The middle-aged salesman sat glumly among an array of shorts, khaki leisure suits bedecked with gold belts and dresses with plunging necklines in the ancient Damascus bazaar — luxuries few can afford in today's Syria.

He, like many traders, lost most of his customers when Syria's uprising erupted in 2011 against the rule of President Bashar Assad, and his new clientele is far poorer: Syrians fleeing the fighting with barely any possessions.

The Marussia team's move into bankruptcy protection on Monday, four days after Formula One rival Caterham did the same, leaves only 18 cars on the grid for Sunday's United States Grand Prix, the smallest in nearly a decade.

FRP Advisory, a London-based firm specializing in corporate restructuring, recovery and insolvency, has taken on the role of administrator and said Russian billionaire shareholder Andrei Cheglakov has been unable to provide the required funding to keep Marussia going.

Taylor Swift will be shakin' it up in New York City's Times Square on New Year's Eve.

ABC announced Monday that Swift is the headliner for "New Year's Rockin' Eve," the annual countdown show hosted by Ryan Seacrest.

Want a body like Beyonce's? Now you can buy clothes she's designed for exercising.

The 33-year-old singer announced Monday that she is merging with British retailer Topshop to launch the company, Parkwood TopShop Athletic Ltd. It is a 50/50 joint venture.

Missy Elliott, Lil Kim and Da Brat will reunite at next month's Soul Train Awards.

BET and Centric announced Monday that the female rappers will take the stage November 7 when the show tapes at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Toyota kept its lead over rivals Volkswagen and General Motors as the world's top-selling automaker in the first nine months of the year, Monday reporting record sales of 7.615 million vehicles, up nearly 3 percent from the previous year.

Volkswagen said earlier this month it sold 7.40 million vehicles for January-September, barely edging out General Motors Co. in the closely watched auto sales race. GM reported sales of 7.372 million cars and trucks worldwide earlier this month.

You may be tempted upon leaving Sting's Broadway musical "The Last Ship" to head straight to a pub to drain a pint and sing some sea shanties. Or maybe go weld something. Or do both.

Such are the foot-stomping, testosterone-filled feelings that emerge from the Neil Simon Theatre, where a blast of British working class camaraderie among steel workers has docked during these times when we only construct things from Ikea.

One of the teenagers wounded in a Washington state high school shooting died Sunday night, raising the number of fatalities from when a student opened fire in a cafeteria to three.

Officials at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett confirmed the death of 14-year-old Gia Soriano. Another girl was killed during the shooting Friday by a popular first-year student at Marysville-Pilchuck High School north of Seattle. The shooter, Jaylen Fryberg, died of a self-inflicted wound.

A growing lava stream threatening homes and inching closer to a rural road on Hawaii's Big Island oozed forward in fits and starts this week, frustrating some residents but giving officials a window of time to prepare.

The narrow, leading edge of the lava flow is now just 250 yards from the one-lane country road, which has been closed. Crews are working on an alternate route for remote communities in the Puna district in case the lava crosses a major thoroughfare.

Shakira is partnering with Fisher-Price to launch a line of baby toys as well as a Web series for moms.

The Mattel, Inc.-owned company announced Friday that the First Steps collection of toys and baby gear would be available in November. Shakira co-developed six products, including a bouncer that plays music, alphabet blocks and a musical soccer ball, an ode to her soccer-playing boyfriend Gerard Pique, who plays for FC Barcelona.