Bloomberg: President Barack Obama’s star-studded fundraiser tonight with actor George Clooney is expected to bring in $16 million, making it one of the most lucrative political money events ever[.] New York Times: Mr. Obama is scheduled to attend a fund-raiser
(AP) AP-GfK Poll: Women, blacks, help Obama in new pollCHARLES BABINGTONAssociated PressWASHINGTONPresident Barack Obama’s popularity among women, minorities and independents is giving him an early edge over his likely GOP rival, Mitt Romney, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.
(AP) Oil boom resurrects North Dakota ghost townBy JAMES MacPHERSONAssociated PressDORE, N.D.For more than three decades, Kerry and Darrell Finsaas were all that kept this blink-and-you-miss-it North Dakota community from becoming completely deserted. As Dore’s only residents, they lived in
The United States opened its banking market to China’s biggest bank ICBC, for the first time clearing a takeover of a US bank by a Chinese state-controlled company. Just days after high-level US-China economic talks in Beijing, the Federal Reserve
The Bank of France on Thursday forecast zero growth in the French economy for the second quarter of 2012 — the second quarter in a row of stagnation. France’s gross domestic product should remain “stable” in the second quarter compared
By MICHAEL WARRENAssociated PressBUENOS AIRES, ArgentinaAdults who want sex-change surgery or hormone therapy in Argentina will be able to get it as part of their public or private health care plans under a gender rights law approved Wednesday. The measure
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will skip the G8 summit and ice breaker talks with President Barack Obama next week, the White House said, raising new questions about Moscow-Washington ties. Putin had been expected at the summit at Camp David and
By ANDI JATMIKOAssociated PressCIDAHU, IndonesiaRescuers discovered bodies Thursday near the shattered wreckage of a new Russian-made passenger plane that smashed into the steep side of an Indonesian volcano during a flight to impress potential buyers. All 45 people on board
By MATTHEW PENNINGTONAssociated PressWASHINGTONA U.S. government-funded study says North Koreans have unprecedented access to foreign media, giving them a more positive impression of the outside world. But it says North Korea still has the world’s most closed media environment, and
Blind activist Chen Guangcheng on Thursday accused authorities in his home province in eastern China of seeking revenge for his escape by detaining his nephew and threatening other relatives. Chen, whose daring flight from house arrest to the US embassy
Queen Elizabeth II voiced the ruling coalition’s bid to offer economic hope and win back voters after its worst few weeks yet in her annual address to the British parliament. New laws in the coming year would focus on “economic
By MARGIE MASONAssociated PressHANOI, VietnamThe number of international adoptions has plummeted to its lowest point in 15 years, a steep decline attributed largely to crackdowns against baby-selling, a sputtering world economy and efforts by countries to place more children with
Two powerful blasts in quick succession rocked the Syrian capital at morning rush hour Thursday, killing and wounding dozens of people, state television said, blaming the attacks on “terrorists.” Residents said the explosions rattled windows and sent plumes of smoke
By ALAN CLENDENNINGAP Business WriterMADRIDSpanish stocks rebounded Thursday while the pressure on the country’s government bonds eased, as investors reacted positively to the government’s confirmation that it will nationalize the country’s fourth largest bank. The benchmark Ibex index was up
VERENA DOBNIK and RANDY HERSCHAFTAssociated PressNEW YORKEven after decades of in-depth Holocaust research, excruciating details are only now emerging about more than 1,100 German-run ghettos in Eastern Europe where the Nazis murdered hundreds of thousands of Jews. And there were
Police found the dismembered, decapitated bodies of 15 people in two abandoned vehicles in western Mexico Wednesday in an apparent revenge killing between powerful drug gangs. Police initially counted 12 bodies dumped in the car on a road between Mexico’s
The winner of Big Hollywood’s “Camelot” Blu-ray giveaway did more than express affection for the 1967 musical. Kevin Juguilon mixed in some eloquent phrasing along with blunt details that capture the film’s appeal: The villain doesn’t do anything wrong. Mordred is
By ZARA YOUNISAssociated PressLONDONJohnny Depp’s gothic comedy “Dark Shadows” is creeping into London for its European premiere. The star joined director Tim Burton and co-stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green and Chloe Moretz on the red carpet in
Fond of saying she’s proud to be American, former presidential contender Michele Bachmann also frequently has spoken of her family’s Norwegian ancestry. Now the Republican lawmaker is touting new-found ties to Switzerland, after being granted dual citizenship, US media reported
The controversial “Trayvon Amendment” proposed by House Democrats, which would have punished states for having “Stand Your Ground” laws on their books, has been withdrawn by the Democrats. The amendment was named after Trayvon Martin, the black teenager killed by
On Saturday, the NAACP apparently held a seminar in Detroit designed to teach black youths how to deal with police officers without the situation escalating to violence or arrest. The title of the seminar was, “A Youth Survival Guide for
The folks responsible for Orlando’s tourism business might have a hard time spinning the city’s latest honor. An extensive survey conducted by Men’s Health magazine reveals Orlando as the porn capital of the country. Orlando experiences the highest combined rates
(AP) Contact lost with Russian-made plane in IndonesiaJAKARTA, IndonesiaA Russian-made plane carrying 46 people lost contact with air controllers while flying over mountains during a demonstration flight Wednesday in western Indonesia, officials said. Search and rescue teams were heading to
(AP) LOS ANGELES – Hayley Atwell of “Captain America: The First Avenger” will be starring in a new film with a somewhat familiar title. Intandem Films said Wednesday that Atwell has been cast in “10 Things I Hate About Life,”
In an interview with ABC News, President Obama has announced his support for legalizing same-sex marriage. The President summed up his reasoning for the “evolution” of his position with a summation of his personal experience with monogamous gay couples: I
