Los Angeles  - Australian actor Hugh Jackman, 40, was named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine Wednesday, topping the annual list ahead of James Bond actor Daniel Craig who came in at number two, and past favourites such as Brad Pitt, George Clooney and last year's winner Matt Damon.

"You can't go wrong with Jackman," People correspondent Michelle Beadle told CBS after revealing the selection. "He's Australian, first of all. He's adorable. He's got one of the best bodies ever. And he's a family man. We all love that.

"He's not on the party scene. He loves his kids, he loves his wife. He likes to stay home and make pancakes. He's almost too perfect!"

Los Angeles - After four days of widespread devastation, California firefighters on Tuesday had three large fires under control, and evacuated residents returned to find hundreds of homes gutted by the flames.

Aided by lighter winds, firefighters in southern California were gaining the upper hand on three wildfires that have devastated the region. They were hopeful of containing the blazes by mid-week.

Los Angeles - In her most extensive comments since her breakdown last year, fallen pop princess Britney Spears says that her life has been worse than a jail sentence, but that she's slowly healing, one day at a time.

"I have really good days, and then I have bad days," Spears says in a new minute documentary, Britney: For The Record, that will air in the United States on November 30 on MTV.

Los Angeles  - California always evoked bikini-clad beach beauties, high-tech hothouses and carefree surfers in the endless sunshine of America's most populous state.

But those visions have gone up in smoke, replaced by new images seen around the world in the last week: massive flames roaring through the mansions of the rich and famous, and razing to the ground an entire neighbourhood of 500 mobile homes.

San Francisco  - Jerry Yang, who helped kick start the internet revolution as co-founder of web portal Yahoo, is stepping down as the company's chief executive.

The announcement by the ailing internet giant came after months of falling revenue, fierce proxy battles and a series of botched negotiations that scuttled what now seems to have been an exceedingly generous buyout offer from Microsoft.

Yahoo said that the search for a successor had already started and that Yang will leave after his replacement is found.

Los Angeles  - Aided by lighter winds Monday, firefighters in southern California were gaining the upper hand on three wildfires that have devastated the region. They were hopeful of containing the blazes by mid-week.

The fires have destroyed hundreds of homes since Thursday, including 500 mobile homes in Sylmar, east of Los Angeles. More than 100 homes in the luxurious celebrity enclave of Montecito, northwest of Los Angeles, also went up in flames.