PARIS – China took the extraordinary step Wednesday of indefinitely postponing a summit with the European Union in retaliation for plans by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other European officials to meet with the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama. The Chinese decision was a dramatic example of …

Grammy-winning singer Beyonce packed on 15 pounds to play Etta James in the new film “Cadillac Records,” and loved every minute of it, People magazine reported. “I gained almost 15 pounds to play the role,” Beyonce, 27, reportedly told InStyle magazine. “It was way easier — and tastier—than having to …

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Chemicals found inside a local strip club that caught fire twice in one day have caused investigators to rule the blaze arson. Huntsville Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Cartwright said no arrests have been made in connection to Monday’s fire at Fantasies Gentleman’s Club. The fire restarted …

Wall Street’s best day in two weeks — and one of its best ever — brought little real reason to celebrate. Even the manic, final-hour of buying that sent the Dow Jones industrials soaring almost 900 points Tuesday was overshadowed by the reality that it could turn on investors in …

BIG SANDY, Texas – Two high school students bitten by a venomous snake in science class are recovering at an East Texas hospital. School officials in Big Sandy said Tuesday the students were bitten by a cottonmouth snake their teacher had misidentified as non-venomous. They were taken to a hospital …

LAS VEGAS – A jury began deliberating Friday whether O.J. Simpson and his co-defendant robbed two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a casino hotel room. The 61-year-old former football star and a golfing buddy, Clarence “C.J.” Stewart each face five years to life in prison if convicted of kidnapping, …

URBANA, Ohio – A defendant had a hard time facing the music. Andrew Vactor was facing a $150 fine for playing rap music too loudly on his car stereo in July. But a judge offered to reduce that to $35 if Vactor spent 20 hours listening to classical music by …

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal for a new trial for death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted in the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia police officer. The justices did not comment on their action Monday, which leaves in place a state Supreme Court ruling upholding Abu-Jamal’s murder …

One week after two anomalous events caused a snag in NASA’s attempt to revive the Hubble Space Telescope, the orbital observatory is nearly back up and running, with science operations set to resume this weekend. “We are up to the same place we were at about 8 o’clock Wednesday night …

Editors’ Note: This story was originally published on Monday, December 22, 2008. For months, the World Bank has been stonewalling and denying a series of FOX News reports on a variety of in-house scandals, ranging from the hacking of its most sensitive financial data to its own sanctions against suppliers …