Six cities from Europe, Asia and the Middle East are competing to host the 2020 Olympics.

Submitting bids to the International Olympic Committee by Friday's deadline were Rome; Madrid; Tokyo; Istanbul; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan.

Four NASCAR stars will take a pass on meeting President Obama at the White House.

It doesn't have anything to do with politics.

Messages of good health and positive self-esteem for girls are not hard to come by in kid lit, so what's the deal with all the attention for a not-yet-published rhyming picture book about an obese, unhappy 14-year-old named Maggie?

The title, for starters: "Maggie Goes on a Diet."

Newark Liberty International Airport became the first New York-area airport to install body scanning technology that will replace a system that was harshly criticized for invading travelers' privacy by displaying naked images.

Transportation Security Administration officials unveiled the software at the airport on Friday, where more than 8 million passengers boarded planes last year. The technology was originally tested in February at Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Washington and rolled out in July.

German newlywed Sandra Scharf entered a bar in the tourist town of Key West earlier this week looking for her wedding dress. Thanks to some fast thinking by the owner of a different bar and the wonders of social networking, she managed to get it back.

Around noon Tuesday, the co-owner of Key West's popular Island Dogs Bar was standing outside his watering hole when two tourists ran up carrying a garment bag they said had just fallen off a sport utility vehicle.

A hat trick by new Arsenal signing Park Chu-young lifted South Korea to a 6-0 win over Lebanon in their World Cup qualifier on Friday.

Ji Dong-won of Sunderland also scored twice as Korea outclassed the visitors from start to finish to take an early lead at the top of Group B in the third round of Asian qualifying.

The United States sent a plane loaded with a small but symbolic shipment of emergency aid that was due to arrive in flood-stricken North Korea on Saturday, in the latest sign of a thaw in relations between the countries.

A cargo plane departed Friday from the U.S. packed with $900,000 worth of food, medical aid, soap, blankets and cooking kits, according to the North Carolina-based aid group Samaritan's Purse.

Rabbi Arele Harel offers an unconventional solution for Orthodox Jewish gay men who want to raise a conventional family: He fixes them up with Orthodox lesbians.

His matchmaking service, which has just gone online, has met criticism on opposing fronts. Orthodox Jewish rabbis say Harel should be doing more to encourage gays and lesbians to try to change their sexual orientation. Liberal religious gay groups see Harel's approach as a ploy to suppress homosexuality.

A snake bite left the victim seriously hurt, but the injured party isn't whom you'd expect.

Police say a python underwent emergency surgery after a man allegedly bit the creature twice.

Four bodies have so far been found in the Pacific Ocean from a Chilean air force plane carrying 21 people that disappeared on its way to a remote archipelago, the military said Saturday.

"So far we have found two female bodies and two male bodies; in none of the cases have they been identified," said Air Force chief Maximiliano Larraechea.