TORONTO – An obese inmate who goes by the nickname “Big Mike” has been granted early parole because a Canadian prison could not accommodate his 430-pound frame. Michel Lapointe, 37, was released from prison earlier this week after serving 25 months in Montreal’s Bordeaux Jail for conspiracy, drug trafficking and …

ZIARAT, Pakistan – An Islamic charity accused of terror links by the United States pledged Friday to build 1,000 temporary homes for survivors of the Pakistan earthquake, a move likely to expand the group’s influence in the impoverished region. Authorities said the death toll would likely top 300 from the …

WASHINGTON – A stone-age burial in central Germany has yielded the earliest evidence of people living together as a family. The 4,600-year-old grave contained the remains of a man, woman and two youngsters, and DNA analysis shows they were a mother, father and their children. “Their unity in death suggests …

TAMPA, Fla. – The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office says an 18-year-old man has been arrested for fatally stabbing his brother during a fight. Deadreart Holmes is facing a charge of second-degree murder. According to an arrest report, Holmes threatened to stab his 22-year-old brother when an argument over a hat …

LAHOMA, Okla. – A woman driving a pickup truck veered off a highway and slammed into two fuel pumps at a gas station, causing a massive explosion that killed the woman and caused a blaze that could be seen for miles, fire officials said. The woman was westbound on U.S. …

BLOOMFIELD, Ind. – Three male and three female inmates at a southern Indiana jail face charges that they devised a way to sneak between cell blocks to help pass their time behind bars by having sex. The inmates figured out how to remove metal ceiling panels in the Greene County …

LAVONIA, Ga. – A grand jury in Franklin County, Ga., indicted a man accused of holding his wife and children captive in a filthy, roach-infested trailer. The grand jury on Monday indicted Raymond Daniel “Danny” Thurmond on one count of rape, five counts of felony false imprisonment and five counts …

WASHINGTON – Women running for top offices need to appear competent and attractive, according to a new study. For male candidates, seeming competent may be enough. It’s a finding that could help justify heavy spending on makeup and wardrobe for Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, while at the same …

Doncaster, ENGALND – A British school won’t let an 11-year old student return to class until he spends an entire day in its “isolation room,” a punishment the student’s father likens to being trapped in a Guantanamo Bay cell, the U.K.’s Daily Mail newspaper reported Monday. In the isolation rooms …

STEVENSVILLE, Mont. – About 90 elementary school students in Montana have started a series of rabies shots after a parent let them touch a dead bat that was later confirmed to be diseased. The mother of two students gave presentations in five classrooms and allowed the kids to touch the …