POLITICS

Kidnap victim from California, Jaycee Dugard, went to court against the federal government on Thursday, accusing it of not supervising her kidnapper while he was on parole, during which time he captured her and held her for 18 years.

The mystery surrounding the twin deaths at businessman Jonah Shacknai's mansion in Coronado, Calif., deepened as it emerged that doctors thought the fall injuries suffered by Max Shacknai were inconsistent with the cause of his death.

Forbes' latest list of billionaires, which was published on Wednesday, has a few surprises on it. The world has now 1,210 billionaires, with a total net worth of $4.5 trillion. The number of billionaires has doubled in China while Moscow surpasses all other cities in the number of billionaires.

The state prison officials on Thursday ended the decade-old practice of giving last meals to inmates who are set to be executed. The Texas death row inmates who are about to be executed will no longer get their choice of last meals.

California's attorney general has declined a request by pharmaceutical mogul Jonah Shacknai for a review of the police investigation that ruled the bizarre hanging death of his girlfriend a suicide.

A genetic study done by an international team of scientists reveals Aboriginal Australians are descended from the boldest early humans who left Africa almost 75,000 years to strike out across Asia and finally settle down in Australia.

Kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard on Thursday sued the federal government and accused it of failing to monitor the felon who grabbed her off a Northern California street as a child and held her for 18 years.

For the first time, a map of the salinity of the ocean surface, which is a key component of the earth's surface, has been produced by NASA's new Aquarius instrument. This has provided an early glimpse of the mission's anticipated discoveries.

Troy Davis, executed by Georgia Wednesday night despite worldwide protest, was not the only death row inmate put to death in the U.S. this week.

I think he had high faith that he was going to be able to avoid this one, defense lawyer Jason Ewart said.

Former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi has died aged 70 after losing his battle against a lung infection on Thursday.

The Georgia man who was convicted of killing a Savannah police officer in 1989 was executed late Wednesday, after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute appeal for a stay.

Jaycee Dugard, who was kidnapped and held captive for 18 years, has sued the federal government for failing to supervise her captor, Phillip Garrido, who was on federal parole at the time of her kidnapping.

Debra Lafave, the Florida teacher found guilty of a sex scandal with a 14-year-old student in 2004, ended her probation Thursday following a court ruling to terminate it early.

Natalee Holloway's mother is opposing a petition by her former husband to officially declare their daughter dead.

The day after Troy Davis was executed for the 1989 murder of a Georgia police officer, his family and supporters vowed to continue their fight against the death penalty.

Michelle Obama wore over $42,000 of diamond bracelets to a DNC fundraiser in New York while accompanying her husband on Tuesday night.

Just hours after Troy Davis was put to death by lethal injection for the murder of an off-duty police officer, Georgia has set the execution date for its next death row inmate.

The state of Georgia executed convicted murderer Troy Davis on Wednesday in a case that drew international attention because of claims by his advocates that he may have been innocent.

It seems that Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has a problem. With Google.

Davis was pronounced dead at 11:08 p.m. on Wednesday after Georgia officials executed him by lethal injection. He was put to death for the 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail, and convicted in 1991.

Georgia executed inmate Troy Davis Wednesday night for the 1989 of a police officer, a crime he maintained to the end he did not commit.

Delays continue after a power outage Thursday morning left nearly 1,500 NJ Transit passengers stuck in a tunnel between New Jersey and New York City.

A man who killed his mother over tickets to an Avril Lavigne concert was found guilty of first-degree murder.

Troy Davis' case isn't the only controversial one that the U.S. has seen. Here are a few other recent and old cases that have been reported in the media over the years.

Jamey Rodemeyer, 14 years old from Buffalo, NY, committed suicide last weekend because of gay bullying. Rodemeyer was a big fan of Lady Gaga, as seen from the last Twitter message of his life.

Former Indian cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi died due to a lung infection on Thursday

China banned an annual dog-eating festival after a large public outcry over the way the animals were killed. The event in Qianxi Township outside Jinhua City in Zhejiang Province has been going on for 600 years, but both local and international outrage has stopped the event.

Despite high-profile protests and a last-minute appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, convicted murderer Troy Davis was put to death in Georgia late Wednesday night by lethal injection.