Google, Apple and Facebook get all the attention. But the forgettable everyday tasks of technology — saving a file on your laptop, swiping your ATM card to get 40 bucks, scanning a gallon of milk at the checkout line — that's all IBM.

International Business Machines turns 100 on Thursday without much fanfare. But its much younger competitors owe a lot to Big Blue.

Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner says his fiancee has called off their wedding.

The 85-year-old Hefner says in a Tuesday message on Chicago-based Playboy's official Twitter feed that 24-year-old Crystal Harris has "had a change of heart."

Emma Watson is preparing for the next chapter of her life.

The `Harry Potter' actress admits that she needs to find her way out of the bubble, which she describes in part as the safe world of life on the set of the successful film franchise.

Imagine being pregnant and taking a simple blood test that lays bare the DNA of your fetus. And suppose that DNA could reveal not only medical conditions such as Down syndrome, but also things like eye color and height. And the risk for developing depression or Alzheimer's disease. And the chances of being homosexual.

So far that remains science fiction. But scientists have been taking some baby steps in that direction. And some ethics experts say it is time to start talking now about what that could mean for parents and society.

The Dead Sea is dying, goes the conventional wisdom: The water level of the fabled salty lake is dropping nearly 4 feet (1.2 meters) a year. Less well known: Part of the lake is actually overflowing, threatening one of Israel's key tourism destinations.

Israel is feverishly campaigning to have the Dead Sea — the lowest point on earth and repository of precious minerals — named one of the natural wonders of the world. At the same time, it's racing to stabilize what it calls "the world's largest natural spa" so hotels on its southern end aren't swamped and tourists can continue to soak in the lake's therapeutic waters.

Salem, the Massachusetts city of 41,000 souls is so closely identified with its witch history that flying witch logos adorn police cars and Salem High School's mascot is a witch.

But town leaders have rebranded the image to downplay witchy things and emphasize other aspects such as museums, dining, and its rich maritime history.

Oil prices fell to below $99 a barrel Monday in Asia, extending a big loss from Friday after a report said Saudi Arabia plans to boost its crude production.

Benchmark oil for July delivery was down 57 cents to $98.72 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost $2.64 to settle at $99.29 on Friday.

State police in Michigan are trying to find who left what appear to be a grandmother's cremated remains in an urn at a Goodwill store near Flint, Michigan.

Fenton Goodwill store manager Allen Ryckman says "it's got to be the No. 1 or No. 2 weirdest item" the store has ever received. He says it appears to have come from a house that was cleaned out.

Under the rattle of heavy gunfire and loud explosions, Syrian army troops and tanks moved into a restive northwestern city from two sides Sunday, extending the crackdown on a region that is historically hostile the Damascus regime.

The Local Coordination Committee, which documents Syrian anti-government protests, said Jisr al-Shughour was attacked from the southern and eastern sides by troops in about 200 vehicles, including tanks. It said blasts were heard as helicopters clattered overhead.

An explosion Friday in the home of Somalia's interior minister killed him and a woman suspected of being a bomber as violent demonstrations swept the capital.

Interior Minister Abdishakur Sheik Hassan, who also was minister for national security, died after shrapnel hit his legs and other parts of his body, said Ministry of Information spokesman Abdifatah Abdinur.