The Associated Press WASHINGTON—The U.S. government has formally returned a painting by Pablo Picasso valued at $15 million that had been stolen from a Paris museum more than a decade ago and seized by immigration officials late last year in New Jersey. The director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Sarah […]

The Associated Press MISSOULA, Mon.—A man who broke into a car in Missoula had to call police for help after finding himself locked in the trunk. KGVO-AM reports that Missoula Police Patrol Sgt. Colin Rose says 31-year-old Ryan Payne broke into a car Tuesday night and then called 911 after […]

The Canadian Press GRAND BEACH, Man.—A Manitoba man has turned his cellphone case over to police after it caused panic on a crowded public beach. The black case, shaped like a handgun, was tucked in the waistband of the man’s shorts while he was at Grand Beach north of Winnipeg. […]

The Associated PressKristin J. Bender SAN FRANCISCO—Public urination has gotten so bad in San Francisco that the city has painted nine walls with a repellant paint that makes pee spray back on the offender. It’s the latest effort to address a chronic problem in a city where the public works […]

The Associated Press ALTOONA, Pa.—Police say dogs trying to get at a box of cupcakes left on top of a stove apparently started a small fire in a Pennsylvania home. The landlord tells police in Logan Township that he stopped by his tenants’ home to let out the dogs about […]

The Associated Press SKOPJE, Macedonia—The mystery of a baby baboon abducted from Skopje’s zoo had a bittersweet resolution: A mother says she stole it as a gift for her deaf son. The 26-year-old woman told Dnevnik newspaper took that she lifted Luka, an 18-month-old crowd favourite, as a belated birthday […]

The Canadian PressBob Weber EDMONTON — The furor over a New Democrat candidate’s remarks about leaving Alberta’s oilsands in the ground reflects how poorly the issue is understood, say energy experts. To many, Toronto Centre candidate Linda McQuaig’s recent statement is just the simple fact of the matter. “The shock […]

By Ian Bickis THE CANADIAN PRESS Saskatchewan won’t impose restrictions on Canadians who want to buy farms in the province, but the provincial government isn’t ruling out anything else as it considers whether to change the laws governing farmland ownership, Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart said Wednesday. After nearly three months […]

The Canadian Press KIMBERLEY, B.C.—The first hint that there might be some trouble in the Traverse family home in Kimberley, B.C., early Sunday morning came from the dog’s frantic barking. When Niki Traverse opened her bedroom door, the pooch raced under the bed. “Mark, he was like, ‘Don’t let the […]

The Associated PressJoan Lowy WASHINGTON—Air traffic controllers’ work schedules often lead to chronic fatigue, making them less alert and endangering the safety of the country’s air traffic system, according to a study the U.S. government kept secret for years. Federal Aviation Administration officials posted the study online yesterday, hours after […]

The Associated Press LONDON—Britons are buzzing over a temporary entry in the capital’s already saturated drinking scene: breathable booze. The pop-up bar, Alcoholic Architecture, uses a humidifier to pump a gin and tonic vapour into an enclosed space. Patrons absorb their alcohol from the “Cloud” by breathing in the vapours […]