The raging wildfires that killed hundreds of Australians earlier this year could not kill Sam the Koala. But an illness endemic in the country's koala population did. Sam, the 4-year-old Koala who became famous after he was injured and rescued from the historic wildfires, died Thursday, an Australian wildlife shelter said. "It is with great sadness today that TressCox Lawyers on behalf of the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter announce that Sam the Koala has lost her latest fight for survival," ...

Fans of Usher Raymond IV view him as a singing, dancing and acting superstar. But to a special group of young people, he is a mentor and a friend. "He leads by example," said Arnold "Supa" LaFrance, a "Mogul in Training" at Usher's Camp New Look. "Usher's all about peace and love and giving back to the community, and it's genuine. He does it when the cameras are on and when the cameras are off." Now in its fifth year, ...

Four generations of Saylors have worked the family's dairy farm for nearly a century, but for the past three years, the cows have been doing something besides providing milk: They've been helping power the place. Growing up on the sprawling spread 90 minutes from Pittsburgh, 36-year-old farmer Shawn Saylor developed into a self-described science buff. So it was no surprise that, when faced with rising energy costs, Saylor turned to technology. He tapped into an ...

Hidden in the alleyways behind Jakarta's fancy malls and in between the high-rise apartment buildings is what Ronny Poluan, a former film maker, calls the "real Jakarta." It is not far from the glitz and glam that dominates the capital's skyline, yet it is a side of the city that few foreigners ever see. "I want them to (have an) authentic view," Poluan, who runs "Jakarta Hidden Tours," said as he took a group of Australians through the winding maze ...

As courtroom drama goes, the upcoming trials in the quiet West Texas oasis of San Angelo should be humdingers: a dozen male members of a Mormom polygamist sect have been indicted on a bevy of charges, ranging from bigamy to sex with a child, stemming from a raid last year in which protective service officials removed more than 400 children from the Yearning For Zion compound. The trials are set to begin in October. But as every lawyer knows, ...

A fight over books depicting sex and homosexuality has riled up a small Wisconsin city, cost some library board members their positions and prompted a call for a public book burning. The battle has stirred much of West Bend, a city of roughly 30,000 people about 35 miles north of Milwaukee. Residents have sparred for months on blogs, airwaves and at meetings, including one where a man told the city's library director he should be tarred and feathered. The row ...

Blaine County, Idaho, doesn't care for gossip. Celebrities from Ernest Hemingway to Demi Moore have resided in the county that boasts the exclusive Sun Valley ski resort and shows big respect for people's privacy, its sheriff told CNN on Tuesday. When Blaine County residents learned about Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl's capture several days ago, they kept a lid on it. And it looks like reporters won't get much information anytime soon about the 23-year-old soldier whose fate now lies with ...

From the outside, Johnny and Shanna Woodbury looked like the perfect couple. They had been married 13 years, owned multiple properties and were successful managers. They also had four beautiful children -- a son and a daughter fresh out of college they had prior to getting married and a 12-year-old daughter on the cheerleading team and an 8-year-old son on the honor roll. Together they had built and moved into their 7,200-square-foot dream home in Prince George's County, Maryland, with ...

California's crisis continues while Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders inch slowly toward agreement on the deep cuts necessary to close California's massive $26 billion budget shortfall. Now, even as the state continues to pay its bills with IOUs, the University of California, the nation's leading public university, is being forced to cut its budget by $813 million — or 20%. It is highly unlikely that these cuts will be reduced by a budget agreement in Sacramento. UC Berkeley ...

Indonesia is no stranger to bombings such as the one that rocked two luxury hotels in Jakarta on Friday. But this is no ordinary newscast: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is speaking via videolink with astronaut Rakesh Sharma, who is aboard a space station. Indian pride soared as Squadron Leader Sharma, an Indian Air Force pilot, became the first in the nation to explore the celestial realm, part of a joint mission with what was then the Soviet Union. I don't ...