NKorean soldier defects to SKorea across border

A North Korean soldier killed two of his superiors Saturday and defected to South Korea across the countries' heavily armed border in a rare crossing that prompted South Korean troops to immediately beef up their border patrol, officials said. The soldier shot his platoon and squad leaders before crossing the western side of the Demilitarized Zone at around noon, a Defense Ministry official said, citing the soldier's statement after he was taken into custody by South Korean border guards. The official, who declined to be named because questioning by authorities was ongoing, had earlier said one of the killed North Korean troops was a company...

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Steroid-related meningitis cases rise to 47

As the tally from a deadly meningitis outbreak rose Friday, health officials identified the medical clinics across the country that received steroid shots for back pain now linked to the illnesses. Authorities took the step to help identify everyone who may have gotten sick — or may still get sick — in the outbreak. "All patients who may have received these medications need to be tracked down immediately," said Dr. Benjamin Park of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It is possible that if patients with infection are identified soon and put on appropriate antifungal therapy, lives may be saved," he said in a statement. The CDC...

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1 dead, 10 arrested in anti-terror sweep in France

Police carried out raids across France on Saturday after DNA on a grenade that exploded at a kosher grocery story led them to a suspected jihadist cell of young Frenchmen recently converted to Islam. The man whose DNA was identified, named by police as Jeremy Sydney, was killed by police after he opened fire on them, wounding three officers in the eastern city of Strasbourg. Their injuries weren't believed to be serious. Ten other people, aged between 19 and 25, were arrested across the country. One man was carrying a loaded gun. Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said all the arrested suspects were French. Four of the men involved...

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Turkey and Syria trade artillery fire for 4th day

Turkish and Syria traded artillery fire for the fourth day in a row Saturday as rebels clashed with President Bashar Assad's forces near the border, heightening fears that the crisis could erupt into a regional conflict. Also Saturday, Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij vowed to crush the rebellion and bring the violence that has engulfed the country to an end. The diplomatic crisis began on Wednesday, when a Syrian shell killed five civilians in a Turkish border town and triggered unprecedented artillery strikes by Turkey. Ankara has deployed more troops to its southern border with Syria, and has responded to each shell that...

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Bus from Canada overturns on NJ exit ramp; 12 hurt

A tour bus from Canada carrying about 60 people bound for a New York City church event overturned on a highway exit ramp in northern New Jersey, slid down an embankment and landed on its side early Saturday, injuring about a dozen who were aboard, authorities said. Some windows burst during the crash and their frames pinned three people, but they were quickly freed and taken to hospitals with the other victims. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening, according to state police, and most of the victims were being treated for cuts, bruises and soreness. The driver told authorities he had a gash in his arm. Passengers...

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"Critical mass" key to affirmative action case

Walking across the South Mall, or scanning the football stadium's 100,000 seats on game day, University of Texas admissions director Kedra Ishop sees how much has changed since the 1990s, when she was a black student at what was an inordinately white school. This giant flagship campus — once so slow to integrate — is now awash in color, among the most diverse in the country if not the world. The student body, like Texas, is majority-minority. At the dining hall, minority students no longer cluster together. Actually, it's more a high-end food court now, and many tables are racial mosaics — white, black, Hispanic, Asian. So is this the "critical...

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Pope's butler convicted in leaks, given 18 months

The pope's butler was convicted Saturday of stealing the pontiff's private documents and leaking them to a journalist in the gravest Vatican security breach in recent memory. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but the Vatican said a papal pardon was likely. Judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre read the verdict aloud two hours after the three-judge Vatican panel began deliberating Paolo Gabriele's fate. Gabriele stood impassively as it was read out in the tiny wood-paneled tribunal tucked behind St. Peter's Basilica. The sentence was reduced in half to 18 months from three years because of a series of mitigating circumstances, including that...

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5 terrorism suspects extradited from UK to US

An ailing extremist Egyptian-born preacher and four other terrorism suspects arrived in the United States from England early Saturday under tight security to face trial, and two appeared within hours in a Connecticut court. The preacher, Abu Hamza al-Masri, was taken to a lockup next to the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan to face charges that he conspired with Seattle men to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon and that he helped abduct 16 hostages, two of them American tourists, in Yemen in 1998. Just hours after their arrival in America, Syed Talha Ahsan, 33, and Babar Ahmad, 38, pleaded not guilty in federal court in New...

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Obama raises $181 million in September

President Barack Obama and the Democrats raised $181 million in September — their largest monthly haul since he launched his reelection bid, his campaign announced Saturday. "Some amazing news this morning: 1,825,813 people came together to raise $181 million for this campaign in September," the campaign said on Twitter. "If you gave $5, it helped. 98% of September's contributions were $250 or less, with an average contribution of $53," it said. The figures combine the Obama campaign's fund raising with Democratic National Committee efforts. The amount fell short of the Obama and DNC's single-month record, set in September 08, of $193 million....

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In the debate spin room, Team Romney takes a victory lap

Even before Mitt Romney concluded his final statement at Wednesday's debate, his senior staff and top surrogates began streaming into the spin room, all with big smiles on their faces. Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior Romney adviser who has worked for the Republican nominee longer than almost anyone on his staff, could barely get his talking points out fast enough. "If this debate had been a boxing match, it would have been called in the first hour," Fehrnstrom gleefully told reporters. "I would imagine the heels on the president's shoes are worn down after having leaned back on them for 90 minutes." They were lines Fehrnstrom would use...

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Turkey strikes back at Syria, says will protect borders

Turkish artillery hit targets near Syria's Tel Abyad border town for a second day on Thursday, killing several Syrian soldiers according to activists and security sources, after a mortar bomb fired from the area killed five Turkish civilians. Turkey's government said "aggressive action" against its territory by Syria's military had become a serious threat to its national security and sought parliamentary approval for the deployment of Turkish troops beyond its borders. "Turkey has no interest in a war with Syria. But Turkey is capable of protecting its borders and will retaliate when necessary," Ibrahim Kalin,...

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How Big Bird won the first presidential debate of 2012

To the list of "unlikely subjects of political discussion, 2012," please add one beloved "Sesame Street" character. The 8'2" bird entered the conversation at Monday's first presidential debate in Denver, Colorado, when Republican candidate Mitt Romney answered a question about what he would cut from federal spending. He included the federal subsidy to PBS, which broadcasts "Sesame Street." "I love Big Bird," Romney added as a caveat, addressing moderator Jim Lehrer. "I actually like you, too." Lehrer is the former anchor of PBS's NewsHour. The moment immediately went viral. Twitter reported that mentions of "Big Bird" hit a peak...

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Romney goes on offense against subdued Obama in first debate

President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney squared off in their first face-to-face presidential debate Wednesday, battling for more than an hour over the future of the economy, the federal budget, tax cuts, education, health care and even the future of Big Bird. Faced with several recent polls showing Romney falling behind, the GOP candidate may have bought himself some added time after Wednesday's debate, where he appeared on the offensive against Obama. Romney's answers to questions from the moderator, Jim Lehrer of PBS Newshour, who played a subdued role over the course of the evening, were crisp and appeared well-rehearsed....

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Labidou: Strange timing for New York Red Bulls to replace Erik Soler as GM

Shock waves spread across Major League Soccer on Tuesday evening when the New York Red Bulls announced their decision to replace Erik Soler as general manager. The consensus reaction: Why now?After all, the Red Bulls currently sit five points away from Eastern Conference leader Sporting Kansas City and still have a reasonable chance of finishing at the summit with three games remaining. While Soler has definitely made some questionable moves in the past (Rafa Marquez, the decision to trade for and then trade away Dewayne De Rosario during a three month period), his decisions this year were primarily solid. After two years of having a...

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Yaya Toure: We must beat Dortmund

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has declared that Wednesday night's tie against Borussia Dortmund is a "massive” must-win game for the club after losing its opening Champions League group game 3-2 to Real Madrid. The energetic Ivorian revealed that last year's campaign - in which the Premier League champion failed to qualify from the group stages - was a "disaster" for the club. Despite disappointment in the opening game this year, the 29-year-old former Barcelona player believes his side can follow in the footsteps of rivals Manchester United and Chelsea and win the European crown this season. "Hopefully it is going to be a...

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Suarez pledges to help Liverpool youngsters

Luis Suarez has backed Liverpool's youngsters to continue their rapid improvement and vowed to offer any assistance that they require.The Uruguayan has been impressed by the likes of Raheem Sterling and Suso, among others, and understands that his role as a senior player is to support them."We've got a lot of quality youngsters here, such as Raheem; Suso showed what he could do the other day," Suarez told the club’s official website. "[Adam] Morgan has to keep taking his chance to feature more and more and [Jerome] Sinclair made his debut."But the Liverpool striker has urged the younger members of the Merseyside club not to rest on their...

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Brazil comedy mocks ‘own goal' over World Cup preparation

A Brazilian theatre company is touring the country with a new comedy playing on the public's growing fears that hosting the 2014 World Cup will be a disaster with unfinished stadiums and overwhelmed airports. "The Cup is Ours" by Brasilia slapstick comedians "De 4 e melhor", portrays a chaotic tournament which starts late while finishing touches are put on stadiums and an opening ceremony botched by corrupt officials who have stolen the cash to pay for it. "We are making these criticisms because it's obvious that there are a lot of things to deal with urgently. But if this Cup is to be a success, it will...

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UPDATE 2-Soccer-Barcelona sink Benfica but Puyol injury mars win

* Alexis Sanchez and Fabregas secure 2-0 win in Lisbon * Puyol to miss Sunday's 'Clasico' after dislocating elbow * Barcelona's Busquets shown late red card (adds quotes) Barcelona's Lionel Messi set up goals for Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas in their 2-0 Champions League Group G victory over Benfica on Tuesday but the success was marred when captain Carles Puyol suffered a dislocated elbow. Sanchez fired Barca ahead early on and Fabregas added a second 10 minutes into the second half but the damage to Puyol means he will miss the La Liga 'Clasico' against Real Madrid at the Nou Camp on Sunday. ...

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Robin Van Persie has found a home in Man U

If his national team coach is to be believed, Robin Van Persie moved from Arsenal to Manchester United because he wanted people to be mean to him. If that indeed was the Dutchman's true motivation behind a switch that cost United a transfer fee of $38 million, he is going the wrong way about it. In Champions League play Tuesday, Van Persie scored both goals as United survived a tricky away clash to beat Romanian champions CFR Cluj, a result that set the club on course to a likely spot in the knockout stage, even after only two of six group games. While some have speculated on where Van Persie's mind was at when he chose to leave...

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Your Finger Swipe Could Become Your Password

To log into the new iPad app she made, computer science student Napa Sae-Bae held her hand open, touched her fingertips to the tablet's surface, then drew her fingers together until they met in the center. Her app analyzed the way she performed the gesture — the speed of her swipe, the angles between each fingertip — to decide whether to let her in. A moment later, a yellow smiley face popped up, indicating that she could access the app. She then offered the iPad to me. On-screen, the app showed green tracks so I could drag my fingers along the same lines Sae-Bae did. Our hands are similar in size, so her hand-spread matched mine....

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Photos of youngest Aurora shooting victim stolen in burglary of grandfather’s home

The home of the grandfather of Veronica Moser-Sullivan—the youngest Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting victim—was burglarized on Tuesday, Denver police say. Among the items stolen were four cameras, including a digital camera with a memory card that the grandfather says had some of the last photos ever taken of the 6-year-old, who was among 12 people slain during the July 20 shooting. "The pictures hold special significance," Robert Sullivan, Veronica's grandfather, told the Denver Post. "She was a beautiful, special little 6-year-old girl, so angelic, and just a terrible loss." One of them, taken in May and later published in...

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Akin in 2008: ‘Terrorist’ doctors give ‘abortions to women who are not actually pregnant’

who sparked a firestorm of criticism with his comments about "legitimate rape" in August--gave a speech on the House floor in 2008 in which he called those who perform abortions "terrorists" and claimed some do so on "women who are not actually pregnant." "It is no big surprise that we fight the terrorists because they are fundamentally un-American, and yet we have terrorists in our own culture called abortionists," Akin said in the Jan. 22, 2008 speech. "One of the good pieces of news why we are winning this war is because there are not enough heartless doctors being graduated from medical schools. There is a real shortage of abortionists. "Who...

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Italian man protests on St. Peter's dome

An Italian man has eluded Vatican security and scaled the 130-meter-high (142-feet-high) dome of St. Peter's Basilica to protest Italian government and European Union policies. Officials said Wednesday that the man, who identified himself as the owner of a beach resort, refused appeals from government ministers offering to meet with him if he would come down. He scaled the dome on Tuesday night. He put up a banner saying "Help! Enough Monti!" referring to Italian Premier Mario Monti, who has been implementing tough austerity measures and economic reforms to bring down Italy's debt and deficit and spur growt...

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The un-defining debate moments: Overlooked instances that deserve notice

Richard Nixon had bad makeup; Gerald Ford prematurely liberated Poland from Soviet domination; Ronald Reagan said “there you go again” and asked if you were better off than you were four years ago; then four years later, he promised not to use Walter Mondale’s “youth and inexperience against him”; Michael Dukakis was insufficiently upset about his wife’s hypothetical rape and murder; Dan Quayle equated himself with John F. Kennedy and was then KO’ed when Senator Lloyd Bentson told him he was “no Jack Kennedy”; George H. W. Bush looked at his watch; Al Gore sighed.The obsessive hunt for such moments explains why countless thousands of...

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