Take one Oscar-winning British actress. Add an appealing supporting cast. Lather on the picturesque French countryside. Sprinkle liberally with gorgeous food shots, from bubbling, spicy Indian delicacies to perfectly composed French plates of pigeon and truffles.

And then heap on a heavy serving of corn.

A Pennsylvania veterinarian has used an overdose reversal drug to save a kitten that had been given heroin.

Police said Tuesday they arrested the suburban Philadelphia man who abused the cat.

This week's news that a Russian crime ring has amassed some 1.2 billion username and password combinations makes now a good time to review ways to protect yourself online.

The hacking misdeeds were described in a New York Times story based on the findings of Hold Security, a Milwaukee firm that has a history of uncovering online security breaches.

Xavi Hernandez, Spain's leading playmaker in its run of three major titles, has retired from international duty after a disappointing World Cup.

Flanked by fellow Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta, Xavi was the key component of Spain's tiki-taka passing style during its unprecedented run of winning the World Cup in 2010 and two European championships in 2008 and 2012.

Corinne Diacre became the first woman to coach a men's professional football team in a competitive match in France on Monday, but saw her Clermont side lose 2-1 at Brest in the second division.

Diacre's managerial stint in men's football got off to a perfect start when Souleymane Sawadogo finished off a counterattack in the ninth minute, prompting only a small smile from his coach in celebration. But the match changed in the second half when Bruno Grougi converted a penalty for Brest, and Alexandre Alphonse then scored the winner for the home side.

A German court on Tuesday dropped the bribery case against Bernie Ecclestone after the Formula One chief agreed to make a $100 million payment, ending a trial that lasted more than three months.

The Munich state court announced its decision to drop proceedings against the 83-year-old Ecclestone hours after prosecutors agreed to the move. Ecclestone is now free to concentrate on running the global racing series.

Steven Spielberg asked Lasse Hallstrom to work with him more than a dozen years ago, but the Swedish filmmaker only recently accepted the invitation.

Hallstrom said he experienced "traumatic suffering" when he had to decline the chance to direct 2002's "Catch Me If You Can," which Spielberg went on to direct himself.

Sabine Lisicki upset 13th-seeded Sara Errani 6-1, 7-5 in the first round of the Rogers Cup on Monday.

Errani, the 2012 French Open runner-up, is most comfortable on clay, while the 29th-ranked Lisicki likes the faster surfaces. Lisicki, the 2013 Wimbledon runner-up, hit the fastest recorded serve in WTA history (131 mph) last week at Stanford.

The ATP tour on Monday canceled the inaugural Israel Open that was set to be played next month in Tel Aviv because of security concerns "arising from the military conflict in the region."

The tournament was set to be held September 15-21 and would have been the first ATP tournament held in Israel since 1996.

To Scrabble fanatics, big gifts sometimes come in small packages.

The word "te" as a variant of "ti," the seventh tone on the musical scale, is a hardworking little gem among 5,000 words added to "The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary," out Aug. 11 from Merriam-Webster.