Duke Ellington died nearly 40 years ago, but for jazz fans of a certain age his musical creativity and elegant style remain timeless.

Whether he was leading his orchestra in "Take the A Train," the composition by collaborator Billy Strayhorn that became Ellington's theme, or assuring his fans in his velvety bass-baritone that he loved them madly, the Duke's public persona as a jazz giant has endured for half a century.

A man who supervises runway workers at Los Angeles International Airport has become the second man charged with setting off dry ice bombs there.

LA County prosecutors said in a statement that 41-year-old Miguel Angel Iniguez was charged Monday with one felony count of possession of a destructive device near an airplane.

A University of Central Missouri graphic design professor has knitted his way into the record books while running the Kansas City Marathon.

The Kansas City Star (http://is.gd/mUstzF ) reports that David Babcock finished the marathon in 5 hours, 48 minutes and 27 seconds.

Pope Francis has met with a German bishop whose 31 million-euro ($42 million) building renovation has scandalized Germany.

The Vatican gave no details about Monday's meeting with Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, bishop of Limburg.

McDonald's says its third quarter profit rose 5 percent, as the world's biggest hamburger chain benefited from a Monopoly promotion in the U.S. and strength in the UK and Russia.

The company says it earned $1.52 billion, or $1.52 per share, for the quarter ended September 30. That compares with $1.46 billion, or $1.43 per share, last year. Analysts expected $1.51 per share.

Britain has agreed to build the country's first nuclear power plant in a generation, ignoring concerns raised by the Fukushima meltdown in Japan as the UK seeks to secure its future energy needs and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The government struck a deal with Electricite de France and a group of Chinese investors Monday to build the country's first nuclear power plant since 1995 — a massive project that will bring in 16 billion pounds ($25.9 billion) of investment to keep the lights on amid declining supplies of North Sea gas and rapidly escalating fuel costs.

We all know to back up our files and photos, but what about our castles and churches?

A nonprofit named CyArk has created digital copies of more than 100 of the world's best-known monuments, mapping Roman ruins, ancient statues, and even an entire island. Now it plans 400 more, with the goal of preserving the world's most important sites against war, wear, and the impact of climate change.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal must beat Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sweden in a playoff to advance to the World Cup in Brazil.

The two were drawn to face each other Monday in a two-leg series scheduled for November 15 and 19.

Roma captain Francesco Totti will be sidelined for at least 10 days with a hamstring injury.

Totti had to be replaced after 30 minutes in Friday's 2-0 win over Napoli with a right thigh muscle problem.

When Carol Burnett launched her namesake variety show in the 1960s, one TV executive told her the genre was "a man's game." She proved him wrong with an 11-year run that averaged 30 million viewers each week.

On Sunday, the trailblazing comedienne received the nation's top humor prize at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Top entertainers including Julie Andrews, Tony Bennett, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and others performed in Burnett's honor as she received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.