Bill Chappell

This post was updated at 2:25 p.m. ET.

A video that was released online Tuesday in which the extremist group the Islamic State claimed to behead American journalist James Foley is authentic, according to U.S. intelligence analysts. Foley was abducted in Syria in 2012.

The video was uploaded to YouTube ...

At a local FairPrice Supermarket in central Singapore, you'll find baby carrots grown in Bakersfield, Calif. — the same ones for sale at my local grocery store in Washington, D.C.

Such well-traveled vegetables aren't unusual in the tiny island state, which imports more than 90 percent of its food from ...

Some Brita water bottles made for children pose a possible danger due to lids that can break apart into pieces with sharp edges, says Brita, which has announced a safety recall. The bottles have white lids with fold-up straws and filters that sit inside the bottle.

"Brita has received 35 ...

Cuba's parliament isn't big on dissent. Most legislation that makes it to a vote is endorsed unanimously, as a matter of course. But Mariela Castro, the daughter of President Raul Castro — and the niece of Fidel Castro — is making waves by voting "no" on a workers' rights bill, ...

On Monday night, protesters clashed yet again with police in Ferguson, Mo., the St. Louis suburb where Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot by police Aug. 9. National Guard troops deployed by Gov. Jay Nixon didn't get involved, and the officer in charge of security in Ferguson said ...

The daily lowdown on books, publishing, and the occasional author behaving badly.

• J.K. Rowling has returned, ever so briefly, to the world of Harry Potter with a profile of the "Singing Sorceress" Celestina Warbeck. (You'll remember her song "A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love" from the sixth Harry ...

The motorcade of a Saudi prince was hit by thieves Sunday night, as armed men burst from two BMWs and carjacked a vehicle that contained 250,000 euros (about $335,000). The motorcade had been headed from a luxury hotel in Paris to an airport; police suspect the gunmen had inside knowledge.

At least six bullets hit Michael Brown, 18, when he was shot to death by a Ferguson, Mo., police officer, according to a preliminary private autopsy report. Only one of those wounds — to the top of the teenager's head — was deemed not survivable by former New York City ...

Members of the National Guard have arrived in the St. Louis area, one day after Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said he would deploy troops to prevent violence in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb that's been wracked by outrage and looting over the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager last ...

Ukraine's government and pro-Russian separatists are blaming one another for an attack that reportedly hit at least one bus carrying people who were fleeing the fighting near the eastern city of Luhansk. Ukraine made gains in that area over the weekend; it's not known how many people might have died ...

Citing health concerns, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he'll leave the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he has lived in diplomatic asylum for more than two years. Assange didn't name a date for his exit, which will seemingly come without a deal over potential criminal charges against him.

After calling ...

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson says the officer who shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown last Saturday is Darren Wilson, a six-year veteran of the force who has no disciplinary actions on his record with the department.

The release of Wilson's name comes after Jackson said he wouldn't ...

Ferguson, Mo., saw more protests last night — but instead of meeting demonstrators with tear gas and armored vehicles, police walked with them, and posed for photos. The shift came after days of clashes sparked by the police killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.

From St. Louis Public ...

Conrad Bassett–Bouchard of Portland, Ore., is the 2014 National Scrabble Champion, taking the title after a tournament that unseated Nigel Richards, who had won the previous four years in a row. Words used in the final round included "barf" and "florigen."

The championship went to Bassett-Bouchard, 24, after he drew ...

A police officer's killing of Michael Brown, 18, in Ferguson, Mo., has ignited racial tensions in a town whose population is two-thirds black — and whose police force reportedly has three black members. Some black residents say that long before Brown's death, they saw the police as a potential threat.

This post was updated at 5 p.m. ET.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol will now supervise security in Ferguson, Gov. Jay Nixon announced at a news conference Thursday. Protesters have clashed with police since the shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown on Saturday.

"For the past several days, we've all ...

A federal court has cleared the way for same-sex marriage to be recognized in Virginia, denying a motion to stay its own ruling against a ban on the unions. That means same-sex couples could apply for marriage licenses in Virginia next week, state officials say.

The ruling came from the ...

Eduardo Campos, an economist who was running for Brazil's presidency as the leader of the Brazilian Socialist Party, has died in a plane crash near the coast southeast of Sao Paulo.

Brazil's O Globo says Campos was a passenger on a Cessna business jet that crashed in the city ...

A BBC TV report on a Scottish cultural festival was upstaged Wednesday by a spider that had spun its web across the camera's lens. When a bug began struggling in the web, the spider came out to do what spiders do.

The arachnid made quick work of the bug and ...

Pope Francis is flying to South Korea today — and that means he'll be able to address China's leaders, as well. In what's seen as a sign of thawing relations, China is allowing the pontiff to use its airspace. The Vatican hasn't had formal relations with China since 1949, when ...