Americans seem not to have awakened to the fast-looming debt crisis that could summon a new recession, imperil their stock market investments and shatter faith in the world’s most powerful economy. They’re divided on whether to raise the federal debt limit, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that found 41 percent opposed to the idea and 38 percent in favor.
Tornadoes, floods deliver blow to state budgets
The tornadoes and floods that pummeled much of the South and Midwest have dealt a serious blow to struggling state budgets, still reeling from the economy.
Boston gangster story is a tale of 2 brothers
Generations of Boston residents have watched the story play out of former Democratic Senate President William “Billy” Bulger and his older brother, reputed gangster James “Whitey” Bulger. At the heart of the story, at least for the younger Bulger, was a fierce loyalty to family and the shared experience of growing up in the working class Irish-American enclave of South Boston, where the line between brawling and bare-knuckled politics was easily blurred.
Obama: Surge troops to leave Afghanistan
Beginning to wind down a long and devastating war, President Barack Obama announced Wednesday night he was pulling home 33,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by next summer, withdrawing the “surge” of forces he had sent to rescue a flailing effort. “The tide of war is receding,” Obama said.
Judge refuses to dismiss charges in Somali case
Defense attorneys for Omer Abdi Mohamed, 26, accused of helping other young Somalis in Minnesota travel to their war-torn homeland to fight with a terrorist group, have a week to verify an FBI report about a suicide bomber that’s being used to support charges against their client, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Joplin school district tries to rebuild, reinvent
The twister that laid waste to much of Joplin, Mo., last month hit the school system especially hard: It killed seven students and one teacher, and destroyed three school buildings, including the only public high school. Seven other buildings were badly damaged. In the aftermath, the resurrection of Joplin High and other public schools has become a rallying point for the whole community.
FDA issues graphic cigarette labels
The warning labels illustrate negative health effects of smoking.
Bishops pressed to keep child safety plan intact
The head of the child protection committee for U.S. Roman Catholic bishops insisted Wednesday that no significant changes were needed in the church’s abuse prevention policy despite recent revelations that two dioceses allowed priests accused of misconduct to remain in jobs where they had access to young people.
Author’s trial nears end in Ariz. sweat lodge case
A self-help author killed three people by ratcheting up the heat in an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony and ignoring pleas to help those who were passed out on the dirt floor, vomiting or having trouble breathing, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday as she urged them to convict James Arthur Ray of manslaughter.
Secrets of woman with 5 dead husbands die with her
To the outside world, Betty Neumar was a diminutive Georgia grandmother who operated beauty shops, attended church and raised money for charity. But when North Carolina investigators in 2008 reopened a 25-year-old murder case, they discovered that Neumar had left behind a decades-long trail of five dead husbands in five states.
Soap opera goes socially conscious on Skid Row
Usually “The Bold and the Beautiful” revolves around a plush Beverly Hills mansion, but the soap opera’s formula took an unusual detour, trading make-believe luxury for the true-life streets of Skid Row in shows that not only portrayed stories of fictional homeless people but also told the unscripted stories of real ones.
Duncan working on ‘plan B’ for US schools
Frustrated by what he called a “slow motion train wreck” for U.S. schools, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said he will give schools relief from federal mandates under the No Child Left Behind law if Congress drags its feet on the law’s long-awaited overhaul and reauthorization.
Somalia confirms al-Qaida mastermind’s death
Somalia’s president congratulated government soldiers for killing the al-Qaida mastermind behind the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed said Sunday that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was hiding in Somalia and was responsible for violence in the Horn of Africa nation. Ahmed showed reporters documents, pictures and videos he said government troops recovered from Mohammed.
Bin Laden’s No. 2: Muslims will destroy America
Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden’s deputy, warned Wednesday that America faces not individual terrorists or groups but an international community of Muslims that seek to destroy it and its allies. He was delivering a 28-minute videotaped eulogy to slain al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Wolf killed after escaping Minnesota Zoo enclosure
An endangered Mexican gray wolf was shot and killed Wednesday after it escaped from its enclosure at the Minnesota Zoo. The wolf got out on to the zoo’s Northern Trail and ran toward the bison and prairie dog exhibits. The area was evacuated, the wolf was tracked down and then shot by trained zoo staff because it was considered a danger to people.