Back in August, when Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Napoli were drawn into the same Champions League group, a chorus of gasps went up inside the auditorium in Monaco.

Three months later, Bayern is nearly sure of advancing, Villarreal has been eliminated and Tuesday's match between City and Napoli will likely determine the second squad that goes through to the next round.

There is no place in the U.S. more expensive to smoke than New York City, where the taxes alone will set you back $5.85 per pack. Yet, addicts who visit Island Smokes, a "roll-your-own" cigarette shop in Chinatown, can walk out with an entire 10-pack carton for under $40, thanks to a yawning tax loophole that officials in several states are now trying to close.

The store is one of a growing number around the country that have come under fire over their use of high-speed cigarette rolling machines that function as miniature factories, and can package loose tobacco and rolling papers into neatly formed cigarettes, sometimes in just a few minutes.

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has been ruled out of Wednesday's Champions League match at AC Milan with a leg injury.

The Spanish champions say Iniesta will miss the Group H contest with a bruised left thigh and will not travel to the San Siro as a precautionary measure.

By claiming he is safe from the sack despite Chelsea's worst start to a Premier League season under Roman Abramovich, Andre Villas-Boas is playing a dangerous game considering the notorious impatience of the London club's billionaire owner.

Murmurings of discontent at Stamford Bridge grew Sunday following Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to Liverpool, which left the team 12 points behind Premier League leader Manchester City.

There are still tickets on sale for the men's 100-meter finals at the London Olympics — contrary to what most people think. The opening and closing ceremonies too. Even beach volleyball (but not too many.)

As with all things in life, though, there is a catch. It will cost you.

Microsoft's Bill Gates was set to testify Monday in a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit accusing the software maker of duping a competitor prior to its rollout of Windows 95.

The case against Microsoft has been ongoing in federal court in Salt Lake City for about a month.

Lisa Gesik hesitates to log into her Facebook account nowadays because of unwanted "friend" requests, not from long-ago classmates but from the ex-husband now in prison for kidnapping her and her daughter.

Neither Gesik nor prison officials can prove her ex-husband is sending her the messages, which feature photos of him wearing his prison blues and dark sunglasses, arms crossed as he poses in front of a prison gate. It doesn't matter if he's sending them or someone else is — the Newport, Ore., woman is afraid and, as the days tick down to his January release, is considering going into hiding with her 12-year-old daughter.

Here's one way to avoid getting trampled by bargain-hunting hordes knocking down store doors on Black Friday: Online deals service LivingSocial is unveiling a slew of bargains for the holidays that are just a couple of mouse clicks away.

LivingSocial is announcing Monday that it will offer discounts from national businesses such as Verizon Wireless, Electronic Arts Inc. and the sneaker brand Sketchers USA Inc., a contrast to the local deals for spas, restaurants and weekend escapes that it's known for.

Artists used paint, ornaments and glitter to transform the human body into artwork at a festival in Venezuela, showing off designs that ranged from pure fantasy to indigenous myths.

The weekend's annual World Meeting of Body Art included body painting, tattoo art, performances and workshops. Fifty-two artists from 18 countries shared their creations at the gathering in Caracas, joining about 2,000 Venezuelans, organizers said.

It's tough to keep a pregnancy a secret when you're in the public eye, and for a while, Beyonce thought the jig was up.

"The whole time I definitely was thinking, 'Everyone knows, everyone can see,'" said the singer before the screening of her new concert DVD Sunday in New York.