NEW YORK

The sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who hoped to be the next French president, collapsed because what prosecutors believed was strong testimony deteriorated into a fabric of lies.

Gold dropped 2.4 percent on Tuesday from the record $1,917.90 it achieve the day before as investors moved out of safe-haven assets like precious metals and U.S. Treasuries for stocks and other riskier assets.

Hurricane Irene has grown stronger, and the storm is expected to further strengthen and strike the U.S. southeast coast by the weekend, possibly as a Category 3 or Category 4 storm. More than 60 million people from Florida to New York and Massachusetts could be impacted by the powerful storm.

Yoga for dogs? Introducing doga, the latest trend of dog and human yoga.

Ditch the gold epaulettes, riding crops and silk sashes -- and go native!

Kim and Kris are not having another wedding, but we are sure this simpler celebration will be exceptionally planned. Jason Binn and Colin Cowie are famed event planners and certainly know how to make a night memorable. It is reported that the color scheme of the event is olive, black, and white. Guests for the party include Kris Humphries' teammates from the New Jersey Nets.

Precious metals fell in early U.S. trading Tuesday, along with Treasuries, as investors appeared set to return to riskier assets like stocks.

Here is a brief rundown of important events around the world Tuesday morning, August 23, 2011.

Hurricane Irene continued its path of destruction on Monday with winds reaching up to 100 mph as it headed towards the U.S. The Category 2 storm left one million Puerto Rican people without power on Monday, wreaked havoc in the Dominican Republic, destroyed Richard Branson's Virgin Island home, and appears on a direct path for North and South Carolina.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe is proposing some dramatic changes to cut costs – including the firing of one-fifth of all employees (some 220,000 people) either through layoffs or attrition; the elimination of Saturday mail delivery; and the closing of nearly 4,000 post offices across the country.

More than 5,000 children and teens in the U.S. end up in the hospital after falling out of windows each year, medical records show. That ends up 14 children per day.

The Motown hitmaker and legendary songwriter Nick Ashford died on Monday at age 70, a friend and former publicist said.

Two former Marsh & McLennan Cos. executives, who had insurance-fraud charges against them dropped, sued former NY governor, Eliot Spitzer, with two multimillion dollar libel lawsuits over a column Spitzer wrote in Slate magazine.

New York City-based group Improv Everywhere is known for its out-of-the-box ideas in the form of skits throughout the city. According to their official Web site, improveverywhere.com, Improv Everywhere is a New York City-based prank collective that causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places. Created in August of 2001 by Charlie Todd, Improv Everywhere has executed over 100 missions. Their latest video Say Something Nice became a YouTube sensation and attracted more than 13.....

U.S. songwriter Nickolas Ashford, who penned such rhythm and blues hits as Ain't No Mountain High Enough and I'm Every Woman with his wife Valerie Simpson, died on Monday at age 70.

Nick Ashford, one-half of the legendary Motown song production duo Ashford and Simpson, died on Monday, his former publicist told Associated Press.

Each year, more than 5,000 American children end up in the hospital after falling out of windows, medical records show.

New York prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss sexual assault charges against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Monday, a stunning reversal that could revive the political future of a man many had seen as the next president of France.

U.S. retail gasoline prices fell 2.3 cents to $3.58 a gallon during the last week, the third consecutive drop this month, the U.S. Energy Department said.

A New York state judge granted the request of dozens of investors including pension funds, insurers and several Federal Home Loan Banks to intervene in Bank of America Corp's proposed $8.5 billion settlement with investors who lost money on mortgage-backed securities.

S.O.S./State of Security -- a devastating documentary about 9/11 and its aftermath -- is having a tough time getting distribution on home soil as the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack approaches.