Duchess Kate returned to her public duties with a black tie fundraising dinner in aid of the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Officially known as the Duchess of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton gave a short speech before guests including movie star Elizabeth Hurley and rocker Bryan Adams.

Violin virtuoso Frank Almond had spent years learning the nuances of the 300-year-old Stradivarius violin that its owner had loaned to him. So when the $5 million instrument was stolen last month and recovered nine days later, he was worried it might have sustained serious damage in the process.

Fortunately it turned out to be fine, he said Tuesday.

A U.S. museum official says construction workers have found a tusk from an ice age mammoth.

KIRO-TV reports that the workers stopped digging when they found the fossil and called Seattle's Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.

Canada's Conservative government plans on entering an election next year with a surplus.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty unveiled a federal budget on Tuesday that projects a $6.9 billion surplus in 2015. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, first elected in 2006, is expected to offer tax cuts during the election.

Michelle Obama chose a Venezuelan-American designer for the gown she wore Tuesday to the state dinner honoring French President Francois Hollande.

But the formal, ornate style of the sumptuous gown by Carolina Herrera reflected French aesthetics, from the intricate beaded black bodice, to the train and full skirt in a color called liberty blue, according to Susan Swimmer, author of "Michelle Obama: First Lady of Fashion and Style."

Parents in the Mexican state of Sonora will no longer be allowed to name their children "Facebook," ''Rambo" or 59 other now banned given names.

The names have been found at least once in state registries. And the list could grow because officials are still checking the state's 132 newborn registries, Sonora state Civil Registry director Cristina Ramirez said Tuesday.

That drone you might have spotted hovering and zipping around the Sochi Olympic slopes isn't searching for terrorists or protesters hiding behind the fir trees.

It's being used to transmit live video of snowboard and ski jump competitions to a screen near you.

The Los Angeles County coroner's office is investigating the death of Julia Roberts' 37-year-old half-sister.

Lt. Larry Dietz says Nancy Motes was found dead in a Los Angeles home Sunday while dog-sitting for a friend. Dietz says an autopsy has not been performed and there are no preliminary findings about how Motes died.

It was once again winter — cold, cold winter — that dominated the mood on the fifth day of New York Fashion Week Monday, with designers presenting variations of warm clothes on a particularly freezing day.

Carolina Herrera, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's The Row, Kenneth Cole, Tommy Hilfiger, Thom Browne and Zac Posen were among the designers presenting their fall-winter collections on Monday.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen can expect global financial markets to scrutinize her first public remarks since taking over the central bank's leadership this month.

Investors this week will try to determine whether Yellen will embrace all the policies of her predecessor, Ben Bernanke. They will also look for any clues that she is worried about the economy or the stock market's turbulence.