More than 40 people were kidnapped and at least 30 killed Monday in the Philippines in what authorities consider to be a politically motivated massacre, according to the Los Angeles Times. The group of civilians, which included several journalists, was overcome ... (continued)
Over the last decade, Google has ballooned into the many-headed online hydra we know it to be today, and despite grumblings about monopolies and a couple of legal tussles, the company’s viselike grip has seemed assured for years to come. However, News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch might be gearing up ... (continued)
Looks like South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s extramarital activities, which were brought to light last summer after a faux Appalachian Trail excursion (by way of Argentina), aren’t going to be wiped from the record anytime soon. Sanford is now looking at 37 ethics charges, at least a few of which appear related to his affair.
The name Kennedy is just about synonymous with American Catholicism, but (at least) one of the brood is publicly feuding with the church. Patrick Kennedy, son of Ted and U.S. representative of Rhode Island, has been forbidden by his bishop to take communion since 2007.
After a tumultuous lead-up, the U.S. Senate has voted to hold full debate on a health care reform bill. The vote was 60-39, with all Republicans, except one who was absent, hitting the “no” button.
With Copenhagen just three weeks off, President Obama is said to be weighing a provisional target for cutting American greenhouse gas emissions, potentially removing a major barrier to a worldwide agreement to combat global warming.
Hamas has ordered militant groups in Gaza to stop firing rockets into Israel, which could not only avoid another bloody invasion but signal progress toward a deal to release a captured Israeli soldier.
Iran has announced it will conduct a weeklong round of air defense war games centered on the country’s nuclear sites as Western powers, especially the U.S., turn up the heat over Tehran’s nuclear program.
President Barack Obama’s on-the-job approval rating is slipping, with two polls in the past week showing that fewer than half of those surveyed are happy with the way he is conducting the business of the presidency.
Britain’s foreign secretary visited Kabul this week and had a stark warning for opponents of the NATO effort in Afghanistan: The Afghan government could fall apart within weeks of a coalition pullout, David Miliband said.
Now that he’s been cut loose from his contract at CNN, former anchor Lou Dobbs is free to do his thing unencumbered by any constraints imposed by media bosses or by archaic notions of journalistic objectivity. What, you might wonder, would “his thing” be? Well, it seems as if this self-declared champion of the middle class isn’t ruling out a run for office ... yes, even that office.
President Barack Obama has signaled an escalation in the ongoing nuclear dispute with Iran, warning that punitive measures could come soon after Tehran rejected a proposal to send its enriched uranium to Russia or France for further processing.
In a boon for the hearing-impaired as well as non-English speakers, Google has announced it will soon plug in new technology that automatically adds text captions to many videos on its YouTube site. It will allow videos to be searched through text, rather than keywords.
After the UC Board of Regents approved a 32 percent increase in fees, a collection of university students occupied Campbell Hall at UCLA. The last of those students left the building peacefully Thursday evening, suspending protests that saw dozens arrested.
Uri Avnery remembers Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat and the historic Oslo agreement that has since turned to mush. “The public memory,” Avnery warns, “is trying nowadays to obliterate” Rabin’s “inner revolution” toward peace with the Palestinians.
For the second time in a couple of weeks, Fox News has run the wrong footage to go along with a story about a crowd gathering in support of a conservative cause, apparently mistakenly creating the impression that more people showed up than was the case.
In a surprising last-minute move, Tony Blair has dropped out of the race for the European Council’s presidency, a position for which he was an early favorite.
A once-temporary ban on the death penalty is now set to be enshrined into Russian law, permanently banning the practice as Russia prepares to join the majority of the world’s countries in outlawing capital punishment.
Over four years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, a federal judge has ruled in favor of four plaintiffs from the vicinity of the city’s Ninth Ward, finding that the Army Corps of Engineers was responsible for some of the damage incurred by the storm and awarding each plaintiff over $700,000.
It has been announced that Caster Semenya, the impressive 18-year-old South African runner, will retain her world title in the 800-meter race despite a public investigation/smear campaign against the athlete regarding the authenticity of her female gender.
The city of Peshawar has become Pakistan’s most popular target for suicide bombings, with yet another deadly blast, this one on Thursday at the city courthouse, bringing the total to 10 attacks in six weeks. According to the Los Angeles Times, at least 19 were killed and 51 wounded in the latest blast.
Sounding a cautionary, and cautiously optimistic, note on the eve of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s second inauguration, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pointed to a crucial “window of opportunity” for Afghanistan as she called for Karzai and his administration to tackle the corruption issue within their government.
With the threat of a Republican-led filibuster looming large, Majority Leader Harry Reid is faced with the unenviable task of ushering the Senate’s version of the health care reform bill through his congressional chamber. On Wednesday, Reid started his woo-a-thon with an only slightly easier audience: moderate Democrats.
A Canadian couple have negotiated something called a Differentiated Homework Plan with their children’s school after learning that there is no guarantee that after-school toil does a lick of good. As a result, young Spencer and Brittany Milley of Calgary will not be judged on anything but their in-class performance. (continued)
After terminating his second stint as California’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger will be looking for a fourth act in life. The movie-star-turned-politician told reporters in Italy, “I am not going to run for anything else.” So what’s next? Environmental activist? Hummer salesman? Judge on Project Runway? (continued)
India May Hold the Whip Hand in Dubai Power Game
