A former Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice convicted of corruption was spared on Thursday the further embarrassment of having to write her court-ordered apologies to every judge in the state on photos of herself in handcuffs.

A state appeals court upheld the conviction of Joan Orie Melvin and said she still must write apologies to the state's judges. But it found the photo requirement served no legitimate purpose and was meant only to "shame and humiliate her."

Russians bringing home a huge stockpile of French pate ran afoul Thursday of their country's new food sanctions for having too much of the delicacy.

The tourists returning home from Finland had 70 kilos (150 pounds) of pate confiscated from their car at the Torfyanovka crossing, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of Saint Petersburg, the regional unit of the Russian veterinary service said in a statement.

It is the charity stunt that has got everyone from billionaires to pop stars and even former U.S. presidents drenched by buckets of freezing water.

But don't expect American diplomats to get involved in the fast-growing Ice Bucket Challenge -- in support of Lou Gehrig's disease research -- any time soon.

Israeli police on Thursday discovered that a shelter meant to protect civilians from Palestinian rocket fire had instead been transformed into a makeshift casino, complete with mini cannabis plantation.

For more than a month, people in southern Israel exposed to militant rocket fire in the latest Gaza conflict have spent many hours or all night in concrete shelters that have their own water and electricity supplies.

An Albuquerque, New Mexico, man is facing charges after police say he drove a stolen electric shopping cart to meet with his probation officer.

KOAT-TV reports (http://goo.gl/Y6F69T) court papers say 18-year-old Michael Johnson rode the electric shopping cart this week to make his scheduled visit. When the probation officer asked Johnson where he got the cart, court documents say Johnson admitted taking it from an Albuquerque Walmart.

The Port of Los Angeles is welcoming an unusual visitor — the world's biggest bath toy.

A 60-foot-tall rubber duck sailed into port Wednesday to kick off the Tall Ships Festival LA. It will remain in the harbor through Sunday.

A man who lived nearly three decades in the woods now has a job and is adjusting to life back in society.

Christopher Knight, who survived brutal winters in the Maine woods by stealing food from homes and camps, could graduate from a special court program as early as this fall, Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said.

Would burglars be dumb enough to post selfies on their victim's cloud account?

That's what Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators are trying to determine.

A Maine man who served a 48-hour sentence for drunken driving wore something special for his jail booking photo: a T-shirt featuring his mug shot.

Nineteen-year-old Bobby Burt, of Pittsfield, had the mug shot from his June arrest printed on the orange shirt, along with the words, "Sponsored by Bud Light and Somerset County Sheriff."

Police say a suspect accused of robbing a 94-year-old Albuquerque, New Mexico, man was caught after he shaved and showered in the victim's home — and left behind his fingerprints.

The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://goo.gl/dzDajd) authorities said 43-year-old Rudy Chavez was arrested Saturday.