Syrian security forces shot dead at least 11 people in a swoop on the town of Kanaker near Damascus early Wednesday, a human rights activist said.

"The security forces raided homes at dawn on Wednesday and during the operation 11 people were shot dead and more than 250 arrested," head of the National Organization for Human Rights Ammar Qurabi told Agence France Presse.

In the '70s you had your bellbottoms and in the '80s your tight designer jeans. In the '90s, you went from distressed grungy to dressy denim, and then came the skinny-jean revolution in the 2000s.

But, say insiders, there isn't a defining denim trend heading into the important fall shopping season this year — and that's expected to be a good thing for the women's apparel market.

When's the last time you were guiltily scraping your way to the bottom of an ice cream carton and noticed this message: "150 calories per 1 pint" (half liter)?

Yes, per pint (half lifter).

What's on top of the school supply list this year? It isn't T-shirts and tennis shoes. It's the other T, for mobile tech.

Kids as young as elementary age are looking for smartphone upgrades, while the college set is sussing out the explosion in tablets, said Craig Johnson, president of the retail consulting and research firm Customer Growth Partners in New Canaan, Connecticut.

An apple a day may keep the doctor away. But when you put it in a Happy Meal, it might help keep regulators at bay too. McDonald's on Tuesday said that it would add apple slices and reduce the portion of French fries in its children's meal boxes beginning this fall, effectively taking away consumers' current choice between either having apples with caramel dip or fries as a Happy Meal side.

The move by McDonald's, which has become a leader in moving from just burgers and fries to more nutritious fare like oatmeal and salads, comes as fast food chains face intense scrutiny from health officials and others who blame the industry for childhood obesity and other health-related problems. Some municipalities, including San Francisco, have even banned fast food restaurants from selling kids' meals with toys.

Cows aren't jumping over the moon in this year's Ohio State Fair butter sculptures, but the refrigerated exhibit does have a space travel theme.

Fair officials said Tuesday the usual cow and calf made of butter are accompanied this year by a butter space shuttle and astronaut.

Tyler Thompson is an unlikely star in the world of Chinese opera.

The black teenager from Oakland has captivated audiences in the U.S. and China with his ability to sing pitch-perfect Mandarin and perform the ancient Chinese art form.

The federal government has put Google, Microsoft, Apple and other technology companies on notice: Give consumers a way prevent advertisers from tracking their movements across the Web — or face regulation.

Yet for all its innovative know-how and entrepreneurial spirit, the technology industry has yet to agree on a simple, meaningful solution to protect consumer privacy on the Internet.

As the surgeons cut into her neck, Marianne Marquis was thinking of the beach.

As she heard the doctors' voices, she was imagining her toes in the sand, the water lapping.

Wearing dark suits, black dresses and the occasional beehive hairdo, friends and family said goodbye to Amy Winehouse with prayers, tears, laughter and song at an emotional funeral ceremony.

"Amy was the greatest daughter, family member and friend you could ever have," said her father, Mitch Winehouse, in a section of the eulogy released by a family spokesman.