 5, 1821 at the age of 51.

Facial expressions showing frustration and determination 'are subconscious calls for help'

Frustrated: Facial expressions showing frustration and determination may only be used by humans, according to a study by the University of Plymouth

Researchers from the University of Plymouth studied the faces of children and chimpanzees as they completed a series of unsolvable tasks.

Murdered Aspen socialite revealed to be Michael Douglas' ex-fiance as her daughter says death can't just be about rent dispute

douglas

Nancy Pfister, 57, was found dead in her home on February 26, just four days after she had returned from an extended trip to Australia following trouble with her tenants.

Stuntwoman, 40, sues after being dropped from a high wire while filming Nickelodeon's iCarly

Suing: Katina Waters is a hollywood stuntwoman suing the producers of Nickelodeon show iCarly for injuries she suffered during an appearance on the teen comedy

Hollywood stunt double Katina Waters, 40, says she was seriously injured on the set of 'iCarly' during a stunt and says she can no longer earn a living. Hollywood stunt double Katina Waters, 40, says she was seriously injured on the set of 'iCarly' during a stunt and says she can no longer earn a living. According to her IMDB page, Waters appeared as a stuntwoman on the 2011 iCarly episode titled iStill Psycho.

Closure at last: Man, 29, is charged with kidnap and murder of nursing student Holly Bobo, 20, who was last seen being dragged into the woods in 2011

A Tennessee grand jury indicted Zachary Adams Wednesday on charges of first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping

A 29-year-old man has been charged with murdering nursing student Holly Bobo, nearly three years after the 20-year-old went missing in Darden, Tennessee. Zachary Adams was arrested Friday on charges of aggravated assault, while police issued search warrants on his properties in nearby Holladay, Tennessee. Wednesday afternoon, District Attorney Hansel McAdams announced that a grand jury had indicted Adams on charges of first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping. McAdams would not say whether Bobo's body was found on Adams' property. Adams is being held on $1,000,000 bond and will be formally arraigned in court on Tuesday.

Amazing software creates art using 17 MILLION colours to make every single pixel a different hue on your PC screen

The images had to be created using just algorithms, cover at least 256 x 128 pixels and use all the colours in RGB 24-bit images - up to 16,777,216 colours. Each colour in a pixel is made up of different intensity levels of green, blue and red light, for example

A contest that challenged coders to create images where every pixel was a different colour was won by Hungarian Jozsef Fejes for 'rainbow smoke', pictured.

He's got some way to go! Texan, 66, and his two cute dogs launch bid to surpass Ellen's Oscars selfie for most retweets

Civil engineer Terry Shipman tweeted the selfie on Tuesday evening which has so far earned 117,000 retweets

Terry Shipman, from Beaumont, Texas, posted the photo of himself at home with Oreo and Max on Tuesday afternoon which has already earned 117,000 retweets.

The app that gets you out of a bad DATE: Software senses when you’re fidgeting with your mobile and sends you a fake call

Tickle can either be turned on or off. Once installed, the app is always 'listening' for signs of an awkward gesture or motion.The fake caller can be customised with a photo and name of the user's choice, pictured, but it doesn't feature a fake conversation

Tickle was built in California. It uses an iPhone's built-in accelerometer to detect movement and when a user scratches the phone, the app makes a fake phone call.

No 'Glassholes' allowed! San Francisco tech-crowd bar bans controversial Google Glass over fears of secret recordings

Willows

The Willows, in San Francisco, mounted a sign on their window last week asking customers to 'kindly remove' the $1,500 device before entering the bar.

No need to be cross anymore: Angry Cat, the stray whose deep scowl became a meme comparable to Grumpy Cat, finds a new home

This fierce-looking cat has found a new home after New Hanover Sherriff's office issued an appeal for help

The Persian stray with a face to rival the famous Grumpy Cat meme was saved by rescuers after he was found wandering the streets in North Carolina.

Osama bin Laden's son-in-law agreed to be al Qaeda's spokesman after 9/11 and praised the 'storm of airplanes', New York trial hears

FILE - This image made from video provided by by Al-Jazeera shows Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law and spokesman. Abu Ghaith goes to trial Monday, March 3, 2014 in New York on charges that he conspired to kill Americans in his role as al-Qaida's mouthpiece after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He is the highest-ranking al-Qaida figure to stand trial on U.S. soil since the attacks. (AP Photo/Al-Jazeera, File)

The trial against Osama bin Laden's son-in-law has begun with prosecutors describing how he served as a motivational speaker for jihadists.

Ivy League lawyer found GUILTY of murdering his Weight Watchers executive girlfriend when she rushed home afraid that he was going to kill her dog

ivy

An Ivy League lawyer has been convicted of the first-degree murder his girlfriend after the violent attack was unintentionally recorded on a friend's voicemail after a pocket dial. Jason Bohn admitted to killing his live-in girlfriend Danielle Thomas in their Queens apartment but he had hoped to be convicted of manslaughter as opposed to murder.

Teacher and mother-of-two 'brutally beaten to death and left naked on the side of the road by her jealous new boyfriend'

Robert Earley (left) has been arrested for murdering his girlfriend Emily Lambert, who has two daughters from a previous relationship

Emily Lambert, a third grade teacher, traveled from her hometown in Garland, Texas to Carlsbad, New Mexico to visit her boyfriend Robert Earley on Friday after school let out.

Ex-fire chief diagnosed as a pyromaniac after he admitted setting fires to 'get out of the house and away from his newborn baby'

xx

Former Babbit, Minnesota, fire chief Ryan Scharber is facing up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to setting fires on U.S. forest land and also to attempted arson.

Baby who was born with HIV believed to be cured after doctors treated her immediately following her birth

In this undated image provided by Johns Hopkins Medicine in 2005 Dr. Deborah Persaud, a pediatric HIV expert at Johns Hopkins' Children's Center in Baltimore, holds a vial. A second baby born with the AIDS virus may have had her infection put into remission and possibly cured by very early treatment - in this instance, four hours after birth. Doctors revealed the case Wednesday at an AIDS conference in Boston. A host of sophisticated tests at multiple times suggest the LA baby has completely cleared the virus, said Persaud, who led the testing

A second baby born with the AIDS virus may have had her infection put into remission and possibly cured by very early treatment, it was revealed at a Boston conference.

American, 22, found strangled to death in Cancun after 'getting into a fight over the bill at a gay bar'

Craig Taylor, 22, was found strangled to death early Sunday after reportedly getting into a fight at a gay bar in Cancun the night before.

Craig Taylor, 22, was found strangled to death early Sunday after reportedly getting into a fight at a gay bar in Cancun the night before.

Is Michelle Obama going blonde? First Lady of hair makeovers debuts new honey-hued highlights at an event in Miami

Michelle Obama's lighter shade of hair

The First Lady debuted the new look on Wednesday at Jessie Trice Community Health Care Center in Miami, where she talked to Affordable Care Act enrollees. Looking fashionable in a black and purple striped wrap dress, Mrs Obama showed off her lighter locks, which were styled in chic flowing waves.

Did Spider-Man Andrew Garfield dash cancer-suffering Batkid's Oscar dreams? Boy, five, was due to appear at Academy Awards ... but actor 'backed out because he didn't like his lines'

Instead, the Academy Awards paid for the Scott family to go to Disneyland on Sunday and Monday

Instead, the Academy Awards paid for the Scott family to go to Disneyland on Sunday and Monday. They offered little explanation why Miles' segment was cut, though he was meant to appear with actor Andrew Garfield (top left) who decided not to attend the ceremonies last minute. A source said the Spider-Man actor had a 'personal matter' that came up, which may have had to do with girlfriend Emma Stone. Miles' mom Natalie Scott says her son was disappointed he didn't get to wear his new tux, but that they made the most of the situation.

Carla Bruni taking legal action over secret recording of the ex model saying how former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was a 'kept man'

Nicolas Sarkozy (left) was 'kept' by his far wealthier wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (right) during his time as French President

The former French first lady and President are taking legal action over the tapes, in which the model refers to her husband as a 'kept man'.

Sultan of Brunei hits back at foreign criticism of looming implementation of Sharia law that will introduce amputations and stonings as punishments

Islamic law: Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, pictured with his wife at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, said all races should unite under Sharia law, and that it is a great achievement for Brunei to implement it

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah said all races should unite under Sharia law, and that it is 'a great achievement and not a backward step' for Brunei to implement it.

Apple refuses grieving sons' request to unlock cancer victim mother's iPad and tells them they need dead woman's written consent

Josh Grant, 26, pictured, was shocked when Apple asked for written consent from his mother, who passed away from breast cancer earlier this year, to unlock her iPad

Josh and Patrick Grant from London said Apple refused to unlock an iPad belonging to their mother Anthea Grant who passed away from breast cancer in January.

Heartbroken British mother set herself on fire to 'teach cheating husband a lesson' after she discovered he had one night stand

Dianne Staniforth, 51, discovered her husband Paul had been unfaithful after seeing a text message  on his phone

Dianne Staniforth, 51, from Chesterfield, England, discovered her husband Paul had been unfaithful after seeing a text message on his phone.

School's out! Principal charged with trying to burn down high school as it is forced to shut for the rest of the year due to damage

Thomas Sander, the principal of Trinity High School in Dickinson, N.D. Sander is in custody on charges of arson and endangerment by fire after being accused of setting fire to the school

Thomas Sander, 30, is accused of trying to destroy Trinity High School in Dickinson, North Dakota, and faces 10 years in jail on charges of arson and endangerment by fire.

Obama lashes out at Senate after Republicans and Democrats quash DOJ nominee who once defended a COP-KILLER

Debo Adegbile, now President Obama's nominee to lead the DOJ's civil rights division, led the litigation program of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund when it asked the Supreme Court to void the death sentence of a cop-killer

Debo Adegbile, who once participated in an appeal on behalf of the murderous liberal cult hero Mumia Abu-Jamal came up three votes after Majority Leader Harry Reid voted 'no' in order to give election-vulnerable Democrats political cover.

'I'm 23 and housebound - all because I can't lose weight': Woman told she only has five years to live because of her 639lb frame has gastric surgery in a bid to beat the bulge

Christina

Christina Phillips, 22, from South Haven, Mississippi, weighed 639lb and was barely able to walk due to growths on her legs. And despite a litany of complications, including overcoming food addiction, Christina has managed to shed 19st and reclaim her independence.

Midnight Rider camera assistant who was hit by freight train on set told her parents she was scared of the shoot the night before she died

Sarah Jones was only 27 when she died on the set of 'Midnight Rider' during pre-production in Georgia

Just one day before her life was tragically cut short, camera assistant Sarah Jones told her parents she was worried about the shoot and the competence of those in charge.

How oily fish could help children sleep better: Daily dose of omega-3 stops youngsters waking during the night

Slumber: A child

Boosting levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in oily fish, resulted in children sleeping for longer and waking up less in the night, a study has shown.

Family's joy as BYU student, 18, hit by car while skateboarding makes a 'miracle' recovery

'Miracle': Lexi Hansen, 18, was hit by a car while riding her longboard outside campus a week ago and slipped into a coma. But her family said she is now alert and recovering unexpectedly quickly

Doctors gave Lexi Hansen a 5 per cent chance of survival after she was hit by a car in Provo, Utah last week - but now she is breathing on her own.

The Winklevoss space race: Brothers hope to become the first set of twins to leave earth

Blast off: Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss will become the first twins to enter outer space together when their Virgin rocket blasts off

Bitcoin investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are on track to become the first twins in space together after signing on as the 700th and 701st passengers on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane.

'It was such a good idea we sole it': Prince Harry launches British version of American games for injured war heroes

Prince Harry launching the Invictus Games, an International sporting event for wounded, injured and sick service personnel in the Copperbox at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic park

Prince Harry launched an inspirational Paralympic-style sporting event for injured servicemen and women today in typical hands-on style. After giving a speech to officially unveil the Invictus Games, the fourth in line to the throne got down on the floor for a game of volleyball with military personnel who had lost multiple limbs in Afghanistan and other international conflicts. Harry has been working to bring the event to the UK after flying to the US last year to see members of Britain's Armed Forces taking part in a similar competition, the Warrior Games.

Teen ‘beat grandmother to death with a baseball bat because she wouldn’t take him to a store’

Bland

Georgia teen JeNorman Bland was so enraged that his grandmother wouldn't take him to buy cigarettes that he beat her to death with a baseball bat, said police.

Adidas and Nike go toe to toe in World Cup battle as they release new SOCK soccer boots

Brand spanking: Nike (left) and Adidas (right) have unveiled their new football boots

The battle of the brands has begun and 'football will never be the same again'. That's the bold statement from Nike who are set to launch their new Magista boot.

Facebook and Instagram target gun sales as they vow to delete posts illegally offering firearms

Outcry: In an online petition, Moms Demand Action warned that Facebook and Instagram could also be used to sell guns to convicted felons, domestic abusers or others barred under federal law from obtaining a firearm

The social media giant made the move in response to pressure from gun control advocates decrying illicit gun sales that originate on Facebook.

Jet skier found guilty of killing Usher's step-son is sentenced to four years in prison after causing 2012 incident

Jet ski operator Jeffrey Simon Hubbard is arrested for homicide by vessel for allegedly killing Usher's step-son Kile Glover

Jeffrey Hubbard, a close friend of Kile's father Ryan Glover, has been sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of all five charges brought against him over the senseless death.

Massive search underway for college student, 21, who vanished on spring break 'after taking LSD and saying he wanted to hurt himself'

Where is he? Reny Jose, a Rice University student, has disappeared while on spring break in Florida

Reny Jose, a student at Rice University in Texas, was last seen by his friends in Panama City, Florida on Monday, and his clothes and belongings were found dumped.

Prosecutors REVERSE insanity plea for father who kidnapped his sons to Cuba after jailhouse phone calls 'reveal he's lying about his mental illness'

Florida judge said on Wednesday that he'll decide on a treatment facility for Joshua Hakken (pictured) on March 4. He'll also examine psychological reports on Hakken's wife, Sharyn.

Authorities in Florida had been prepared to let Joshua Hakken and his wife Sharyn get psychiatric treatment instead of prison. Now they think he's faking it.

Shackled and shaved: Colonel Gadhafi’s playboy son is returned to Libya to face corruption charges after extradition from Niger

Colonel Gadhafi's third son al-Saadi has been extradited to Libya by Niger, to face corruption charges

Al-Saadi Gadhafi fled Libya when his father's regime crumbled in 2011, seeking refuge in Niger, where he lived under house arrest. He has now been handed back to the Libyan government and was today transferred to a Tripoli prison. The authorities said al-Saadi - one of the deposed Libyan dictator's eight children - will be treated 'in accordance with international law'. Photographs released by the Libyan Prison Authority (above) show al-Saadi's head being shaved by guards.

Is this the world's first SAT NAV? 4,000-year-old rock art found in Wales 'directed lost prehistoric farmers'

A Bronze Age Sat-Nav? The rock art is the first of its kind to be found in the Brecon Beacons and its exact location is being kept secret to protect the site

The standing stone is the first prehistoric carved rock recorded in the Brecon Beacons - and is thought to be the only example of its kind in Wales.

Munchausen’s Syndrome sufferer cured with unusual ‘Reparenting’ technique, as her own psychologist became surrogate father

Cured: Andrea Avigal with psychologist Tom G.Hall after her course of 'reparenting' treated her Munchausen Syndrome

Psychologist Tom G. Hall (left) guided 53-year-old Andrea Avigal, from New York, to a full recovery by effectively becoming her 'surogate parent' during treatment.

Barbie, the career killer: How fashion doll's sexually mature shape and pretty face can limit a young girl's dream job choices

Detrimental to girls? A new study unearths how young girls who play with Barbies have a narrower idea of career possibilities for women as a result

Girls who play with Barbie dolls have a narrower outlook on career possibilities for women, according to a ‘sobering’ new study.

Revealed: Inside the bedroom of British teenage neo-Nazi accused of plotting a 'Columbine-style' massacre at a nursery school

Disturbing: The image, shown to jurors at the Old Bailey, shows the bedroom of Michael Piggin, dominated by a Nazi flag, warlike newspaper cuttings and pictures of Batman villain The Joker

Michael Piggin, 18, is accused of planning to bomb a school, a mosque and a court. The photograph shows a Nazi flag hanging over a map of the world, alongside military newspaper cuttings and other flags.

More than 1 MILLION students stopped buying school lunches after Michelle Obama's overhaul, finds official report

Trouble in low-calorie paradise: Michelle Obama launched the new nutrition restrictions at a Virginia school in January 2012, but the implementation has sent more than 1 million kids in search of food they like

The first lady's 'Let's Move' campaign put more whole grains, vegetables, beans and peas into lunch ladies' repertoires, but kids are voting with their feet and brown-bagging it.

Police officer arrested for battering his seven-month old Jack Russell named Rocko and texting his girlfriend a picture of its body

Authorities in Maryland have charged Baltimore police officer Alec Eugene Taylor with animal cruelty after they say he killed his girlfriend's puppy and texted her a photo of the dog's body

A 27-year-old Baltimore police officer was taken into custody on Wednesday after he allegedly beat and choked his girlfriend's 7-month-old puppy and texted her a photo of the dog's lifeless body.

Boosting your mood for skin cancer? How tanning beds are being used as a form of 'stress relief' by young women

Feeling the heat: People are increasingly turning to indoor tanning as a form of stress relief, a new study has found

Researchers from the University of North Carolina quizzed 706 female college students aged 18 to 25 on what motivates them to bake under artificial light.

Can plants THINK? Shrub makes ‘complex decisions’ to prevent infection

If a parasite invades a barberry, the plant can abort its seeds to prevent infestation, according to new study

Scientists at the University of Göttingen have found that the Barberry plant has a 'structural memory' that helps it anticipate future events.

Wombs for rent: The Indian baby farms transforming the lives of the poverty-stricken women who are paid to carry babies for wealthy foreigners

baby farm

The Akanksha Infertility Clinic in Anand, a small town in the Indian state of Gujarat, has been at the forefront of the commercial surrogacy in India. The treatment at the clinic costs from $25,000 with the surrogate receiving about $7,000 as a fee. Their surrogates always come from very poor backgrounds. In India, about one third of the population lives on less than $1 a day.

Would you pay $500 and fly 3,000 miles just for a date? Matchmaking site hopes to bring single New York women to male-dominant San Francisco

The new norm? Group dating service The Dating Ring wants to balance the lack of single men and women in San Francisco and New York, respectively, by flying eligibles cross-country to meet their match

An online dating company has started a crowd funding campaign to import New York City's single women to San Francisco's legion of eligible bachelors.

Glamorous Russian skier who broke her spine during Sochi Games is permanently paralysed, say doctors

Tragic accident: Russian freestyle skiing pin-up girl Maria Komissarova, 23, is paralysed from the waist down after a training accident in Sochi

Maria Komissarova, 23, is in a German clinic after suffering a fractured spine in a crash in training for the ski cross event in Sochi.

Don't be a fashion victim: The self-defense HAIR CLIP that detects kicks and punches, calls for help and takes photos of attackers

First Sign clip

The clip, from Arizona-based First Sign Technolgies links via Bluetooth to a phone app. Its built-in accelerometer can detect punches and kicks and will trigger an alarm.

You're breaking up with me by TEXT? Don't worry, you're not the only one being digitally dumped - most splits now happen via SMS

tech breakup

Gone are the days of giving someone the courtesy of a face-to-face chat, according to a poll of people aged 18-30,

He's done it again! Inventor of the Cronut comes up with new delicious must-have dessert – Chocolate Chip Cookie Milk Shots

cronut preview

Pastry chef Dominique Ansel (bottom left) posted a photo of his new creation, which consists of a chocolate chip 'glass' filled with a shot of milk, on Instagram (right). He got the inspiration for the hybrid delicacy after trying his first Oreo and said: 'If everyone was drinking milk with cookies, you might as well make a dessert that allows them both to be combined.' It follows the success of the Cronut, which created hysteria when it was unveiled at his New York bakery last year.

Secret of the flying CAR: Maker set to reveal the technology behind its incredible part-sedan private jet

Terrafugia

Engineers from Massachusetts-based Terrafugia will discuss how they designed and developed the Transition flying car, set to go on sale in 2015.

Gambler sues Vegas casino after he loses $500,000 while blackout drunk

'They should have cut me off!': Mark Johnston says the Dowtown Grand in Las Vegas took advantage of his drunken stupor when they gave him a $500,000 loan

Mark Johnston says the Downtown Grand should have cut him off and certainly should not have loaned him the $500,000.

Forget birds, US Air Force plane forced to abort take-off thanks to a FISH strike

A U.S. Air Force jet was forced to abort its take off after it hit a fish as the plane made its way down the runway

Officials from the MacDill Air Force Base, near Tampa, Florida, said the Gulfstream G-IV jet was just about to take off when the collision between the plane and a sheepshead fish occurred.

Japanese bullet trains introduce carriages with foot baths to help relax passengers

Travelling in style: The Japanese bullet train will add a carriage devoted to footbaths to help relax passengers

The carriages will have seats facing the window and warm water baths to soothe passengers' feet as they enjoy the view while zipping through the countryside.

Is this the world's fastest car? Swedish 'megacar' clocks nearly 274mph with a five-litre V8 engine and an enormous 1,322 horse power (that's TEN times more powerful than a Ford Fiesta)

worlds fastest car

The Koenigsegg One:1 is being described as the 'world's first megacar' and is the most powerful production car ever built. The car will reportedly hit a top speed of 274mph - 4mph more than the Hennessey Venom GT and 6mph more than the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. Incredibly, it should be able to go from 0-250mph (400kph) in just 20 seconds.

Call me baby! Seven-month-old 'holds' adorable sign for soldier father she's never met as he returns from Afghanistan

Adorable: A sign is attached to Harper Tesar's stroller for the moment she met her dad for the first time after he returned to the U.S. following a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan

Baby Harper Tesar held up the fluorescent pink message to meet her father, Army Specialist Cole Tesar, as he returned to Bellevue, Nebraska after a nine-month deployment.

River of fire: Chinese waterway becomes so polluted it bursts into flame after lit cigarette is thrown into it

Blazing river: A lit cigarette set the water on fire, and flames shot up more than 16ft into the air before it was extinguished by firemen in Wenzhou in eastern China

The flames shot up more than 16ft into the air and destroyed several cars parked on the side of the river, in the city of Wenzhou in Zhejiang province.

Is this the cutest fitness coach ever? Six-month-old girl leads her dad through a workout of 'planks' and 'push-ups' in adorable video

Baby boot camp

In a video posted by Michael Stansbury, from Lakeland, Tennessee, six-month-old Lilly Ann takes the lead in a workout routine, 'planking' and doing 'push-ups'.

Man credits his pet dog with saving his life after he crashes his snowmobile in the Alaskan wilderness and isn't rescued for 26 hours

Alaska State Troopers Lucas Hegg poses with Amber the 2-year-old golden retriever who saved his owner's life by keeping him warm and alerting passersby

Otis Orth, 52, of Trapper Creek, Alaska, was kept alive for more than 24 hours after he crashed and hurt himself thanks to his two-year-old golden retriever Amber.

Pick on someone your own size! Cheeky pug starts fight with a police dog in the middle of a four-hour armed siege

pug preview

The dog, called Champ, broke through the police cordon and sprinted down the street while armed cops were in the standoff in Phoenix, Arizona. Cops were involved in the siege after a gunman, who had robbed a Subway restaurant, had barricaded himself in his home. The family, who were watching the action unfold from their garden, said they were prepared to say goodbye to their beloved pet forever, fearing it would be shot by police.

   

DON'T MISS

Meet the 15-year-old schoolgirl who has become the world's youngest SWORD SWALLOWER (and how she managed to keep it secret from her parents)

Sword swallowing preview

Haley Hall, from Georgia, locked herself in her bedroom to practice the unusual hobby after reading about it in a book when she was just 14. Ms Hall - who goes by the stage name 'The Amazing Pandora' - has recently been invited to audition for the next series of America's Got Talent and now hopes to gain a Guinness World Record certification.

LA stubs out e-cigarettes in public spaces joining New York, Chicago and Boston in cities banning device

Industry insiders believe e-cigarettes will eventually overtake big tobacco's $80 billion per year industry

Los Angeles will join cities, including New York, Boston and Chicago, that restrict the use of e-cigarettes, which are battery-powered cartridges filled with liquid nicotine.

Something to crow about! Pet bird catches mice, does impressions of dogs and can speak Chinese

What a catch: Ma Baocheng's pet crow is the top bird when it comes to hunting mice in Nanning, Guangxi Province

The pet crow, from Nanning, Guangxi Province, likes catching rodents, barking like a dog, and also manages basic Chinese phrases like 'Hello'.

The world's oldest masks: 9,000-year-old stone 'portraits of the dead' go on show in Jerusalem

A collection of rare 9,000-year old masks, which are considered among the most ancient human portraits, are to go on show in Jerusalem

The carved Neolithic masks will go on show at The Israel Museum, Jerusalem and it is the first time that the group of 12 will be displayed together in their ‘birthplace’.

Knitters to the rescue! Little penguins caught in oil spills are having their lives saved by woolly jumpers

Little penguins are being saved by woolly jumpers

Knitted jumpers are proving an unorthodox cure for little penguins caught in oil spills.The knitting program – Knits for Nature – is run by The Penguin Foundation, which works to conserve the little penguin population of Phillip Island, 140km south-east of Melbourne. A patch of oil as small as a thumbnail can cause death to little penguins, which are the smallest species of penguin in the world, standing at only 13 inches (33 centimetres) high and weighing 2.2lbs (1kg).

WORLD NEWS

Bad timing: The test of the Vladivostok helicopter carrier comes just as Western powers threaten economic sanctions in the hope of reining in Russian President Vladimir Putin's military threat to Ukraine        

It's not easy being a single mom: Polar bear forced to rear her cub alone in the empty Alaskan wilderness

Polar Bear mother and her cub

Photographer Steven Kazlowski captured these pictures of the tender scene between mother and child along Bernard Sand Spit, in the eastern Alaskan Arctic. 'I felt pretty lucky to watch this interaction under the glowing magenta sunlight, as the sun was setting,' Mr Kazlowski said. 'But I also felt bad that the bears were not able to be out on the ice hunting seals and that they were so hungry they were trying eating tough strips of whale remains. The ice was not there for them.'

A REAL Barbie girl! Prototype doll made to the exact measurements of the average 19-year-old American

The "Lammily" doll has the proportions of an average American 19-year-old.

Artist Nickolay Lamm, 24, from Pennsylvania, created a plastic figure last summer based on government measurements of an average 19-year-old woman.

Why don't you keep your beak out? Starling gets more than he bargained for when he tries to take on woodpecker at a bird feeder

This starling took on a little more than he could chew when he tried to scare a woodpecker from a bird feeder

Photographer Dr Peter Allinson was on hand to witness the attack (pictured) as it took place in his garden in Kingsville, Maryland. The confrontation came after the cold American winter had driven the Red-bellied Woodpecker to a garden feeder normally used by other birds. Dr Allinson said: 'Lots of birds use the feeder on a daily basis. For the past month we have had lots of European starlings trying to monopolise the feeder. '