(AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered unscheduled military exercises involving thousands of troops and dozens of ships in the Black Sea region to test their battle readiness, the Kremlin said. The order was presented to Defence Minister
(AP) US economy expands at 0.4 percent rateBy MARTIN CRUTSINGERAP Economics WriterWASHINGTONThe U.S. economy grew at a slightly faster but still anemic rate at the end of last year. However, there is hope that growth accelerated in early 2013 despite
(AP) US jobless claims jump 16,000 to 357,000By PAUL WISEMANAP Economics WriterWASHINGTONThe number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits jumped by 16,000 last week, the second straight weekly increase. But the longer-term trend in layoffs remained consistent with an improved job
By The Associated PressTUCSON, Ariz.Major findings on the Jan. 8, 2011, attack on former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords gleaned from about 2,700 pages of documents released Wednesday, including survivor accounts, police reports and interviews with friends and family of gunman Jared
(AP) WASHINGTONPresident Barack Obama is keeping up his congressional charm offensive, with a second dinner with Senate Republicans planned for next month. Obama dined with a dozen GOP senators earlier this month at a hotel near the White House. The dinner
By DAN ELLIOTT and P. SOLOMON BANDAAssociated PressDENVERColorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes has offered to plead guilty and serve the rest of his life in prison to avoid the death penalty _ a deal that would bring a swift
Broadcast network executives already have to worry about the rise of Internet content, mobile phones and other trending tech diversions. Now, they’ve got cable competition breathing down their corporate necks. For the season, ad-supported cable as a group has opened
The paragraph below is from an Associated Press news item, not an opinion column. Pretty self-explanatory: Republican majorities in the Virginia House and Senate pushed the bill to passage one year after a more modest GOP-sponsored voter identification law failed
Ashley Judd sounds more like a politician every day–one with her foot planted squarely in her mouth, that is. On the heels of her announcing she would have a campaign headquarters for her Kentucky-based run in Tennessee, she spat out
Like father, like son. Hopper Penn, the 19-year-old son of Oscar winner Sean Penn, attacked a photographer yesterday. The assault brought back memories of his father’s famous battles with the paparazzi. The young Penn upped his daddy’s violent outbursts by
(AP) – Electronic Arts is ramping up the drama with its next Battlefield game. The publisher unveiled gameplay footage from the first-person shooter sequel Battlefield 4 during a Tuesday event coinciding with the 27th annual Game Developers Conference in San
I didn’t like this movie much at all. The best part was the ending. I don’t mean that in the usual “the best part was when it was over” way. I mean I love the helicopter-shot-at-dawn-over-the-port-of-Los-Angeles and George Harrison’s “Cheer
(AP) – South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s honeymoon was over before it even began. Only a month on the job, Park has stumbled repeatedly in the face of bitter opposition to policy proposals and her choices for top government posts.
(AFP) – The UN envoy to Afghanistan called on the Taliban Wednesday to join peace efforts as the bulk of NATO combat troops prepare to leave the country by the end of next year. “My message to the insurgency is
(AP) – The chief of the U.S. Africa Command has warned about al-Qaida attempts to gain a foothold in Tunisia. Gen. Carter Ham told Tunisian radio late Tuesday that “it is very clear to me that al-Qaida intends to establish
(AP) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry headed for home Wednesday after making clandestine journeys to Iraq and Afghanistan, where he delivered a stern warning to Iraqi leaders about Syria and sought to patch up differences with Afghanistan’s president.
(AFP) – Russia on Wednesday called the Arab League’s decision to award Syria’s seat at the organisation to the anti-regime National Coalition “illegal and indefensible”. “In terms of international law, the League’s decision on Syria is illegal and indefensible because
(AFP) – Russia has started to stockpile hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of snow to ensure the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi is not hit by unpredictable weather conditions. The Sochi 2014 Olympics Organising Committee has constructed a huge
(AP) Penguins edge Canadiens 1-0 for 13th straight winBy WILL GRAVESAP Sports WriterPITTSBURGHSidney Crosby scored the game’s only goal late in the second period and the Pittsburgh Penguins extended their winning streak to 13 with a 1-0 victory over Montreal
(AP) Delaware women beat North Carolina 78-69 in NCAAsBy DAVID GINSBURGAP Sports WriterNEWARK, Del.Elena Delle Donne scored 33 points in her final home game, and Delaware rallied past foul-plagued North Carolina 78-69 on Tuesday night to advance to the round
Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged took decades to reach the big screen, and now the third film in the Shrugged trilogy has been officially greenlit for a Summer 2014 release. The first two installments didn’t catch fire at the
(AP) CALABASAS, Calif.–Deputies were investigating claims made Tuesday by a neighbor that Justin Bieber attacked and threatened him during an argument in suburban Los Angeles, authorities said. No one was arrested and few details were immediately available. A representative of
(AP) NEWARK, N.J.Singer Dionne Warwick claims in a recent bankruptcy filing that she owes nearly $10 million in back taxes and her monthly expenses exceed $20,000. The South Orange resident and singer of classics such as “Walk On By,” `’I Say
Stephen Colbert, who hosts the faux conservative show The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, couldn’t resist mocking the new History Channel miniseries The Bible. Colbert taunted miniseries producer/co-star Roma Downey, who plays Mary in the production. “Wow, I wonder who
Hollywood celebrities are rallying today on behalf of same-sex marriage, with one famous director using his wallet to help him get to the front of the line. Some changed their Twitter photos to an “equal” symbol to represent their hope
