See a star flaming out in spectacular style, candy-colored fireworks exploding over New York, dairy kings risking injury for a speeding cheese wheel, and more.

The Vatican has reopened the Valeri Mausoleum, the largest and most luxurious of 22 pagan tombs buried under St. Peter's Basilica, the Associated Press reports.

See Amazon Indians protest with machetes, French fishers send up flares over fuel prices, Chinese workers erecting "instant" houses for quake victims, and more.

People living permanently on the islands to serve tourists may represent an "invasive species" that could destroy the unique and iconic habitat.

Host Alex Trebek asks the last three questions of the final round in the 2008 National Geographic Bee held in Washington, D.C.

Cyclone Nargis stripped gold panels and precious gems from parts of the 2,500-year-old Shwedagon Paya temple complex, one of the world's largest Buddhist sites.

A small, fragile piece of a 2,000-year-old Dead Sea scroll was shown briefly to visitors at a Jerusalem conference.

See a supercell light up the Texas sky, U.S. Marines braving a sandstorm in Afghanistan, the Olympic torch reach the top of Mount Everest, and more.

See half-naked—but all red—revelers get medieval, a Hollywood landmark go up in smoke, skulls stare into the Paris underworld, and more.

In Lithuania, real witches celebrate the arrival of spring on Walpurgis night.

Later this year, cockfighting will be banned in Louisiana, making it illegal in all 50 U.S. states. But in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, it is a legal, thriving industry with more than a hundred licensed arenas.

See a noxious volcano blazing, a steaming sacrifice, uncanny underwater robots, Europe's biggest waterfall turned blue, and more.

Somali forces arrested seven alleged sea pirates during rescue operations for a hijacked Dubai-based ship. A spate of piracy is plaguing Somalia's and Yemen's coasts.

A Japanese oil tanker and a Spanish fishing boat are the latest victims of raids in the dangerous waters off Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula.

Move over, Scotland. Bagpipes have been part of Iranian culture for the past two centuries, offering a unique sound that conveys both joy and sorrow.