The University of California, Santa Barbara, is investigating allegations of improper conduct and anti-Semitism against a Jewish professor who compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to the Holocaust.

Pope Benedict XVI is canonizing five new saints, including Portugal’s 14th century independence leader and an Italian monk who died of the plague after tending to the sick.

The Dalai Lama says the global economic crisis will teach people that peace of mind, family and friends can bring happiness when money is lacking.

Authorities say a pilot is missing after his small plane crashed into the ocean off the Santa Barbara coast.

Portuguese police say they have captured more than 7.7 tons (7 metric tonnes) of hashish from Morocco with an estimated street value of more than euro70 million (US$91 million).

Elizabeth Taylor has expanded her philanthropy with a $100,000 donation to the Alliance for Christian Education.

Actor and former TV host Gary Collins faces 120 days in jail or home detention after pleading no contest to misdemeanor driving under the influence.

Guinea-Bissau, a tiny country in West Africa, has had a long history of instability and numerous attempted coups since independence from Portugal in 1974. For 23 of the past 29 years, the country was ruled by President Joao Bernardo Vieira.

When archaeologists on a dig in southern Portugal last year flipped over a heavy chunk of slate and saw writing not used for more than 2,500 years, they were elated.

A mixture of oil and water leaking Wednesday from an Exxon Mobil platform spread across a mile of ocean off the Southern California coast, federal and state officials said.