Struggling Chelsea striker Fernando Torres was dropped by World Cup champion Spain for the first time in more than five years on Friday.

Torres was missing from the squad announced by coach Vicente del Bosque for next week's international friendly against Venezuela.

Guitar legend Carlos Santana plans a two-year headlining gig at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, switching venues from his previous home at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Representatives for the House of Blues say Santana will have a run of shows in May and June, then return in September with the residency running through 2013. Tickets go on sale March 3.

Pablo Picasso's "Guernica," one of the world's most iconic paintings, is getting a full health check as it marks its 75th anniversary.

A giant robotic machine is taking tens of thousands of microscopic shots of the black-and-white anti-war masterpiece to allow experts to penetrate the work like never before and see its real condition after a hectic life traveling the globe.

A U.S. man who claimed to be the new manager of a chain restaurant and cooked himself a cheeseburger and fries is facing charges.

Police say 52-year-old James Summers, wearing a tie and carrying a briefcase, claimed he was sent by the Denny's corporate office Tuesday to be the new manager at a restaurant in Wisconsin. The current manager told him he must have the wrong restaurant. Summers told her she apparently had not received the memo about the change in leadership.

Two-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel has been given Germany's highest honor for sporting achievement.

Horst Seehofer, Germany's acting president, praised the 24-year-old Vettel's "strength of character" as he presented the Red Bull driver with the Silver Laurel Leaf on Friday.

The European Union is preparing regulations that will shut out Iran's banks from a major financial clearinghouse used by virtually every country in the world, a senior official said Thursday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of European Union rules, said the regulations are currently being worked on, but should be adopted "rather quickly."

Andrew Bynum had a huge smile on his face after he grabbed a rebound of his own miss and got fouled on an attempted putback.

Not long after making both those free throws that put the Los Angeles Lakers ahead to stay, Bynum was running after teammate Derek Fisher to give him a big hug following a 3-pointer.

Barcelona defender Daniel Alves joined the chorus of supporters pressuring coach Pep Guardiola to stay on at the European champions, who risk slipping into decline if he leaves.

Alves stated that he expects Guardiola to sign a contract extension with the three-time defending Spanish champions because "without him we are nothing."

Deaths from liver-destroying hepatitis C are on the rise, and new data shows baby boomers especially should take heed — they are most at risk.

Federal health officials are considering whether anyone born between 1945 and 1965 should get a one-time blood test to check if their livers harbor this ticking time bomb. The reason: Two-thirds of people with hepatitis C are in this age group, most unaware that a virus that takes a few decades to do its damage has festered since their younger days.

A Thai court on Wednesday allowed police to continue to detain one of five Iranian suspects in an alleged terror plot that was exposed by an accidental blast in a residential Bangkok neighborhood.

Police Maj. Gen. Piya Uthayo said Mohammad Kharzei, 42, will be held at a Bangkok prison for at least 12 more days. He was arrested on charges of being an accomplice to possession of unlawful explosives and causing explosions that damaged property and harmed other people.