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Crime

The exumed remains were reburied in caskets in 2022.

Thousands of Kidnapped Africans Died on an Island in the Atlantic After Being Rescued From Slave Ships. Evidence in Their Teeth Traces Their Journeys

Remains in the graves of St. Helena, where the British military housed “liberated” enslaved Africans, contain isotopes from inland Angola and Zimbabwe

Investigators say a man stole Chinese manuscripts worth more than $200,000 from UCLA.

Man Sentenced for Stealing ‘Rare and Unique’ Chinese Texts, Valued at More Than $200,000, by Using Aliases, Fake IDs and Dummy Manuscripts

The works were stolen from the University of California, Los Angeles, over the course of several years

Femme libellule ailes ouvertes, or Dragonfly Woman With Open Wings, made by René Lalique between 1898 and 1900, was stolen from the museum this week.

In the Latest Brazen Heist, Jewelry and Artworks Worth $5 Million Were Stolen From a Famed French Designer’s Museum

A trio of burglars stole 27 pieces, including a dragonfly pendant, from the Lalique Museum in eastern France

The seizure included Madagascar hissing cockroaches—some of the largest roaches in the world—and dubia cockroaches.

More Than 100,000 Illegal Exotic Cockroaches Were Seized by Australian Authorities in a Record-Setting Bug Bust

The insects are estimated to be worth up to $141,000, according to Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water. Exotic cockroaches could harm the country’s wildlife and agriculture

Museumgoers can read the labels on the backs of the paintings, which may provide clues about each work's provenance.

Who Are the Owners of These Nazi-Looted Masterpieces—and Could Displaying Them at One of France’s Most Popular Museums Help Track Them Down?

A new permanent display at the Musée d’Orsay showcases artworks that may have been stolen or sold under suspicious circumstances during World War II. Officials are still hoping to find the families of their rightful owners

The Roman funerary marker in the custody of FBI New Orleans in November 2025

Cool Finds

Why Was This Ancient Roman Soldier’s Gravestone Hidden in a Louisiana Backyard? Archaeologists Solved the Mystery—and Helped Return the Artifact to Italy

The funerary marker, which surfaced on a New Orleans property last year, once belonged to a Roman soldier who died nearly 2,000 years ago. Officials repatriated the stone in a recent ceremony in Rome

On the day of the Birmingham church bombing—September 15, 1963—white assailants also killed 13-year-old Virgil Ware (left) and 16-year-old Johnny Robinson (right).

Traveling Along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail

The 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing Killed Four Young Black Girls. But They Weren’t the Only Victims of Racial Violence in the City That Day

Hours after the attack, a police officer shot 16-year-old Johnny Robinson in the back. Then, a white teenager mortally injured 13-year-old Virgil Ware as he rode on the handlebars of his brother’s bike

The duo sold this forgery of an artwork by Native American and Black artist Richard Mayhew for $160,000.

A Father and Daughter Forged More Than 200 Artworks by Warhol, Banksy, Picasso and Others—and Sold Them for $2 Million

The New Jersey residents, who face up to 20 years in prison, commissioned an artist in Poland to create the fakes. They got special penalties for forging paintings by Native American artists

The Mona Lisa returning to the Louvre in 1914

Andrew Lloyd Webber Says He’s Writing a New Musical About the Time the ‘Mona Lisa’ Vanished Without a Trace in 1911

Known for spectacles like “The Phantom of the Opera,” Broadway’s most commercially successful composer now wants to tell the story of the world’s most famous painting

Nearly 200 hippos are estimated to roam in Colombia.

Colombia Plans to Euthanize Dozens of ‘Cocaine Hippos,’ Descendants of Animals Brought by Notorious Drug Trafficker Pablo Escobar

If nothing is done to control the invasive creatures, officials estimate the population could grow to 1,000 animals by 2035. So, they aim to cull about 80 individuals later this year

The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring on display before the restoration

This Vincent van Gogh Painting Was Found Wrapped in an Ikea Bag and a Blood-Stained Pillow. Now, the Artwork Has Been Restored to Its Former Glory

Art sleuth Arthur Brand recovered “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring” in 2023, three years after it was stolen from a Dutch museum. Following careful restoration, the canvas is now back on display

The recovered helmet and two bracelets were displayed at a press conference by Dutch officials on April 2, 2026.

Thieves Who Allegedly Stole an Ancient Gold Helmet Belonging to a Lost European Culture Just Returned It

More than a year after the Romanian treasure disappeared from a museum in the Netherlands, it’s back in the hands of authorities. The men accused of stealing it will face trial later this month

 Les Poissons, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1917

Art Thieves Steal Paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse Worth More Than $10 Million, Fleeing the Scene in Just Three Minutes

The Magnani-Rocca Foundation in Italy was the target of a shocking art heist—only five months after a high-profile theft at the Louvre in Paris

Tony Soprano sees a psychiatrist throughout the show.

‘The Sopranos’ Changed How Television Told Stories. These Scripts, Sketches and Set Designs Reveal What Made the Mob Drama So Thrilling

An exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York provides visitors with a behind-the-scenes look at the award-winning HBO show

This chrysoprase snuffbox belonged to Frederick II of Prussia.

These Historic Snuffboxes Associated With 18th-Century Monarchs Were Stolen in a Shocking Heist. Now, They’re Back on Public Display

In 2024, thieves made away with the intricately decorated boxes, which had been on display in Paris. Two of the boxes, which were later recovered, are now on view at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London

An equestrian portrait of General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, father of the novelist Alexandre Dumas

Based on a True Story

The Real Count of Monte Cristo Was Alexandre Dumas’s Father, a Trailblazing Black General

Ahead of the March 22 premiere of a new TV adaptation, learn about the life of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, the French Army officer who inspired the beloved novel

Lead author Matt von Konrat studying moss found with reburied human remains.

How a Tiny Clump of Moss Helped the FBI Solve a Grave-Robbing Case

Cemetery workers argued that the crimes happened before their employment. But a buried bit of moss told a different story

Prosecutors allege the scheme has been going on for a decade.

Investigators Unravel $12 Million Ticket-Fraud Scheme at the Louvre

Police have arrested nine individuals in connection with the crime, though they have not revealed their identities

An ancient Egyptian collar was among the artifacts stolen from the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology.

Police Recover Ancient Egyptian Artifacts the Day After a Heist at a Museum in Australia

The looted items included a 2,600-year-old wooden cat figurine, a 3,300-year-old necklace and a mummy mask

Empress Eugénie's crown was damaged as thieves attempted to remove it from its glass case on October 19, 2025.

Jewel Thieves Dropped This Crushed Crown as They Fled the Louvre. Now, the Historic Headdress Will Be Restored to Its Former Glory

The crown belonging to Empress Eugénie was found on the sidewalk after robbers made away with eight pieces of royal jewelry in October. Officials estimate that the repair will cost nearly $50,000

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