“Whenever we say we’re Mormon, a lot of people think we’re polygamists,” said Elder Tyson Bailey, 21, his voice betraying a hint of exasperation. Their frustration is understandable: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints banned the practice of plural marriage in 1890, about a century before the 21-year-old was born. Elder Kellen Fowers, 20, listed more misconceptions: They don’t worsh...

Four wheels, 13 countries and 13,620 km for two Brits who took the scenic route home For most expats, a year teaching English in Korea yields a satisfactory store of travelers’ tales with which to impress the folks back home. But Brits Tom McConville and Peter Hoyle merely whet their appetites for a much bigger adventure during their ESL stint in South Jeolla Province. Their year teaching at a...

NEW YORK (AP) -- Chelsea Clinton began work at NBC News on Monday, the second daughter of a former president at the network. NBC said it had hired the 31-year-old Clinton to work on projects for “NBC Nightly News” and Brian Williams' newsmagazine, “Rock Center.” She will report stories for the feel-good “Making a Difference” series. The only child of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Gustavo Dudamel stands off to the side of an orchestra of T-shirt clad teens as they laboriously rehearse Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance No. 5.” He’s listening, not just with his ears, but also with irrepressible fingers that tap and pluck the air as if he’s actually conducting the piece. At the end, he hops on to the conducto’s podium and, beaming at his rapt pupils, demonstrates t...

PHILADELPHIA ― Most families have a kid who loves to draw. In the Morris family in rural Pottstown, Pennsylvania, that was Pam. When she wasn’t “playing in the dirt and streams,” she was making little thank-you notes, hand-lettered place cards for holiday dinners, party invitations and birthday greetings. At 36, she’s Pam Olshefski now, Brian’s wife and the mother of three girls, 8, 6, and 4. Y...

LOS ANGELES ― Don’t look for macaroni and cheese, hamburgers or tuna melt sandwiches at the renovated dining commons at UCLA’s Rieber Hall dormitory. Instead, a hungry student will find such dishes as spinach and seaweed roll, pork ramen with miso, Buddha’s delight and chicken tikka masala. The 600-seat facility offers exclusively Asian-style food from seven national cuisines. And in case visito...

Yearly teeth-cleaning at the dentist’s office may cut the risk of heart attack by as much as 24 percent compared with those who avoid the treatment, Taiwanese researchers found. Those who had their teeth scraped and polished by a dentist or dental hygienist also had a 13 percent lower risk of stroke than those who never had their teeth cleaned, the study found. The research will be presented Tue...

The 28 final candidates have been picked from a total of 452 candidate sites after two rounds of voting from 2007 to 2009 and screening by experts. Then, the final seven were selected through voting through telephone calls, text messages or on the Internet around the world from July 2009 to Nov. 11. The listing will generate about 1.28 trillion won ($1.14 million) worth of revenues from boosted...

DALLAS (AP) ― As the Dallas Museum of Art prepares to open an exhibit of Jean Paul Gaultier’s sometimes outrageous, always head-turning fashion designs, the city’s well-heeled residents are mobilizing. Dallas is one of just three North American cities ― along with Montreal and San Francisco ― hosting the exhibit of works by the French designer. And while Dallas is not a fashion industry center l...

NEW YORK (AP) ― A personal assistant turned personal manager to Michael Jackson said the King of Pop had been taking propofol as early as 1999, and that the singer was drugged up ahead of his 2001 30th anniversary concerts. Frank Cascio, who became a family friend to Jackson at age 5 and eventually one of the singer’s closest friends and employees, writes in a new book that he first noticed Jack...

JEJU ISLAND -- The southern South Korean resort island of Jeju has been named as one of the new seven natural wonders of the world in a worldwide poll, a Switzerland-based organization announced Saturday. The subtropical volcanic island, located 130 kilometers off the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula, was selected along with Brazil's Amazon region, Halong Bay in Vietnam, Argentina's Iguazu...