Economy

Obama to deliver commencement address in Joplin

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will speak at the high school graduation ceremony in Joplin, the Missouri city slowly recovering after being struck by a devastating tornado a year ago.

Obama will deliver remarks at the May 21 commencement, according a White House official, who requested anonymity in order to ...

Limbaugh says his apology to student was sincere

WASHINGTON — Radio host Rush Limbaugh said his apology to the Georgetown law student he called a "slut" was sincere, but he also joked that he, too, got a busy signal Monday when he called the show to join the growing roster of advertisers abandoning it.

The student, Sandra Fluke, ...

4-year-old New Mexico boy's body pulled from hole

CARLSBAD, N.M. — Crews pulled the body of a 4-year-old boy from a narrow, 30-foot-deep hole in Carlsbad early Monday, nearly two days after he disappeared while playing outside his home next door, state police said.

Crews reached the boy about 7 a.m. Monday and police spokesman Robert McDonald confirmed ...

EPA heightens scrutiny over Pa. gas drilling

DIMOCK, Pa. — Tugging on rubber gloves, a laboratory worker kneels before a gushing spigot behind Kim Grosso's house and positions an empty bottle under the clear, cold stream. The process is repeated dozens of times as bottles are filled, marked and packed into coolers.

After extensive testing, Grosso and ...

American Scene: Officials charge 29 in counterfeit ring

NEWARK — Federal officials in New Jersey have announced charges against 29 people in what they said is a massive international counterfeit goods operation.

New Jersey's U.S. attorney, Paul J. Fishman, said parallel international investigations resulted in arrests in New Jersey, Texas, New York and the Philippines.

Mr. Fishman said ...

Survivors learn to live without latest gadgets

HENRYVILLE, Ind. — St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church has always been a gathering point for the people of Henryville, never more so than now.

Under a roof with a patched-up 6-foot hole, dozens gathered Sunday not just to worship, but to check on neighbors and get updates on the devastation ...

Toddler found in field after tornadoes dies

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Indiana toddler found in a field after Friday's violent tornadoes has died.

Fourteen-month-old Angel Babcock of New Pekin, Ind., was found after her family's mobile home was destroyed in storms that ravaged the Midwest and South and also killed her father, mother and two siblings.

When ...

WASA pays staff bonuses amid plans for rate hike

During a series of public hearings on rate hikes, D.C. Water and Sewer Authority officials were quick to point out that they were doing everything they could to save money for customers, including enacting a pay freeze across management.

But after they received news of an unexpected surplus for fiscal ...

Obama defunds 'snowflake babies'

The federal government's only program aimed at preventing the discarding of "extra" frozen human embryos is itself in danger of being discarded.

In a move that pro-lifers are calling more evidence of the Obama administration's "pro-abortion slant," the White House has sought to defund the Embryo Adoption Awareness Campaign in ...

Sheriff's actress wife adds to trial drama

SAN FRANCISCO | Months after moving to the U.S., telenovela star Eliana Lopez blogged about her hopes and aspirations for her new, simpler life as a wife and mother, far from the bright lights of TV and movies.

The Venezuelan actress was excited about living in San Francisco - "a ...

WILLIAMS: The New American era of socialism

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

We have veered so far from the vision of our Founding Fathers that, unless the American people regain a strong commitment to the traditional American values of self-reliance, individual liberty and equality of opportunity, our democracy will inevitably lead to socialism.

In fact, it's hard to argue that we ...

Stories of survival emerge from tornado victims

EAST BERNSTADT, Ky. (AP) — The stories from tornado survivors across the South and Midwest were remarkable: Schoolchildren took cover under desks; people hunkered down in a church basement or hid out in a bank vault; one family even piled on top of one another for protection.

One of the ...

Shooting outside Ariz. club leaves 14 wounded

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Hundreds of concert-goers waiting outside an Arizona nightclub for a hip-hop show fled in panic as shooting erupted involving three gunmen, leaving at least 14 people wounded. Police arrested one suspect and were hunting two others.

"People were running in all different directions, and some people ...

Hundreds honor student killed in Ohio shooting

CHARDON, Ohio — Hundreds of people stood shoulder to shoulder along the street on a cold, windy Saturday morning to honor one of three teenagers killed in a high school shooting.

The service in Chardon for 16-year-old Daniel Parmertor is the first of the three funerals. Services for 16-year-old Demetrius ...

Storms demolish small towns in Ind., Ky.; 38 dead

WEST LIBERTY, Ky. — Across the South and Midwest, survivors emerged Saturday to find blue sky and splinters where homes once stood, cars flung into buildings and communications crippled after dozens of tornadoes chainsawed through a region of millions, leveling small towns along the way.

At least 38 people were ...

BP expects to pay $7.8B in Gulf spill suit deal

NEW YORK — BP's multibillion-dollar settlement deal with people and businesses harmed by its 2010 oil spill removes some uncertainty about the potential financial damages it faces. It also may help the company restore its all-important relationship with the federal government.

Although the company still has a few major legal ...

Storms wreck Ind. towns, kill 24 in 3 states

HENRYVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Powerful storms leveled small towns in southern Indiana, transforming entire blocks of homes into piles of debris, tossing school buses into a home and a restaurant and causing destruction so severe it was difficult to tell what was once there. As night fell, dazed residents shuffled ...

L.A. mayor: Bypass states on No Child Left Behind education waivers

California has decided against applying for a waiver from No Child Left Behind, but local officials in the Golden State still want relief from the widely maligned, decade-old law.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Friday called on the Obama administration to expand its opt-out program to the individual district ...

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