A Bronx teacher fired after a student complained about her use of a racial slur says the whole thing is just a ridiculous case of meaning lost -- literally -- in translation.

Petrona Smith, 65, was a non-tenured teacher at the bilingual school PS 211 until March 2012, when she was fired after a student complained of being called "negro" and "a failure."

But Smith, who is black and a native of the West Indies, said the student misunderstood her meaning: she was using the word "negro," the word for the color black in Spanish, not an outmoded reference to an person of African descent.

In court papers, Smith said she was teaching students how to say different colors, and even explained that the a black person in Spanish is called "moreno," not "negro." She also said she asked students who had failed a test to move to the back of the class, but had never called them failures.

Smith detailed the abuse she claims she often suffered at the hands of her students, who, according to her claims filed in court, called her "f***ing monkey," "cockroach" and "n****r." Smith said she had always risen above their insults.

The investigation leading to her termination relied on the word of four 7th-grade students, even though one of the student's parents admitted he had lied.

Smith, who has been unable to to find work since she was fired, has sued for wrongful termination. The school district has so far refused to comment on the case.

A magnitude 8.2 earthquake rocked Russia's Far East Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake's epicenter was located in the Sea of Okhotsk, just west of the Kamchatka Peninsula. According to CNN the region is in the Pacific Ring of Fire," an area of high volcanic and seismic activity that stretches from New Zealand to South America.

The tremor lasted for five minutes and many people ran into the streets are the city trembled. No tsunami warnings have been issued thus far.

Michael Clarke Duncan died in September 2012, nearly two months after having a heart attack, according to the NY Daily News.

Duncan, known for his Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated role in "The Green Mile," was 54 when he died. Doctors said he never fully recovered from the heart attack.

A family friend was taking flowers to Duncan's grave when she came upon his headstone, which was spray-painted with racist graffiti.

Police are now investigating the vandalism as a hate crime, according to the Chicago Defender.

A picture of a cartoon black face was attached to the center of his headstone -- an offensive black stereotype known as a Sambo figure.

The family notified the cemetery, which removed the figure immediately. The Los Angeles Police Department determined that the defacement could be considered a hate crime and has begun an investigation.

In an on-air interview with a Seattle Fox station, it appeared that actor Morgan Freeman fell asleep.

But Freeman, 75, joked that he wasn't actually asleep -- only updating his Facebook page.

"Regarding my recent interview, I wasn't actually sleeping," he wrote on Facebook. "I'm a beta tester for Google Eyelids and I was merely taking the opportunity to update my Facebook page."

His Facebook fans got a good laugh, and he has gotten nearly 20,000 likes on the post. The station joked about it too, saying that anchor Bill Wixey's voice could have been the cause.

"We all know Bill's voice can lull you into sleep," wrote Brett Cihon, a producer for the show.

Freeman was on the show to promote his new film, "Now You See Me," which releases in theaters May 31.

See the full interview from Q13 Fox.

Leonard Marsh, co-founder of the famous Snapple beverage brand, died Tuesday at the age of 80.

The Canadian Press reports Marsh died at his home in Manhasset, N.Y.

Marsh, a former window washer, launched Snapple (originally Unadulterated Food Products) with his brother-in-law Hyman Golden and his childhood friend Arnold Greenberg in New York in 1972.

The trio changed the name to Snapple in 1980 causing the brand's popularity to suffer as consumers wanted healthier drinking options. Snapple was later purchased by Quaker Oats Co. for $1.7 billion in 1994.

Marsh stayed with the company for a few years as the executive vice-president. He was the last surviving Snapple founder.

Snapple is now owned by The Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. of Plano, Texas.

Brazil will host both Pope Francis and the FIFA World Cup in 2014, and the 2016 Olympic Games will be held in Rio de Janeiro, leading the government to invest in additional security.

The Brazilian government contracted iRobot to provide military iRobot 510 PackBot robots. For $7.2 million, Brazil will get about 30 PackBot 510 units, which usually cost about $100,000 to $200,000 each, along with services, spares, and associated equipment.

Over 5,000 camera-equipped, remote-controlled 510 PackBots have been deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The 510 PackBots will be used during construction of the Olympic stadia to clear routes, and to ensure no explosives are planted ahead of the games.

The PackBot base model is weatherproof and can take a six-foot drop, even righting itself if it lands upside-down. It can be equipped with additional gadgets including high-definition cameras and bomb-defusing devices, and any number of sensors for detecting explosives or testing air samples.

Once the events are underway, the robots will presumably aid police and soldiers deployed to maintain security. Brazilian police will be equipped with facial-recognition camera glasses that can reportedly capture 400 facial images per second, according to CNET.

The country is reportedly spending $900 million on drones, helicopters and surveillance equipment ahead of the World Cup in an effort to make it "one of the most protected sports events in history."

Steve Nash is blocking his ex-wife's efforts to move to Los Angeles from Phoenix so he can afford child support, according to documents filed in court by Alejandra Amarilla Nash.

Alejandra Nash said she wants to move to LA so their three kids could be closer to their dad, the same reason the Laker star gave when he turned down playing for the New York Knicks.

According to TMZ, Alejandra Nash said her ex has told her to stay put in Phoenix, since a trade or forced retirement could force the family to move yet again.

But she's not buying his explanation: She thinks he is trying to avoid potential child support obligations imposed by an LA court, unlike the Arizona courts, which haven't forced him to pay anything.

A judge has issued a temporary restraining order, keeping her from moving to LA until their trial, which is scheduled for next week.

David Hasselhoff has just downsized -- last week, the "Baywatch" star bought himself a $1.95 million home, according to TMZ.

The mansion, which is in Calabasas, Calif., spans 5,767 square feet. It boasts five bedrooms, six full baths and has its own basketball court.

Hasselhoff just sold his Encino home for $3.795 million. Hasselhoff bought the home in 1991 -- the height of his fame -- and listed it in November 2012. That home had 8,947 square feet and more than an acre of surrounding land.

Click here to see the new Hoff pad's Redfin listing, complete with photo gallery.

Mariah Carey's dress popped open on live television as the singer was getting ready to sing on "Good Morning America" Friday.

While speaking to Lara Spencer about how she's "never up at this hour" the 43-year-old star all of a sudden confessed that "the back of [her] dress just popped."

Carey turned her back to the audience to show them what had happened and proceeded to hold up the front of her dress to prevent any potential "nip slips".

"I love you, Donatella, but it popped, darling," she joked as her aids helped her fix the dress.

The city of Detroit is facing $15 billion in debt, and emergency manager Kevyn Orr is considering whether the collection at Detroit Institute of Arts is a city asset that can be used to pay off city creditors.

The proposition has many people outraged, according to the Detroit Free Press. “There would be hue and cry the likes of which you’ve never heard,” said Ford Bell, president of the American Alliance of Museums in Washington, D.C.

The DIA’s masterpieces include some of the world’s most famous paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Henri Matisse and Vincent van Gogh. A list of 38 of the museum's greatest treasures, including van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait” and Matisse’s “The Window,” was valued at $2.5 billion.

Bill Nowling, spokesman for Orr, said the city has "no interest in selling art," but said creditors have already inquired about the collection. "These are people savvy enough to know where all the money for the City of Detroit is," he said.

Unlike most major civic museums, the city owns the DIA building and collection, while daily operations and fundraising are handled by a non-profit organization.

DIA Executive Vice President Annmarie Erickson said the museum has hired New York bankruptcy attorney Richard Levin to advise ways to protect the collection. “We are standing by our contention and belief that we hold the collection in trust for the public,” Erickson said. “And although to some it may seem to be an asset, we do not.”

“We have to look at everything on the table,” Nowling said of the controversial liquidation. "I’m a great lover of art and so is Kevyn, we’ve got a responsibility to rationalize all the assets of the city and find out what the worth is and what the city holds," he said.