(AP) California high-speed rail gets green lightBy JUDY LINAssociated PressSACRAMENTO, Calif.California lawmakers gave the green light to start building the nation’s first dedicated high-speed rail line, a multibillion dollar project that will eventually link Los Angeles and San Francisco. The
(AP) California OKs funding for high-speed rail lineBy JUDY LINAssociated PressSACRAMENTO, Calif.California lawmakers approved billions of dollars Friday in construction financing for the initial segment of the nation’s first dedicated high-speed rail line connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco. The
(AP) GOP teachers balk at Obama-centric NEA conventionBy JOSH LEDERMANAssociated PressWASHINGTONIt had all the trappings of a re-election rally: thousands packing a convention center, Barack Obama T-shirts, videos celebrating the health care law, and a wall-size banner with encouraging messages
In a nation where 87,897,000 are no longer in the labor force, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday that just 80,000 jobs were added in June, a figure that fell short of the already low estimate of 100,000
By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABERAP Economics WriterWASHINGTONU.S. employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, a third straight month of weak hiring that shows the economy is struggling three years after the recession ended. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment
If Republicans in Iowa win control of the legislature in the November elections by winning two more state Senate seats, they can put a referendum on the ballot that could end gay marriage in the state. According to an Associated
By TERRY COLLINSAssociated PressSAN JOSE, Calif.A jury acquitted a man Thursday of assaulting a priest he says molested him more than three decades ago during a camping trip and left him with tormented memories that led to alcohol abuse, depression
By FABIOLA SANCHEZAssociated PressCARACAS, VenezuelaPresident Hugo Chavez said Thursday that he ordered his country’s military attaches to leave the Venezuelan Embassy in Paraguay, citing threats against diplomats amid growing tensions between the two governments. Chavez said during a speech that
(AP) WikiLeaks has data from 2.4 million Syrian emailsBy RAPHAEL SATTERAssociated PressLONDONThe secret-spilling group WikiLeaks said Thursday it was in the process of publishing material from 2.4 million Syrian emails _ many of which it said came from official government
(AP) Lack of power puts damper on July 4th celebrationsBy JESSICA GRESKOAssociated PressWASHINGTONHundreds of thousands from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic were preparing to spend the Fourth of July like America’s founders did in 1776, without the conveniences of electricity
(AP) Physicists find evidence of new subatomic particleBy JOHN HEILPRINAssociated PressGENEVAThe head of the world’s biggest atom smasher says they have discovered a new particle that is consistent with the long-sought Higgs boson known popularly as the “God particle,” which
(AP) A few ways to enjoy and celebrate Andy GriffithBy FRAZIER MOOREAP Television WriterNEW YORKThrough his decades-long career, Andy Griffith was beloved, yet somehow taken for granted. He early on gained immortality as Sheriff Andy Taylor. But his skill at
(AP) Mexico’s former ruling party voted back to officeBy MARK STEVENSON and KATHERINE CORCORANAssociated PressMEXICO CITYThe party that ruled Mexico with an iron grip for most of the last century has sailed back into power, promising a government that will
(AP) Anderson Cooper: ‘The fact is, I’m gay’By The Associated PressNEW YORKAnderson Cooper, who has been reluctant to talk about his personal life in public, revealed that he is gay in an essay posted online on Monday. The CNN journalist
(AP) Israel’s leaders write to new Egyptian presidentBy BLAKE SOBCZAKAssociated PressJERUSALEMIsrael’s president and prime minister have sent separate letters to Egypt’s new Islamist president, congratulating him on his election victory and calling for continued peace between the neighboring countries, Israeli
(AP) Iran: We will ‘confront’ new EU oil sanctionsBy NASSER KARIMIAssociated PressTEHRAN, IranIran has stored up imported goods and hard currency for a “battle” against EU sanctions targeting the country’s vital oil sector that went into effect Sunday, officials said.
(AP) Bombs kill 4 in Iraq as violence grinds onBy BUSHRA JUHIAssociated PressBAGHDADBombers killed four people in two Iraqi cities, officials said Sunday, as al-Qaida’s affiliate ramped up attacks six months after the last American troops withdrew. Three coordinated bomb
Associated Press reporter Jessica Gresko reports that Justice Anthony Kennedy appeared visibly angry during the reading of the Obamacare decision today.
Associated Press reporter Jessica Gresko reports the Supreme Court’s audience appeared to sigh with relief after Chief Justice John Roberts read the court’s opinion to uphold President Barack Obama’s historic health care overhaul. (June 28)
By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEINAssociated PressMEXICO CITYFour days before Mexico’s presidential election, much of the nation’s attention is focused on a man who appears certain to lose. That man is Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the fiery, feisty leftist who shut down the
CIARAN GILESAssociated PressMADRIDThe eurozone group of nations insisted Wednesday that the rescue loans for Spain’s troubled banks would be channeled through the national government, adding to its sovereign debt. Madrid had petitioned to have it paid directly to the banks
By ELENA BECATOROSAssociated PressATHENS, GreeceAssailants attacked Microsoft’s office in Athens on Wednesday, driving a van through the front door and setting off an incendiary device that burned the building’s entrance, police said. There were no injuries in the pre-dawn attack
(AP) Stockton official: Mediation with creditors failsBy GOSIA WOZNIACKAAssociated PressSTOCKTON, Calif.In opting to become the nation’s largest city to seek federal bankruptcy protection, this river port of 290,000 took a rare financial step of last resort after struggling with the
By KEVIN FREKING and PAUL FOYAssociated PressSALT LAKE CITYSen. Orrin Hatch won the GOP primary in Utah on Tuesday, handily turning back a challenge from tea party forces hoping to jolt the Republican Party again by defeating an incumbent who
By MIKE BAKERAssociated PressOLYMPIA, Wash.President Barack Obama’s campaign has recruited a legion of lawyers to be on standby for this year’s election as legal disputes surrounding the voting process escalate. Thousands of attorneys and support staffers have agreed to aid
Officials in Stockton, California had until 11:59 p.m. on Monday to reach a deal to restructure the city’s debt to avoid bankruptcy under a new California mediation law. That deadline has passed and, according to the Associated Press, a Stockton spokesperson
By MEG KINNARDAssociated PressCOLUMBIA, S.C.Rielle Hunter says she and former presidential candidate John Edwards have ended their relationship. Hunter told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday that she and Edwards were still a couple until late last week, as details
By ARMANDO MONTANOAssociated PressMEXICO CITYTwo federal police officers suspected of working for drug traffickers opened fire on fellow officers in a crowded food court at Mexico City’s international airport on Monday, killing three policemen as panicked witnesses dove for cover.
(AP) MOSCOWHackers have broken into a prominent Russian opposition leader’s Twitter and email accounts, replacing his image with an iconic Russian musketeer movie character, and sending his followers abusive messages. Alexei Navalny’s spokeswoman, Anna Veduta, told The Associated Press on Tuesday
By HARUNA UMAR and BASHIR ADIGUNAssociated PressMAIDUGURI, NigeriaA top radical Islamist sect member blamed for a deadly Christmas Day church bombing in Nigeria has been killed by security forces, says the sect, which demonstrated in a prison break Sunday that
By BASSEM MROUE and SUZAN FRASERAssociated PressBEIRUTA Syrian general was among the latest defectors from the Syrian military, officials said Monday, after dozens of Syrian soldiers fled overnight to Turkey, crossing the border with their families. The general defected in
(AP) Poll: 1-in-4 uncommitted now in White House raceBy LAURIE KELLMAN and JENNIFER AGIESTAAssociated PressWASHINGTONThey shrug at President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. They’re in no hurry to decide which one to support in the White House race.
By LAURIE KELLMAN and JENNIFER AGIESTAAssociated PressWASHINGTONThey shrug at President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. They’re in no hurry to decide which one to support in the White House race. And they’ll have a big say in determining
By PETER ORSIAssociated PressASUNCION, ParaguayFernando Lugo emerged early Sunday to denounce his ouster as Paraguay’s president as a “parliamentary coup” and a “foreordained sentence” that was not based on proper evidence. Lugo said his truncated presidency was targeted because he
By MAGGIE MICHAEL and SARAH EL DEEBAssociated PressCAIROIslamist Mohammed Morsi was declared the winner Sunday in Egypt’s first free presidential election in history, closing the tumultuous first phase of a democratic transition and opening a new struggle with the still-dominant
(AP) Syrian civilians hit hard by spreading violenceBy BEN HUBBARDAssociated PressKHAN SHEIKHOUN, SyriaHer daughter, 8, often hides in a closet, terrified of flying bullets. Her son, 6, still asks for his father months after he turned up in a morgue.
(AP) Ecuador’s envoy heads to Quito for Assange talksDAVID STRINGERAssociated PressLONDONEcuador’s embassy in London said Saturday that ambassador Anna Alban was traveling to her country’s capital to brief President Rafael Correa on the bizarre request for political asylum made by
(AP) Greek outlines issues it wants renegotiatedBy ELENA BECATOROSAssociated PressATHENS, GreeceGreece’s new coalition government said Saturday it will seek to repeal some taxes, halt layoffs and extend by two years the deadlines for tough austerity measures imposed under its international
By MARK SCOLFORO and GENARO C. ARMASAssociated PressBELLEFONTE, Pa.Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky has been convicted of 45 counts at his child sex abuse trial. Jurors announced the verdict Friday night after weighing 48 charges accusing him
By SARAH EL DEEB and MAGGIE MICHAELAssociated PressCAIROEgypt’s military and the Muslim Brotherhood traded blame for rising tensions Friday as the country awaited the outcome of a presidential runoff vote that pits an Islamist against ousted leader Hosni Mubarak’s former
