North Korea vows no softening under its new leader
PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korea warned the world Friday there would be no softening of its position toward South Korea’s government after Kim Jong Il’s death as Pyongyang strengthened his son and heir’s authority with a new title: Great Leader.
BP money buys sports towels, Christmas lights, jingles
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — Sports towels and fleece blankets. A poker tournament. A $1 million Christmas display. A prom for senior citizens. BP gas card giveaways. A “most deserving mom” contest. And advertising, lots of advertising.
Two dead, 61 hurt in 40-vehicle New Orleans pileup
NEW ORLEANS — Two men died and 61 other people were injured Thursday in a pre-dawn pileup involving about 40 cars, vans and other vehicles on a busy interstate that crosses New Orleans, closing the route for hours both ways, police said.
North Koreans salute, cry for late leader Kim Jong Il
PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korea’s next leader escorted his father’s hearse in an elaborate state funeral on a bitter, snowy day Wednesday, bowing and saluting in front of tens of thousands of citizens who wailed and stamped their feet in grief for Kim Jong Il.
AP survey: Economy to pick up but still vulnerable
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy will grow faster in 2012 — if it isn’t knocked off track by upheavals in Europe, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists.
Attorney: Suspect in soldier shooting was attacked
LOS ANGELES — An attorney says the man jailed in the critical wounding of an Afghanistan war veteran at a California homecoming party was being attacked and was on the ground when the shooting took place.
Civil War’s 150th stirs a trove of memories
RICHMOND, Va. — A diary with a lifesaving bullet hole from Gettysburg. An intricate valentine crafted by a Confederate soldier for the wife he would never see again. A slave’s desperate escape to freedom.
Autism-friendly Santas a hit at malls, parties
HARTFORD, Connecticut — Visiting a shopping mall to share Christmas wishes with Santa had always been too much for 10-year-old Ben Borre, due to the autism that makes the noise, lights and crowds an unbearable torment.
New FAA rules to help end flying while sleepy
WASHINGTON — The government told passenger airlines Wednesday they’ll have to do more to ensure pilots aren’t too tired to fly, nearly three years after the deadly western New York crash of a regional airliner flown by two exhausted pilots.
Texas drought takes cow numbers down by 600,000, despite higher beef demand
LUBBOCK, Texas — The worst drought in Texas’ history has led to the largest-ever one-year decline in the leading cattle-state’s cow herd, raising the likelihood of increased beef prices as the number of animals decline and demand remains strong.
