World News
Browse all articles and features filed under the News desk.
Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro found hanging in cell
Ariel Castro, the man convicted earlier this year of kidnapping three woman, holding them in his Cleveland home for nearly a decade, and repeatedly sexually assaulting them, committed suicide in his Ohio jail cell Tuesday night, according to an Ohio corrections official. A statem
Union dumps AFL-CIO for its positions on ObamaCare, immigration reform
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has cut ties with the AFL-CIO, citing in part the private-sector union’s support for ObamaCare and immigration reform. In an August 29 letter to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, leaders of the 40,000-member union said they have bec
WH confident on winning Hill support on Syria but uses 'flood the zone' to get votes
The Obama administration, bolstered by evidence the Syrian government used lethal sarin gas on its own people, expressed confidence Sunday that Congress would back President Obama’s decision for a military strike on the Middle East country. However, the president and his inner ci
UN experts pull out of Syria as Obama edges toward possible 'limited' strike
A team of U.N. chemical weapons experts investigating the possible chemical weapons strike outside Damascus left Syria and crossed into neighboring Lebanon early Saturday, hours after President Obama said the U.S. has an "obligation as a leader in the world" to hold rogue regimes
Motorola phone made in US isn't more expensive to make, iSuppli says
Motorola's new Moto X phone doesn't cost more to make simply because it's assembled in Texas, research firm IHS said Wednesday. The Moto X is the first smartphone to carry the "Made in the U.S.A." designation. Labor costs are higher in the U.S. compared with Asian factories, wher
Fast-food workers strike nationwide in protest against wages
Hundreds of protesters across the US marched Thursday to demand higher wages for fast-food workers, forcing the closure of one McDonald's in Detroit after its employees walked out. The protests are underway in cities including New York, Boston and Chicago, and organizers are expe
AFL-CIO president says ObamaCare needs changes
ObamaCare still needs changes since it contains “inadvertent holes,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told reporters Thursday. "When the act was put together, it wasn't thought completely through,” he said. Several unions have expressed outrage in recent weeks over how the law wo
Assad's brother eyed in Syria chemical weapons strike, as UN experts tour site of attack
U.N. experts headed to the eastern suburbs of Damascus Thursday for a third day of inspections of areas struck by a purported chemical weapons attack, which one official suspects may have been ordered by Syrian President Bashar Assad's brother. A U.N. official who monitors armed
Russian police seize painting of Putin, Medvedev in women's underwear
Russian police raided an art gallery late Monday to seize a painting that depicted President Vladimir Putin and former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in women’s underwear. Authorities said the satirical piece in the “Museum of Power” gallery in St. Petersburg, which has Putin in
Fast-moving grass fire threatens homes in California, as crews continue to battle Yosemite blaze
A fast-moving wildfire has burned at least two homes and is threatening dozens more in a crowded Northern California neighborhood, as officials elsewhere in the state hope cooler temperatures will help in the fight against a blaze near Yosemite National Park. A fire department di
More dinosaur fossils found in NE Wyoming mass grave
Paleontologists in Wyoming have unearthed 250 bones from a mass grave, potentially revealing the most complete triceratops skeleton ever.
Syria warns against foreign involvement in conflict; Hagel says US prepared for 'all contingencies'
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has said that President Obama has asked the military to "prepare options for all contingencies" as the crisis in Syria deepens following reports of a chemical weapons attack by that country's government earlier this week. Speaking in Malaysia S
Hundreds of private lobbyists earning public pensions in 20 states
As a lobbyist in New York's statehouse, Stephen Acquario is doing pretty well. He pulls down $204,000 a year, more than the governor makes, gets a Ford Explorer as his company car and is afforded another special perk: Even though he's not a government employee, he is entitled to
20-year-old charged after allegedly firing assault rifle at Georgia elementary school
A 20-year-old man faces criminal charges after allegedly firing shots from an assault rifle Tuesday at an Atlanta-area elementary school. No one was injured in the shooting and all students and teachers were accounted for and safe. The suspect, later identified as Michael Brandon
First fossil whale poop pops up in Italy
Clumps of squid beaks sticking out of clay in Italy's Umbrian badlands may be the first fossilized ambergris, or whale poo, ever found. Ambergris is a fatty, waxy-looking substance. Scientists believe sperm whales the largest toothed predator on Earth secrete ambergris inside the
Spending a penny could cost $16 in Chinese city
BEIJING (AFP) - People with a poor aim are to be fined if they miss their mark when using public toilets in a Chinese city, officials said -- provoking online derision over how the rule will be enforced. The penalty will apply to those who urinate outside the bowl of facilities i
Gassy dinosaurs helped warm Earth!
Potty humor just got prehistoric. A new study suggests that dinosaurs may have helped keep an already overheated world warmer with their flatulence and burps 200 million years ago. The research published Monday in Current Biology suggests that large dinosaurs made a significant c
World tour on solar-powered boat
Scanning the horizon on his solar-powered catamaran, Swiss electrical engineer Raphael Domjan counts down the hours to the completion of his record-breaking world tour. "The idea was not to perform a feat but an eco-adventure with the aim of passing on the message that change is
3 killed, 5 missing in Indonesian floods
Three people were killed and five missing Wednesday after floods carrying volcanic debris swept through a town in eastern Indonesia, a government official said. "Following heavy rains during the night, volcanic floods hit early morning at 2:00 am (1700 GMT)," national disaster mi
China overturns tycoon's death sentence
China's high court overturned the death sentence on a former tycoon Friday, in a case that caused an uproar over the nation's use of capital punishment for economic crimes. The State Supreme Court ordered the high court in eastern China's Zhejiang province to retry the case of Wu