North Korea plans long-range rocket launch

BEIJING -- North Korea announced Saturday that it will send a long-range rocket into space this month, trying to make up for...

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JLo tones down concert in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Jennifer Lopez wowed thousands of fans in Indonesia, but they didn't see as much of her as concertgoers in other countries — the American pop star toned down both her sexy outfits and her dance moves during her show in the world's most populous Muslim country, promoters said Saturday.Lopez's "Dance Again World Tour" was performed in the country's capital, Jakarta, on Friday...

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Seeking a fix for California's gasoline market problems

California will always be at risk of gasoline price spikes caused by disruptions at refineries because it is a “fuel island,” stranded by time and distance from quick delivery of gasoline from outside the state. Without interstate pipelines, California relies primarily on maritime tankers for oil and gasoline imports, which cannot move fast enough to make up for a sudden drop in supply.Spikes in California...

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Small union is causing big problems for ports

The small band of strikers that has effectively shut down the nation's busiest shipping complex forced two huge cargo ships...

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MacFarlane surprises UCLA class, announces contest

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oscar host Seth MacFarlane is inviting college students to join him on stage at the Academy Awards.The "Family Guy" creator made a surprise appearance at UCLA to announce a contest sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and MTV that will allow winning college students to appear on the Feb. 24 Oscar telecast.The contest invites students to submit videos on the...

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Ranbaxy, a Generic Drug Maker, Stops Making Cholesterol Pill

Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, the largest producer of the generic version of Lipitor, has halted production of the drug until it can figure out why glass particles may have ended up in pills that were distributed to the public, the Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday. The agency said it had not received any reports of patients being harmed by the particles, which are about the...

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Stocks flat; consumer spending falls

Stocks are little changed in morning trading Friday as lawmakers...

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British judge urges new press regulator due to hacking scandal

LONDON – In a highly anticipated and lengthy report, a senior judge Thursday recommended that a new, independent regulatory...

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AP Newsbreak: New Suzanne Collins book in 2013

NEW YORK (AP) — "The Hunger Games" novelist Suzanne Collins has a new book coming out next year.The multimillion-selling children's author has completed an autobiographical picture story scheduled for Sept. 10, 2013, Scholastic Inc. announced Thursday. The 40-page book will be called "Year of the Jungle," based on the time in Vietnam served by Collins' father, a career Air Force officer."Year of the...

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Medicare Is Faulted in Electronic Medical Records Conversion

The conversion to electronic medical records — a critical piece of the Obama administration’s plan for health care reform — is “vulnerable” to fraud and abuse because of the failure of Medicare officials to develop appropriate safeguards, according to a sharply critical report to be issued Thursday by federal investigators. Mike Spencer/Wilmington Star-News, via Associated PressCeleste...

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Fast-food workers walk out in N.Y. amid rising U.S. labor unrest

New York -- A week after hundreds of Wal-Mart employees walked off their jobs to demand better wages and the freedom to form...

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Obama, Romney to meet over lunch at the White House Thursday

WASHINGTON -- President Obama and former campaign rival Mitt Romney will meet for a private lunch Thursday at the White House,...

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BBC drama 'The Hour' back to make the 1950s sexy

LONDON (AP) — The media are under fire, celebrities are under the microscope. Welcome to Britain in 2012 — or in the 1950s, the setting for the BBC drama "The Hour."A newsroom drama/political thriller about the staff of a current affairs TV program, "The Hour" gained attention last year when it debuted for its resonant story lines and distinctive retro style. The latter aspect — all mid-century modern...

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Nurses Sue Douglas Kennedy for $200,000

Yana Paskova for The New York TimesTwo nurses have accused Douglas Kennedy, a son of Robert F. Kennedy, of assault and battery, negligence and causing them emotional and physical distress after an episode involving his newborn son. Two nurses in Westchester County have filed a $200,000 lawsuit against Douglas Kennedy, a son of Robert F. Kennedy, accusing him of...

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New home sales dipped 0.3% in October

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Obama returns to campaign trail to promote middle-class tax cuts

Negotiations on the fiscal cliff continue Tuesday as neither Republicans nor Democrats...

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Fla. man sues ex-Elmo puppeteer, claims NY abuse

NEW YORK (AP) — A Florida man has sued the ex-Elmo puppeteer who resigned amid a sex scandal, saying the voice actor met him in New York after trolling gay telephone chat lines seeking underage boys for sex.The lawsuit seeking unspecified damages was filed in Manhattan federal court Tuesday by a man who remains anonymous.The man says he met Kevin Clash on a chat line when he was 16 years old in 2000...

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Imaging Shows Progressive Damage by Parkinson’s

For the first time, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology report, brain imaging has been able to show in living patients the progressive damage Parkinson’s disease causes to two small structures deep in the brain. The new technique confirms some ideas about the overall progress of the disease in the brain. But the effects of Parkinson’s vary in patients, the researchers...

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SolarCity pegs IPO at $13 to $15 a share, or up to $151 million

SolarCity Corp., a Bay Area solar energy company, is looking to raise as much as $151 million in its initial public offering,...

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SEC chief Mary Schapiro to step down

WASHINGTON -- Mary Schapiro said Monday she will step down as chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission next month.Schapiro,...

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Yes, the Government Can Still Spy on Your Digital Life (for Now)

Ahead of a controversial Senate debate on digital privacy this week, the battle over warrantless cell-phone and Internet searches is beginning to take shape — even as law-enforcement agencies continue to carry out the searches anyway. Judges across the country have thrown out cases that used tracked digital American lives without warrants, but others haven’t, reports The New York Times‘s Somini...

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Danish theater cancels Amy Winehouse play

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Amy Winehouse's father has stopped the performance in Denmark of a play about the late British singer, declining permission for the use of her music and photos in the production, officials said Monday.The play "Amy," which was to have opened on Jan. 30 in a 220-seat theater in central Copenhagen, was based on interviews, concerts, Winehouse's letters and newspaper articles....

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