William, Kate take off to Canada, US for first tour

Prince William and Kate arrive in Canada on Thursday for their first official overseas trip since their wedding, in a visit that is expected to draw record-numbers of star-struck crowds and well-wishers hoping to catch a glimpse of the royal couple. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will celebrate Canada Day in Ottawa, open the Calgary Stampede and go canoeing in the Northwest Territories during their nine day-tour of their future realm before taking off to Los Angeles. "The response we've gotten...

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Pakistan kicks U.S. off air base

ISLAMABAD - The U.S. faces the challenge of quickly establishing alternative facilities from which to launch drone aircraft inside Afghanistan after Pakistan ordered U.S. personnel and hardware out of a base believed to have been used in the past for CIA drones, two senior Western defense officials tell CBS News. Concern mounted Wednesday over the future of Pakistan's clandestine support for Washington's use of drones after the country's defense minister announced Pakistan had told the U.S. to...

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USA, Mexico meet for third straight Gold Cup final

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Mexico and the United States meet in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament on Saturday for the third consecutive time. Mexico and the US have won nine of the 10 Gold Cups contested since the biennial tournament took its current form in 1991. Mexico dominated the United States 5-0 in 2009 and the Americans beat El Tri 2-1 two years earlier. The two sides meet again Saturday in a sold out contest at the Rose Bowl stadium near downtown Los Angeles. Aldo de Nigris and Javier...

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NY becomes largest state to approve gay marriage

New York lawmakers narrowly voted to legalize same-sex marriage Friday, handing activists a breakthrough victory in the state where the gay rights movement was born. New York will become the sixth state where gay couples can wed and the biggest by far. "We are leaders and we join other proud states that recognize our families and the battle will now go on in other states," said Sen. Thomas Duane, a Democrat. Gay rights advocates are hoping the vote will galvanize the movement around the country...

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Osama bin Laden wanted to rebrand al-Qaeda

Osama bin Laden was thinking of renaming al-Qaeda, a letter discovered by US troops reveals. It was found in the house in Pakistan where he was killed and shows he thought his terror network’s name should have a more religious meaning. He wanted to convince Muslims worldwide they were in a holy war with America and was worried the full name al-Qaeda al-Jihad, meaning The Base of Holy War, had become shortened. Losing the word jihad let the West “claim deceptively they are not at war with Islam,”...

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

The Imperial County Film Commission would like to invite Valley residents to a party at “The Movies” in Imperial, for the world premiere of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2’ on Friday, July 15th. This is going to be a magical celebration of the last Harry Potter movie, ever! The celebration and cocktails start at 5:30PM and the movie premieres at 7PM. Tickets for the event are $20 and include admission to the movie, a free movie themed drink, access to the Harry Potter gift shop and...

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With Afghan withdrawal, US focus turns to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD – As the U.S. looks ahead to its phased withdrawal from Afghanistan, even more attention is being directed toward Pakistan, where Obama administration officials say al-Qaida and its allies are still plotting attacks against the West. They argue that threat has been effectively neutralized in Afghanistan, a key justification for President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that the U.S. will withdraw 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by next summer. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001...

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Weight loss surgery may cure diabetes in many cases

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Most obese people with diabetes will be cured of the blood sugar disease after undergoing weight loss surgery, a new review of earlier studies suggests. In a report published in the Archives of Surgery, researchers say eight out of ten patients could stop taking their diabetes medications following a gastric bypass operation. "Surgery ought to be considered front line therapy for diabetes among obese people," said Dr. Jon Gould, who heads the weight loss surgery program...

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Lindsay Lohan Due In Court For Probation Violation

Actress reportedly tested positive for alcohol and faces possible jail timeJust weeks from completing her home detention sentence, troubled actress Lindsay Lohan is due in a Los Angeles court on Thursday (June 23) after allegedly violating her probation by testing positive for alcohol. According to TMZ, the 24-year-old actress tested positive for alcohol earlier this month and could be facing additional jail time if the probation department has its way. The gossip site reported that Lohan was tested...

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Students Win NASA Moon Robot Competition

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ― Call it the circle of robotic life. A week after NASA announced the death of the Mars rover Spirit, students from 46 teams around the globe demonstrated their ideas of a replacement robot. After a grueling five-day test of material-collecting ability, the team from Laurentian University returned home to Sudbury, Canada, with the win in NASA’s second annual Lunabotics competition. The Laurentian robot collected 523.8 pounds (237.6 kilograms) of the dusty material that stood...

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Tiny teen wins Guinness shortest title

SINDANGAN, PHILIPPINES He may be the shortest man on earth, but Junrey I. Balawing has become a giant in the eyes of his countrymen. The son of a poor blacksmith and a homemaker in rural Zamboanga del Norte province on the southern island of Mindanao, 18-year-old Junrey, who is a mere 23½ inches tall and weighs only 12 pounds, was recognized Sunday as the world’s shortest man. “I’m pleased to announce that we have a new world record holder,” Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records,...

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Deadly suicide attack hits Pakistani capital

Pakistan: Bomber blew himself up in an Islamabad bank on Monday, killing a security guard in the first suicide attack in the Pakistani capital for nearly two years. The attack comes with Pakistan on edge weeks after US Navy SEALs found and killed Osama bin Laden in the garrison city of Abbottabad, two hours' drive from Islamabad, in a case that humiliated the seemingly all-powerful military. Police said the bomber tried to enter a branch of the Silk Bank in the capital's I-8 sector, but detonated...

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Obama says sorry to Karzai for civilian deaths

WASHINGTON:  US President Barack Obama on Wednesday expressed his “sorrow” in a video-conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai over recent civilian casualties in Afghanistan, his spokesman said. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama spoke to Karzai for an hour and discussed a number of topics, including the implications of the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a US special forces raid in May. “The president expressed his sorrow over tragic civilian casualties, most recently...

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Working with Pakistan key in al Qaeda fight: CIA boss

WASHINGTON: Cooperating with Pakistan in the fight against terrorism is essential to maintain pressure on al Qaeda after Osama bin Laden’s death, CIA chief Leon Panetta said ahead of a US Senate hearing Thursday. “Continuing cooperation with Pakistan is critical to keep a tremendous amount of pressure on al Qaeda’s leadership and the networks that provide it support and safe haven at a time when it is most vulnerable,” Panetta said in written responses to US lawmakers. But he warned that Pakistan,...

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India tests nuclear-capable missile

BHUBANESWAR: India tested a short-range nuclear-capable missile along its eastern coast on Thursday, an official said, as part of the country’s efforts to build up its atomic deterrent. The surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile was fired from a range in the eastern state of Orissa and hit its target in the Bay of Bengal successfully, the defence ministry official said. The Prithvi, which is domestically built and developed, can carry nuclear or conventional payloads and has already been inducted...

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Al-Qaida deputy: U.S. will regret killing Bin Laden

In a 30-minute video released Wednesday, Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahiri says Arab revolts are united in their struggle against the U.S. The United States will regret its killing of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri said in a video that surfaced on the internet Wednesday. In his first statement since bin Laden was killed on May 2, al-Zawahiri said, "Now you rejoice over the martyrdom of Sheikh Osama bin Laden, the holy warrior, but also you will regret it." In the nearly 30-minute...

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Heavy rains and floods in Haiti leave 13 dead

Heavy rain hit southern Haiti for a seventh consecutive day yesterday, triggering floods and mudslides and causing houses and shanties to collapse. The official death toll stands at 13 but is likely to rise. Runoff from the rain sent rivers surging and flooded many homes. The storm felled trees across the country and debris has blocked streets throughout the capital. In Petionville, a hillside neighbourhood south of Port-au-Prince, a concrete house slid down a ravine and crashed into several smaller...

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Japan may have no nuclear reactors running by next April

Since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which triggered a radiation crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant north of Tokyo, concern among local authorities has kept nuclear generators from restarting at least four reactors that had been expected to come online after routine maintenance and inspection. Several more reactors have since shut for regular maintenance, slashing Japan's nuclear generating capacity to just 7,580 megawatts, or only 36 percent of its registered nuclear capacity. In May,...

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Kate Middleton Hiring a Dresser?! Hello, Job of a Lifetime!

Now here's a help wanted sign sure to catch the eye: the Duchess of Cambridge is in the market for a dresser. Wait—what?! Since when does Kate, the world's newly crowned fashion icon who has yet to misstep and is the de facto arbiter of everything sartorially savvy, need help getting dressed?! Well, since now. But it's not exactly what you think. Put it this way: Rachel Zoe types need not apply. Instead, the hired hands of Buckingham Palace were sent into a tizzy this week, as Prince William and...

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ICC opens investigation after banned Pakistan player Mohammad Amir plays in minor English game

ICC opens investigation after banned Pakistan player Mohammad Amir plays in minor English gameBy Rob Harris, The Associated Press – 37 minutes agoLONDON — Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Amir is being investigated by the ICC after playing in a minor English league match last week despite being banned from the sport for corruption. The 19-year-old Amir took part Saturday in an official Surrey Cricket League match for Addington 1743, a village team based in a south London suburb that didn't realize he...

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Arnold hires divorce lawyer

Arnold Schwarzenegger has reportedly hired attorney Bob Kaufman to represent him. According to TMZ, Kaufman will handle all legal matters during Schwarzenegger’s upcoming divorce from estranged wife Maria Shriver. Kaufman has already entered discussions with Shriver’s lawyer Laura Wasser and is “moving forward” with negotiations surrounding the split, the website also reports. Schwarzenegger and Shriver announced their separation earlier this month after 25 years of marriage following the revelation...

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Halle Berry and Fergie: The Smell of Success at the FiFi Awards

New York – Known as the 'Oscars of the fragrance industry,' nominees and stars gathered on Wednesday, May 25, in New York at the FiFi Awards hosted by The Fragrance Foundation to honor those that have contributed to creativity in the scent-producing industry. Halle Berry was awarded Fragrance Celebrity of the Year for "Reveal" and Fergie received the award for New Fragrance Celebrity of the Year for "Outspoken." Comparing food to fragrance on the red carpet, Iron Chef Cat Cora...

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'Camp Rock 2' actor recovering after crash

LOS ANGELES – "Camp Rock 2" actor Matthew "Mdot" Finley is recovering from a motorcycle accident. Finley's manager, Eric Ortner, said the singer-actor is undergoing surgery Wednesday on his leg at UCLA Medical Center after he lost control of his motorcycle and plummeted off a cliff last Thursday. Ortner said that Finley suffered multiple injuries to his face, head and legs and was expected to be in the hospital for several weeks. He said Finley hoped to fully recover and return to performing,...

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Four killed in small plane crash in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) – Four people were killed on Wednesday when a single-engine plane crashed near a small airport on the Utah-Nevada border, officials said. The plane went down on Wednesday afternoon near Wendover, Utah, when extreme wind conditions were reported in the area, Tooele County Emergency Management spokesman Wade Matthews said. "We know the pilot in the Cessna 172 was on approach for landing at the Wendover airport when he ran into a weather situation and crashed into the...

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Jobless claims fall as labor costs tepid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, but not enough to assuage fears the labor market recovery has taken a step back. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 422,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, less than economists' expectations for a fall to 415,000. The claims report falls outside the survey period for the government's closely watched data on nonfarm payrolls for May. The government is expected...

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At least four dead in Massachusetts storms

CONWAY, Massachusetts (Reuters) – At least four people were killed when tornadoes and severe storms tore through heavily populated western and central Massachusetts on Wednesday, causing widespread damage in 19 communities. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency and authorized 1,000 National Guard troops to be called up to provide support after at least two tornadoes touched down. "It is early going yet, so those are not final numbers, although we are hoping and...

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At least 70 killed in 2-day battle on Pak-Afghan border

At least 70 people have been killed in two days of intense fighting between between Pakistani security forces and hundreds of militants who crossed from Afghanistan into northwest Pakistan, officials said. Local officials and residents in Upper Dir, a remote valley that borders the Afghan province of Konar, said Pakistani troops regained control of the area after 36 hours of fierce clashes with heavily armed militants who attacked a police checkpoint on Wednesday. At least 27 Pakistanis,...

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Lady Gaga album sells 1.1 mn copies in first week

Flamboyant pop star Lady Gaga has sold more than one million copies of her new album to top the US pop chart for the first time, according to sales data published on Tuesday by Billboard magazine. Fans scooped up 1.11 million copies of her much-hyped release "Born This Way" during the week ended May 29, with a bit of help from a hugely popular 99-cent promotion by online retailer Amazon.com Inc. It marks the biggest first-week sales total since rapper 50 Cent's "The Massacre" debuted to 1.14...

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