U.S. shoemaker Skechers is to pay $40 million to settle claims that it deceived consumers by suggesting its sports shoes could help tone their butts and lose weight, officials said Wednesday.

In an agreement similar to one last year against Reebok, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said purchasers of the California-based firm's Shape-up, Resistance Runner, Toners and Tone-up shoe ranges can apply for refunds.

I lead a dog's life. Good food. Long walks. A fulfilling job chasing off the mailman. So what's all this about a television channel that's created just for Fido?

Dog TV says it's "the first television channel for dogs," with "scientifically developed" 24/7 programming full of frisky hounds like me running leash less in lush green fields to soothing strains of meditative music.

A centuries-old diamond passed down through generations of European royalty fetched nine million Swiss francs ($9.7 million) at auction in Geneva on Tuesday.

The 35-carat "Beau Sancy" diamond was worn by Marie de Medici, Queen consort of Henry IV, at her coronation in 1610.

If you're in Canada this summer, and you don't want to die, then listen up. If you're ready for a zombie attack, then you're ready for just about anything.

That's the message British Columbia is sending its citizens and tourists in a website it launched this week, which provides tips on about how to prepare for a fake zombie apocalypse.

Rangers who shot a saltwater crocodile that was terrorizing pets in northern Australia found a dog, a pair of shorts, a football and a nappy in its stomach, a report said Wednesday.

Police notified authorities recently that a crocodile had eaten at least one dog and was lunging at others along a beach near the community of Galiwinku.

A top award at Britain's "radio Oscars" has gone to the country's latest up-and-coming entertainment talents: two ladies aged 86 and 90.

Beryl Renwick, 86, and Betty Smith, 90, earned a standing ovation Monday night as they were handed the Sony Academy award for best entertainment show after being helped to the stage by presenters to collect their prize.

Newsweek made no apologies Monday for anointing Barack Obama as "the first gay president" on its cover this week, matching its rival Time in terms of online buzz.

It depicted Obama with an angelic rainbow halo just days after Obama became the first sitting president of the United States ever to come out in favor of same-sex marriage.

A recently split-up U.S. man is so desperate to get his dog back from his ex that he's gone online to ask for $20,000 to pay the legal fees on top of the $30,000 he's already blown.

"Knuckles was kidnapped by my ex-girlfriend and the legal fees to retrieve him are going to bankrupt me," New Yorker Craig Dershowitz says on the crowd-funding site indiegogo.com.

She sees little more than shadows and shapes. However, American artist Bojana Coklyat not only pursues her passion for painting, but transmits it to children with impaired sight so that they can see the world in a new way.

Coklyat, 33, lost most of her sight four years ago as a result of diabetes. She had to give up her job at an art gallery and, despairingly, put down her paint brushes.

Strutting across the stage wearing red stilettos, red lipstick and a flower in her hat, Samara Chopra was always going to be a hit with the inmates of Tihar high-security jail in New Delhi.

The audience of about 1,000 male prisoners whooped with delight as Chopra, lead singer of the Ska Vengers, ran through a high-energy one-hour set at an afternoon concert inside the prison grounds.