SAN FRANCISCO -- A school district in California's Central Valley is putting teens' health at risk by failing to provide students with information about condoms and contraception, two parents and a coalition of groups said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday … Barack Obama says Mitt Romney would hurt education - Detroit Free Press
Headlines Election 2012 Pressing a contrast with his rivals for the White House, President Barack Obama expanded his critique of the Republican budget blueprint to focus on education policy, arguing that Mitt Romney would reverse his administration's … Mitt Romney urges U.S. Rep. Todd Akin to quit his Senate race - Detroit Free Press
WASHINGTON — Trying to keep the presidential contest focused on the economy rather than divisive social issues, Republican candidate Mitt Romney joined a growing GOP chorus urging a Senate candidate to quit the race after inflammatory comments about … Massive Ponderosa fire destroys 50 structures; 40% contained - Los Angeles Times
The massive Ponderosa fire in Northern California has destroyed 50 structures as a virtual army of firefighters beat back flames that were raging across a mix of grass, brush and heavy timber, officials said Tuesday night. The blaze had burned 21506 … Feds: Man arrested for e-mailing threats against Obama - CNN
'Unchain' Joe Biden and Unleash Bill Clinton as Well - CNN
Is Ethiopia's new leader in place for long? - Washington Post
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- The death of Ethiopia's prime minister, Meles Zenawi, pushed his relatively unknown successor into the spotlight Tuesday amid questions about whether the new premier will merely serve as a placeholder or will become Ethiopia's … Humane Society investigates as turtle taped to balloons is flown over Southern Calif. city
OCEANSIDE, Calif. – Humane Society officials in a Southern California city are trying to determine who duct-taped a turtle to a bunch of balloons and sent it soaring
NKorea's economic zone remains under construction
More than a year after construction began, the road from China to North Korea's special economic zone in Rason is paved. Power substations are being built, railway lines are being linked to routes to Siberia, and piers at the harbor expanded. Mitt Romney says Republican congressman should leave Senate race after rape comments
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called on a congressman to abandon his U.S. Senate bid in the Midwestern state of Missouri, but the congressman has refused to heed calls to step down from Republicans who fear his comments about rape have threatened the party’s bid to gain control of Congress in November.
AL Capsules: L.A. Angels snap 4-game skid with 5-3 win over Boston Red Sox
BOSTON – Mark Trumbo hit his career-high 30th homer, Ervin Santana pitched 6 1/3 solid innings and the Los Angeles Angels snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.
Australia captain Pocock out for three months, Kepu injured
(Reuters) – Australia captain David Pocock will miss the remainder of the Rugby Championship after undergoing knee surgery that is expected to keep him out of action for three months. The openside flanker, one of the finest players in world rugby, also faces a race to be fit for the Wallabies tour of Europe in November, where they will play France, England, Italy and Wales. Pocock injured his knee in Australia's opening 27-19 defeat by New Zealand in the four-team tournament, also featuring South Africa and Argentina, on Saturday. … Former All Blacks coach Henry joins ailing Blues
(Reuters) – Former New Zealand coach Graham Henry has returned to his roots in joining the Auckland Blues’ revamped coaching roster in a boost for the ailing Super Rugby side. Henry, who oversaw the All Blacks’ World Cup win on home soil last year, joins as technical adviser and defence specialist from 2013 under head coach John Kirwan, the team said on their website on Wednesday. (www.blues.co.nz) Prior to his 2004-2011 stint with the All Blacks, Henry coached the Blues from 1996-1998, winning the inaugural Super 12 rugby title in 1996 and again the following year. …
Alleged animal smugglers used helicopters to fly sheep to Maui, deer to Big Island
HONOLULU, Hawaii – A Maui pilot has pleaded guilty to loading deer on helicopters and flying them from Maui and the Big Island, offering a glimpse into an alleged scheme by hunters to move deer and sheep between the Hawaiian Islands to establish new game populations for their sport.
Ecuador's leader says open to talks with Britain on Assange
QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuador is ready to negotiate over the fate of Julian Assange if Britain withdraws a threat to raid its embassy in London where the WikiLeaks founder has sought refuge, President Rafael Correa said on Tuesday. Ecuador was incensed by a veiled British threat to enter the embassy to arrest the 41-year-old former computer hacker, who is trying to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of rape and sexual assault. Correa has offered Assange asylum and told Britain to let him leave the embassy and fly to the South American country. … Analysis: Drought dampens Jana's case in Agrium fight
(Reuters) – If Jana Partners fails in its bid to shake things up at Canada’s Agrium Inc , the New York hedge fund can always blame the weather. The hedge fund bought into Agrium – the biggest U.S. farm products retailer and a major fertilizer producer – just before the worst U.S. drought in a half century sent grain prices surging. Jana, Agrium’s largest shareholder and known for its aggressive actions as an activist investor, wants the company to boost shareholder value by spinning off its retail arm. …
A South Korean aquarium publicly apologised Wednesday for the death of a captive whale shark, and said it would release a second such shark following protests from conservationists. 
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Brent crude steadied near $115 a barrel on Wednesday, supported by hopes that European policymakers will act to resolve the region's debt crisis and by Middle East tensions that kept supply disruption concerns intact. Brent oil has rebounded about a third from this year's low of $88.49 reached in June, hitting a three-month top last week on hopes of progress in Europe and worries about Iran. To sustain that momentum, investors will need more concrete signals that central banks from Europe to China aim to take firm steps to stimulate their economies. … 
Japan is to send its envoy back to South Korea, more than a week after recalling him in an island dispute, but is still considering whether to hold an expected summit, the government said Wednesday. 
Days before the launch of a convention vital to his election hopes, Mitt Romney and fellow Republicans were embroiled Tuesday in an effort to shove aside a US Senate candidate who thrust the unwelcome issue of abortion to the fore of the political … 
Mitt Romney is calling for an audit of the Federal Reserve, but should this be coming from a guy who is still withholding his tax returns? MSNBC's Alex Wagner and the NOW panel discuss. This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along … 
Nation Newsday > News Print Aa Sitting on tracks, friends tweet before dying in Md. train derailment Published: August 21, 2012 11:05 PM By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS They were seemingly ordinary tweets from two friends hanging out on a railroad bridge in … 
A former standout for the Nebraska's women's basketball team was charged Tuesday with lying to police for reporting that three masked men broke into her home last month, carved anti-gay slurs into her skin and tried to set her house on fire, … 
(CBS News) Alleged Aurora, Colo, shooter James Holmes met with not one, but at least three mental health professionals at the University of Colorado prior to the massacre. How long he met with each one and the depth of their involvement is not clear, … 
A damning inquiry into the treatment of women in Australia's military on Wednesday recommended quotas to increase female representation and the establishment of a unit to probe sexual misconduct. 
Eden Hazard insists there is more to come after his sparkling Premier League debut — but is adamant he has no concerns about handling the physical nature of English football. 
Asian stocks fell after Japan reported on Wednesday that it fell back into a trade deficit last month because of languishing exports and as investors watched for progress on bailout conditions for Greece by euro-zone policymakers. 
Ivory Coast charged a former minister close to ex-president Laurent Gbagbo with "violating state security" and remanded him in custody, following recent attacks against the army, his lawyer said. 
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan's exports slumped the most in six months in July as sales to a debt-ridden Europe and a sluggish China dropped, adding to concerns over global demand after a string of dire trade figures from Asia's export engines. The 8.1 percent annual fall was far deeper than economists' median forecast of a 2.9 percent drop. A 25.1 percent plunge in exports to the European Union, the biggest such drop since Oct 2009, saw Japan post a record trade deficit with the region. … 
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was unlikely to be extradited from Sweden to the United States if there was a risk of the death penalty or a military court, Australia's foreign minister said Wednesday. 
WASHINGTON -- As an orator, Representative Todd Akin of Missouri may stand out for his clumsiness. But as a legislator, Mr. Akin's record on abortion is largely indistinguishable from those of most of his Republican House colleagues, who have viewed … 
By Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun The derailment that killed two young women in Ellicott City Tuesday morning adds one more incident to a long history of CSX trains leaving the tracks in Maryland -- from little-remembered events in the company's own … 
BEIRUT -- A senior Syrian official hinted Tuesday that President Bashar Assad's resignation might be considered if the opposition agreed to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the 17-month-old conflict. Deputy Prime Minster Qadri Jamil spoke during a … 
By Margaret Ely Elizabeth Conway Nass and Rose Louese Mayr, both 19, were killed when the a CSX train carrying 9000 tons of coal derailed in downtown Ellicott City late Monday night. The two women, both from Ellicott City, were posting to Twitter just … 
WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney's promise to restore $716 billion that he says President Obama "robbed" from Medicare has some health care experts puzzled, and not just because his running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan, included the same savings in his … 
Rep. Todd Akin's controversial comments on abortion and rape -- and the Missouri Republican's vow Tuesday to continue his US Senate campaign -- have given Democrats an opening on an issue on which they enjoy broad public support. In the past two days, … 
WASHINGTON -- A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned a federal rule that laid out how much air pollution states would have to clean up to avoid incurring violations in downwind states. The decision sends the Environmental Protection Agency, … 
With Ethiopian flags unfurled and satellite televisions set to the African nation's state-run news channel, hundreds of stunned Ethiopian-Americans crammed into restaurants in the Shaw section of the District, known as Little Ethiopia, on Tuesday to … 
Lois Goodman, an official at the US Open, was arrested today and charged with the murder of her husband. Lori Bordonaro has the story. (Goodman photo courtesy: LA Daily News) A high-profile referee who officiates at US Open tennis matches was arrested … 
RAMA, Lebanon -- As Syria's civil war drags on, the recent arrest of a former Lebanese government minister allied with the Syrian leadership on charges that he planned a campaign of bombings and assassinations has led many in Lebanon to conclude that … 
Australian captain Michael Clarke has told his team their world rankings are "unacceptable" as he worked to fire them up ahead of upcoming matches against Afghanistan and Pakistan. 
By RYAN TRACY A federal appeals court Tuesday rejected the Environmental Protection Agency's latest effort to limit soot- and smog-forming air pollution that blows across state lines, providing a short-term lifeline for aging coal-fired power plants … 
LIBREVILLE, Gabon -- There was probably no leader on the African continent who exemplified the conflict between the American government's interests and its highest ideals better than Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia. Mr. Meles, who died on Monday … 
* Obama says not all parents can lend to kids for college * Stresses he and wife Michelle graduated with large debt * Romney campaign says Republican would spur jobs for grads By Jeff Mason BEXLEY, Ohio, Aug 21 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama sought … 
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Army shellings and shootings raged in at least three insurgency hot spots across Syria on Tuesday, including what antigovernment activists described as the deadly bombardment of mourners in a Damascus suburb during funerals for … 
(CNN) — A Nebraska "hate crime" that targeted an openly gay woman and that triggered responses from candlelight vigils locally to Facebook postings of support nationwide was staged by the alleged victim, authorities said Tuesday as they charged the … 
By Alexandra Petri Joe Biden will be in Tampa on Monday, just in time for the start of the GOP convention. It's happening! One wonders whether he is there to provide the Official Counter-Attack or whether the Republicans invited him, hoping that if he … 
Most students entering college for the first time this fall were born in 1994. For these students, Kurt Cobain, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Richard Nixon and John Wayne Gacy have always been dead. Every year, Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., … 
Japan incurred a much worse-than-expected trade deficit in July as exports to Europe and Asian neighbours tumbled, official data showed Wednesday. 
TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian shares fell after recent rally but the euro held near a seven-week high on Wednesday on views the European Central Bank will act to rein in surging euro zone borrowing costs and policymakers will find ways to keep Greece on lifelines. Top global miner BHP Billiton may put three mega projects on hold on Wednesday when it is expected to report its first annual profit fall in three years due to rising costs and falling commodity prices. …