Libyan rebels bear down on Gadhafi's hometown

BIN JAWWAD, Libya – Rebel forces bore down Monday on Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, a key government stronghold where a brigade headed by one of the Libyan leader's sons was digging in to defend the city and setting the stage for a bloody and possibly decisive battle.

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Japan finds plutonium at stricken nuclear plant

TOKYO (Reuters) – Plutonium found in soil at the crippled Fukushima nuclear complex heightened alarm on Tuesday over Japan's lengthy battle to contain the world's worst atomic crisis in 25 years.

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More radioactive water spills at Japan nuke plant

TOKYO – Workers discovered new pools of radioactive water leaking from Japan's crippled nuclear complex, officials said Monday, as emergency crews struggled to pump out hundreds of tons of contaminated water and bring the plant back under control.

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Libyan rebels close in on key Gadhafi stronghold

BIN JAWWAD, Libya – Rebel forces fought their way Monday toward Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, a key government stronghold guarding the road to the capital Tripoli.

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Libya speech: What Obama will try to say

As President Obama attempts to draw a circle around the military engagement in Libya on Monday night, he is simultaneously drafting an annex to the doctrine of American power that circumscribes his own actions. Obama is going to try to tell us when he thinks that America's awesome arsenal should be put to use against bad people, and then the circumstances that don't call for the exercise of war-making.

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I-95 cameras snap speeders, spark controversy

RIDGELAND, S.C. – As Interstate 95 sweeps past this small town along South Carolina's coastal plain, motorists encounter cameras that catch speeding cars, the only such devices on the open interstate for almost 2,000 miles from Canada to Miami.

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Israel deploys rocket defense system against Gaza

BEERSHEBA, Israel – Israel deployed a cutting-edge rocket defense system on Sunday, rolling out the latest tool in its arsenal to stop a recent spike in attacks from the neighboring Gaza Strip.

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GOP appears poised to take on entitlements

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – If there's any place where tea partiers in Congress might hesitate to call for cuts in Social Security and Medicare to shrink the federal debt, Florida's retirement havens should top the list.
Even here, however, Republican lawmakers are racing toward a spending showdown with Democrats exhibiting little nervousness about deep cuts, including those that eventually would hit benefit programs long left alone by politicians.

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Medicare rise could mean no Social Security COLA Gangs of armed young men roam Syrian seaside city

LATAKIA, Syria — Gangs of young men, some armed with swords and hunting rifles, roamed Sunday through the streets of a Syrian seaside city, closing alleys with barricades and roughly questioning passersby in streets scarred by days of anti-government unrest.

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Medicare rise could mean no Social Security COLA

WASHINGTON – Millions of retired and disabled people in the United States had better brace for another year with no increase in Social Security payments.

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More obstacles impede crews in Japan nuke crisis

TOKYO – Mounting problems, including badly miscalculated radiation figures and inadequate storage tanks for huge amounts of contaminated water, stymied emergency workers Sunday as they struggled to nudge Japan's stricken nuclear complex back from the edge of disaster.

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Reese Witherspoon weds agent beau in California

LOS ANGELES – Reese Witherspoon has walked down the aisle.
A spokeswoman for the actress says the "Walk the Line" star wed her fiancé, Hollywood agent Jim Toth, in Ojai, Calif., about 90 miles north of Los Angeles. Publicist Nicole Perna did not reveal details about the Saturday ceremony.

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Messi shines, but US rally for Argentina draw

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (AFP) – Lionel Messi dazzled, and Argentina dominated, but the United States still eked out a 1-1 draw in a friendly international football match.

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Violence erupts around Syria, protesters shot

DAMASCUS, Syria – Violence erupted around Syria on Friday as troops opened fire on protesters in several cities and pro- and anti-government crowds clashed on the tense streets of the capital in the most widespread unrest in years, witnesses said.

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Archaeologists discover saber-toothed vegetarian

WASHINGTON – Surprised scientists have discovered the remains of a saber-toothed vegetarian. The leaf-crunching animal — about the size of a large dog — lived 260 million years ago in what is now Brazil, researchers report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

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18-wheeler ends up hanging off Fort Worth highway

FORT WORTH, Texas – An 18-wheeler pulling an empty water tank ended up hanging precariously off an interstate ramp in Fort Worth after a pre-dawn crash, and three people were rescued from the wreck.

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Worried Syrian regime offers promise of change

DARAA, Syria – The Syrian government pledged Thursday to consider lifting some of the Mideast's most repressive laws in an attempt to stop a week-long uprising in a southern city from spreading and threatening its nearly 50-year rule.

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What's behind our conflicted feelings on nukes?

WASHINGTON – Nuclear radiation, invisible and insidious, gives us the creeps.
Even before the Japanese nuclear crisis, Americans were bombarded with contradictory images and messages that frighten even when they try to reassure.

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FAA chief suspends dozing air traffic controller

WASHINGTON – Authorities have suspended a control tower supervisor working alone overnight who couldn't be roused to guide two airliners landing at Washington's Reagan airport, the nation's top aviation official said Thursday.

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New census milestone: Hispanics reach 50 million

WASHINGTON – Hispanics accounted for more than half of the U.S. population increase over the last decade, exceeding estimates in most states as they crossed a new census milestone: 50 million, or 1 in 6 Americans.

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Strikes raise pressure on Gadhafi, rebels alike

BENGHAZI, Libya – Fighter jets hit aircraft and a crossroads military base deep inside Libya on Thursday and NATO sailors prepared to board suspect ships, blocking new weapons and foreign fighters from resupplying Moammar Gadhafi's depleted forces by land, sea and air. France set a timeframe on the international action at days or weeks — not months.

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Nigeria to host Argentina in June friendly

LAGOS (AFP) – Nigeria will host Argentina in a friendly match on June 1 in Abuja, Nigerian officials announced on Wednesday.
The high-profile friendly will be financed by one of the team's leading sponsors, Guinness.
"We can confirm this match for June 1 in Abuja," said event organiser Devlin Hainsworth at an elaborate event in Lagos to announce the details of the match.

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Alves renews Barca contract - club

MADRID (AFP) – Barcelona's Brazilian defender Dani Alves has extended his contract with the Spanish champions until 2015, the club announced Tuesday.
"Barcelona has reached an agreement with Dani Alves to extend his contract with the club for the next three seasons, until June 30, 2015," it said in a statement on its website.

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Spain football strike could extend league season

MADRID (AFP) – The Spanish league season could be extended to mid-June from late May due to a strike called by the professional football league (LFP) for early next month, Spanish media said Wednesday.

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Zenit probe Carlos football fan banana incident

SAINT PETERSBURG (AFP) – Zenit Saint Petersburg vowed on Wednesday to punish the "unethical" football fan who reportedly showed a banana to former Brazilian fullback and current Anzhi Makhachkala star Roberto Carlos.

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Udinese dreaming of Serie A maiden title

ROME (AFP) – While Italy awaits with baited breath for the presumed 'title decider' between AC Milan and Inter Milan at the San Siro on April 2, an unfashionable little outfit continue to close in on their quest for history.

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Cancer-hit Robson in Asia football tour

HONG KONG (AFP) – Manchester United and England legend Bryan Robson will take part in a three-city Asian charity tour despite recent surgery for throat cancer, organisers said Wednesday.

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Platini vows to re-jig European calendar

PARIS (AFP) – Michel Platini pledged to re-organise the European football calendar after being re-elected unopposed for a second term as UEFA president at Paris's Grand Palais on Tuesday.
The 55-year-old Frenchman, who originally took up the role in 2007, said he wanted to shake up the football calendar to return international competition to the forefront of the global game.

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Unrepentant John Terry hits back at critics

WATFORD, United Kingdom (AFP) – John Terry has hit back at the critics who slammed his reappointment as England captain by insisting he should never have been stripped of the armband in the first place.
Terry has regained the leadership of Fabio Capello's team just over a year after the England coach deprived him of the honour following an alleged affair with the partner of team-mate Wayne Bridge and reports that he was exploiting the captaincy for financial gain.

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Federer will struggle to regain No.1 - Navratilova

LONDON (AFP) – Tennis legend Martina Navratilova believes Roger Federer will struggle to regain his world number one ranking after being supplanted by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Speaking at a press event to promote this year's Liverpool International exhibition tournament, Navratilova said while Federer still had the ability to win a Grand Slam event, it was "difficult to see" him regaining top spot.

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Defiant Kadhafi says Libya is ready for battle

TRIPOLI (AFP) – A defiant Moamer Kadhafi said Libya is "ready for battle" as Western leaders mulled their next steps on Wednesday, the fifth day of UN-backed military strikes on his oil-rich country.
"We will win this battle," footage showed Kadhafi telling supporters at his Bab Al-Aziziyah compound in Tripoli that was the target of a coalition missile strike.

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Yemen opposition calls mass protests for Friday

SANAA (Reuters) – Yemen opposition groups called on protesters to march on President Ali Abdullah Saleh's Sanaa palace on Friday to force him out, hoping to end a crisis his allies abroad fear will benefit Islamic militants.

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Obama pledges $200 million to Central America drug fight

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – President Barack Obama pledged $200 million on Tuesday to Central America's anti-drug fight on the final leg of a regional tour to bolster U.S. ties with southern neighbors who have often felt neglected by Washington.

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Syrian forces kill 6 in mosque attack: residents

DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Syrian forces killed at least six people on Wednesday in an attack on a mosque in the southern city of Deraa, site of unprecedented protests challenging President Bashar al-Assad's Baathist rule, residents said.

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Japan quake costliest ever

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan estimated the cost of the damage from its devastating earthquake and tsunami could top $300 billion as authorities in Tokyo warned that babies should not be given tap water because of radiation from a crippled nuclear plant.

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West will end up in "dustbin of history," Gaddafi says

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Western powers attacking Libya will end up in the dustbin of history, Muammar Gaddafi said as an American admiral signaled a possible new phase in the air campaign could be attacks on his advancing tanks.

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Lead BALCO investigator on witness stand

SAN FRANCISCO – Jeff Novitzky, the tall, unflappable lead investigator of the government's nine-year sports doping investigation will likely fold himself back into the witness stand for a second day as the lead witness in the Barry Bonds' criminal trial.

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Desecration, attacks at ancient Jewish cemetery

JERUSALEM – A wide patch of steep hillside overlooking Jerusalem's Old City holds row after row of graves. Biblical prophets, revered rabbis and a prime minister are buried there. Yet many of the tombstones have been smashed, litter is strewn around and tethered donkeys defecate on top of graves.
The ancient cemetery is just one point of contention in the struggle for control of Jerusalem, an explosive issue in decades of Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

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Soldier expected to plead guilty to Afghan murders

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – A 22-year-old soldier accused of carrying out a brutal plot to murder Afghan civilians faces a court-martial Wednesday in a case that involves some of the most serious criminal allegations to arise from the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

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2012 GOP hopefuls meet with popular NJ gov

TRENTON, N.J. – In office just over a year, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has become quite the hot commodity to Republican presidential hopefuls.
They all want to kiss his ring.

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Yemeni parliament gives president emergency powers

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen's parliament enacted sweeping emergency laws Wednesday after the country's embattled president asked for new powers of arrest, detention and censorship to quash a popular uprising demanding his ouster.

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Libya mission gaining, as US looks to cede control

WASHINGTON – As the air war in Libya achieves some of its early objectives, such as grounding Moammar Gadhafi's air force, the Obama administration is looking for a quick exit — at least from a front-line role in an international operation that has yet to gain the robust participation of Arab nations that Washington wanted.

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Libyan forces intensify shelling of rebels in east

AJDABIYA, Libya – Moammar Gadhafi's forces intensified the shelling of rebel positions outside a strategic eastern city Wednesday as they fought to prevent the opposition from taking advantage of the 5-day-old international air campaign to regroup in the east.

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In Central America, Obama's worries closer to home

SANTIAGO, Chile – After days of promoting the international ties that bind, President Barack Obama shifts his Latin American tour to a closer neighbor and the more sensitive U.S. policy interests of immigration, narcotics wars and gun trafficking.

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SANAA, Yemen – A top military commander and at least 18 other senior officers defected to the opposition movement demanding the ouster of Yemen's embattled president, depriving the U.S.-allied ruler of most of his power base.

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US sees few good options if Yemen government falls

WASHINGTON – For two years, the Obama administration has had a relationship of convenience with Yemen: The U.S. kept the Yemeni government armed and flush with cash. In return, Yemen's leaders helped fight al-Qaida or, as often, looked the other way while the U.S. did.
That relationship is about to get a lot less convenient.

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Haiti choosing president amid uncertainty, anger

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – One candidate is a musician with a bad-boy past. The other is a former first lady with a long political resume. Haiti's voters will choose one of them Sunday to lead a country where anger with the government runs deep and nearly a million people are living on the streets.

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Obama takes in Rio with Libya on his mind

RIO DE JANEIRO – President Barack Obama is slipping from economic pitchman to grand tourist, immersing himself in the sights and sounds of boisterous Rio de Janeiro even as he juggles the demands of U.S. military action in faraway Libya.

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Gadhafi vows 'long war' after US, allies strike

TRIPOLI, Libya – Moammar Gadhafi vowed a "long war" against the international military force that struck at his forces with airstrikes and dozens of cruise missiles that shook the Libyan capital early Sunday with the sound of explosions and anti-aircraft fire. In the capital of the rebel-held east, the Libyan leader's guns appeared to go silent.

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From rooftops, snipers kill 46 Yemeni protesters

SANAA, Yemen – A massive demonstration against Yemen's government turned into a killing field Friday as snipers methodically fired down on protesters from rooftops and police made a wall of fire with tires and gasoline, blocking a key escape route.

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