A mysterious clown dressed like the malevolent character from the Stephen King novel "It" has been scaring residents with random appearances in the British town of Northampton.

The "Northampton Clown", whose identity remains unknown, said on Friday that the bizarre behavior involving posting pictures of himself around the town was "harmless fun."

Queen Elizabeth II is so fond of her corgis that she personally supervises their daily meal and pours the gravy for them herself, according to a new book on British royal pets since the 16th century.

"Pets by Royal Appointment", by author Brian Hoey, who has written about Buckingham Palace for more than 40 years, suggests that the monarch prefers animal company to those of humans.

The Pentagon has scrapped the Twitter account of an agency that counters homemade explosives after it posted joking comments about a bombing in the Philippines, officials said Friday.

After explosions at two movie theaters in the Philippines, a staff member at the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Organization (JIEDDO) wrote in a tweet Wednesday that perhaps the cinemas were showing the film "Gigli," a 2003 romantic comedy starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez that flopped at the box office.

San Francisco police have arrested a suspected bank burglar after he fell through the ceiling of an apartment and into someone's bedroom.

Police responded to an attempted burglary at the bank around 3:45 a.m. Friday. Police Chief Greg Suhr says the suspect got into the bank through a ventilation shaft, but was spotted by officers as he left.

It's the next best thing to parking that costs peanuts: parking that costs chestnuts.

A company that runs parking lots in the English cities of Leeds and Manchester is temporarily letting drivers pay with the dark brown seeds that fall from horse chestnut trees each autumn.

What's a prime minister to do? Facing the prospect of a family wedding just hours after a grueling G20 summit, David Cameron grabbed forty winks on a bed -- unaware that his sister-in-law was posing for the camera in front of him.

The resulting photograph of the snoozing, bare-footed British premier asleep on a four-poster bed in the background of a shot of the impeccably made-up bride-to-be Alice Sheffield was splashed across the British press on Friday.

The elderly in South Africa are discarding pills for boxes of condoms in the belief that the lubricant oil on the latex helps alleviate arthritis-related pain, a daily reported Friday.

They rub the condoms on the painful joints, and claim to feel instant relief, the Sowetan said.

Red-faced officials issued an embarrassed apology to Japan's prime minister on Friday after spelling his name wrong during a high-profile tour of the battered Fukushima nuclear plant.

Shinzo Abe was given a specially-printed suit to protect him from radiation during the tour Thursday, on which he was accompanied by a large press pack.

A western Pennsylvania man has been charged with driving drunk while carrying an open can of beer — on a riding lawn mower.

Murrysville police say they found 55-year-old Thomas Marrone driving the mower along a road just before 1:30 a.m. Aug. 30.

A judge in New Jersey is about to find out if the state's highest court has a sense of humor.

The Supreme Court is expected on Thursday to release its decision on whether Vince A. Sicari can keep his job as a municipal judge while moonlighting as a stand-up comedian.