The United Nations gave a grim warning Wednesday that Lebanon faces an explosion of social tensions unless the international community helps to handle hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

President Michel Suleiman told foreign ministers from the world's leading nations that his country faces an "existential crisis" because of the influx fleeing the war between President Bashar Assad and opposition rebels.

A U.S. citizen convicted of conspiring to provide material support to the Taliban and acquire anti-aircraft missiles was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison.

Alwar Pouryan received the mandatory minimum sentence for the anti-aircraft missile count and was spared a life sentence by U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan. The defense had asked for the minimum.

This month marks the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's final studio album, and fans aren't just able to buy a new "super deluxe" box set to celebrate the occasion. They can also buy the childhood home of late frontman Kurt Cobain, complete with his mattress.

Cobain's mother, Wendy O'Connor, is putting the tired, 1.5-story bungalow two hours southwest of Seattle on the market this week.

The European economic recovery is breathing life into what has long been a moribund market for initial public offerings, according to consultancy firm Ernst & Young.

In its quarterly update, published Wednesday, Ernst & Young said it expects Europe to see more mid-sized and large companies deciding to list their shares on stock exchanges, particularly in the more mature economies of the U.K. and Germany.

Italy and AC Milan fullback Mattia De Sciglio has escaped unharmed from a car crash.

De Sciglio's Audi was involved in an accident with two other cars on a motorway near Milan on Wednesday morning.

A 99-year-old American woman who dropped out of a high school more than 80 years ago despite needing only one credit to graduate has finally received her diploma.

Audrey Crabtree, of Cedar Falls in the State of Iowa, smiled Monday as she received an honorary diploma for her time at Waterloo East High School.

Burger King wants people to feel less guilty about gobbling up its french fries.

The world's No. 2 hamburger chain is launching a new crinkle-cut french fry on Tuesday that it says has about 20 percent fewer calories than its regular fries.

If only all unwelcome bar guests were this obliging.

A black bear walked into the bar at the Alaskan Hotel in downtown Juneau on Monday night.

With new health insurance markets launching next week, the Obama administration is unveiling premiums and plan choices for 36 states where the federal government is taking the lead to cover uninsured residents.

Before tax credits that work like an upfront discount for most consumers, sticker-price premiums for a mid-range benchmark plan will average $328 a month nationally for an individual, comparable to payments for a new car.

The Democratic-led Senate was on a path Wednesday to passing a bill to prevent a government shutdown while protecting President Barack Obama's health care law, despite a conservative senator's attempt to block the effort by talking all night and into the morning.

At issue is a temporary spending legislation required to keep the government fully open after the Oct. 1 start of the new budget year. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives sent the Senate a version of the bill with a provision that would defund the health care law, trying to seize the opportunity to dismantle one of Obama's signature domestic accomplishments.