Associated Press
Latest stories
Iran Arrests 5 People for Working for BBC

Iranian state television is reporting that authorities have arrested five people for working for the BBC's Farsi-language service.

Monday's report on the channel's website says the group provided the British Broadcasting Corp. with video and negative news reports on Iran. The report did not identify them by their full names.

W140 Full Story
British Police Arrest 7 in Anti-terror Operation

British police on Monday arrested seven people as part of a large intelligence-led anti-terror operation in the central city of Birmingham.

West Midlands police said six men were arrested overnight and were being held under anti-terror legislation. A woman was also arrested Monday morning for failing to disclose information that may be relevant. All seven suspects are aged between 22 and 32.

W140 Full Story
Hollywood Balks at Big Budget Movies as DVDs Drop

Hollywood — long considered the land of excess— is becoming more cost-conscious, as movie executives rethink what they're willing to pay to make a blockbuster.

After years of beefing up budgets to meet audience expectations, movie studios are cutting back and canceling projects that are too costly. Half-baked, expensive movie ideas that would have received approval a few years ago are now under scrutiny. For movies that are made, producers have to settle for toned-down special effects, cheaper actors and fewer locations for shoots.

W140 Full Story
EU Countries Divided on Possible New Finance Tax

European Union finance ministers are debating a tax on financial transactions that could raise money for the EU as well as make banks share bailout burdens with taxpayers.

But European internal markets Commissioner Michel Barnier said after a meeting Saturday "there's no consensus" on the tax, which would take a tiny fraction from a wide range of financial dealings.

W140 Full Story
Obama Signs 1st Major Patent Law Change Since 1952

President Barack Obama signed into law Friday a major overhaul of the U.S. patent system, a measure designed to ease the way for inventors to bring their products to market. "We can't afford to drag our feet any longer," the president said.

Passed in a rare display of congressional bipartisanship, the America Invents Act is the first significant change in patent law since 1952. It has been hailed as a milestone that would spur innovation and create jobs.

W140 Full Story
U.S. Museum Hosts Contest to Concoct Best Bug Buffet

Which wine goes best with mealworms and crickets? The annual contest at a North Carolina museum may help answer the question.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is hosting its annual BugFest Critter Cook-off on Friday. It's the official kickoff to BugFest 2011.

W140 Full Story
U.S. Air Force Base Lockdown Looked Ominous but No Gunman Found

Early on, it looked ominous when an Air Force base on the southern edge of Tucson in the U.S. state of Arizona was locked down Friday morning amid unconfirmed reports of gunfire. In the end, no shots were fired, and no weapons and gunman were found.

Traffic into the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base was limited as the unspecified security situation was first announced. Schools on the base were locked down. Ambulances and fire engines were rushed to the base, and a TV station reported that emergency workers were responding to a possible patient with multiple gunshot wounds.

W140 Full Story
3 Dead in Horrific U.S. Air Show Crash

A World War II-era fighter plane flown by a veteran Hollywood stunt pilot plunged into the edge of the grandstands Friday during a popular air racing show in the U.S. state of Nevada, killing three people, injuring more than 50 spectators and creating a horrific scene strewn with smoking debris.

The plane, flown by 74-year-old Jimmy Leeward, spiraled out of control without warning and appeared to disintegrate upon impact in Reno. Bloodied bodies were spread across the area as people tended to the victims and ambulances rushed to the scene.

W140 Full Story
Abbas: We Want to Delegitimize Occupation, Not Israel

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas vowed Friday to lodge a bid for U.N. membership before the Security Council in one week, despite mounting Israeli and U.S. opposition.

"We are going to the Security Council," he said in a televised address to the Palestinian people from his Ramallah headquarters.

W140 Full Story
Grandparents with Webcam Become New Online Stars

It slowly began to dawn on Esther and Bruce Huffman that perhaps they were being filmed.

"Warning," the gray-haired, bespectacled grandmother reads off the screen. "You must stop recording before trying to close cyber link."

W140 Full Story