FORT COLLINS, Colo. – In 12 years, my husband and I have had two vacations without our daughter. Once, we drove 200 miles to drop her at her godparents; the other time, her grandfather flew 850 miles on an $800 plane ticket to spell us.
Work begins on Seaside Heights boardwalk, seen on 'Jersey Shore' and wrecked by Sandy
SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. – When Superstorm Sandy washed over this popular Jersey shore resort, water poured in through the heating vents and electrical outlets of Linda Polites’ and Michael Riley’s home. A 10-foot section of boardwalk slammed into the house as they fled to the attic. Hours later, they waded through armpit-deep water to a military truck, then headed to the first of five emergency shelters that have been their home since.
Syrian activists say some 150 killed in 2 days of heavy fighting around Aleppo airport
BEIRUT – Heavy fighting for control of the international airport in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo and a major military air base nearby has killed some 150 rebels and government soldiers over the past two days, activists said Friday.
Weekend marks unofficial start of SC tourism season that offers new events, attractions
CHARLESTON, S.C. – This weekend marks the unofficial start of the spring tourism season in South Carolina, a year in which tourism officials expect the $15 billion industry will return to levels of before the Great Recession.
Congo deploys 500 soldiers to hunt Ugandan warlord
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) -- The African Union says Congo has sent 500 troops to join a Uganda-led military effort to hunt down Joseph Kony, the fugitive head of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group.
Vatican bank in new controversy as incoming chief tapped from shipbuilder making warships
VATICAN CITY – The Vatican was drawn into a new controversy over its embattled bank Friday after acknowledging that the institution’s new president is also chairman of a shipbuilder making warships for Germany.
Rogers profit jumps 30 percent; CEO to retire in year
TORONTO (Reuters) – Rogers Communications Inc , Canada's largest wireless company, posted a 30 percent rise in adjusted quarterly profit, increased its dividend and said its chief executive would leave the company early next year. A successor was not named for CEO Nadir Mohamed, who will retire in January 2014. He has led the company since the death of Ted Rogers, the broadcast and telecommunications company's founder, four years ago. Shares of the company jumped more than 5 percent to C$47. … Why Ecuador's Correa looks set to win Sunday's presidential election
With neon green flags dotting the landscape and pictures of the president overlooking newly-built highways, Ecuador’s electoral campaign looks like a one-man show.
Cuban dissident blogger prepares "victory" tour
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba's best-known dissident, blogger Yoani Sanchez, says she plans to make good use of "my victory" wh en she leaves on an 80-day-tour of more than a dozen countries on Sunday. Sanchez, under Cuba's sweeping migration reform that went into effect this year, was given her passport two weeks ago, after being denied permission to travel more than 20 times over the past five years. … Horsemeat scandal spreads, testing EU's reputation for food standards
The EU has long prided itself on food standards, but a scandal that has seen beef adulterated with horsemeat has now spread to 12 European countries, leaving many asking questions about the transparency of Europe's food supply chains.
Palestinians clash with Israeli troops near West Bank prison
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers on Friday at a rally outside an Israeli prison in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian medical officials said two protesters were wounded by live gunfire in the demonstration, which was mounted as a show of solidarity with Palestinians being held in the nearby Ofer prison. A crowd of about 300 Palestinians threw stones at troops, who used riot dispersal equipment to break up the protest, an Israeli military spokeswoman said. "The soldiers, feeling immediate danger, fired in the air," she said. … Canadian Press NewsAlert; Graham James sentence extended to five years from two
OTTAWA – The Manitoba Court of Appeal has increased the prison sentence of child-abusing hockey coach Graham James to five years from two.
Weeping Pistorius faces life in prison in shooting
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) -- Olympic superstar Oscar Pistorius wept in court Friday as prosecutors said they'll pursue a charge of premeditated murder against him for killing his model girlfriend, meaning the man who once inspired the world could spend the rest of his life in prison. Exclusive: Big powers to offer easing gold sanctions at Iran nuclear talks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Major powers plan to offer to ease sanctions barring trade in gold and other precious metals with Iran in return for Iranian st eps to shut down the nation's newly expanded Fordow uranium enrichment plant, Western officials said on Friday. The officials said the offer is to be presented to Iran at February 26 talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and they acknowledged that it represents a relatively modest update to proposals that the six major powers put forward last year. … Photo analysis casts doubt on Australian's reported hit squad link
LONDON (Reuters) – A forensic report commissioned by Reuters said on Friday that a suspect in the assassin ation of a Hamas commander in Dubai and a deceased Australian immigrant, reported to have been an Israeli spy, were not the same man. Israel has released few details on the case of Melbourne-born Ben Zygier, reported to have been a Mossad recruit found dead in an isolated prison cell in 2010. The silence has led to widespread speculation about the man's secret arrest and alleged crime. … 
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Consumer sentiment improved in February, buoyed by signs of increased hiring, though worries heightened about a decline in future income, a survey released on Friday showed. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall index of consumer sentiment rose to 76.3 from 73.8 in January, topping economists' forecasts of 74.8. The barometer of current economic conditions rose to 88 from 85, while the gauge of consumer expectations rose to 68.7 from 66.6. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil company Royal Dutch/Shell has asked the British government to raise the subject of a tax dispute w ith India during Prime Minister David Cameron's visit there next week, according to a source familiar with the request. The dispute blew up earlier this month when tax authorities revalued by $2.7 billion (1.7 billion pounds) a 2009 transaction by Shell with a wholly-owned subsidiary, and claimed a tax payment was due. It comes as India faces a potential seeks to balance the need to shore up its finances by raising tax receipts with its desire to encourage foreign … 
CARACAS (Reuters) – The Venezuelan government will publish photographs of Hugo Chavez on Friday, the information minister said, in what would be th e first view of the president since he had cancer surgery in Cuba on December 11. Information Minister Ernesto Villegas made the announcement on Twitter, adding that a communique on the 58-year-old socialist leader's condition would also be read shortly. Chavez has not been seen in public since he went to Havana for the operation on December 11, his fourth surgery in 18 months for cancer that was first diagnosed in mid-2011. … 
ROME (AP) -- At 5:45 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2011, when early risers would have been sipping espressos and buttering toast, a man dressed in black disembarked at Milan's Malpensa Airport after a 13-hour trip from Asia aboard a Singapore Airlines flight. 
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) -- Thousands of anti-government marchers jammed a major highway Friday as clashes broke out for a second day between security forces and protesters marking the anniversary of their uprising in the strategic Gulf nation. 
TORONTO (Reuters) – Sales of existing homes in Canada rose in January from December, but dropped year over year, the Canadian Real Estate Association said on Friday, in a report that adds to recent sig ns showing the country's post-recession real estate boom has stalled. The industry group for Canadian real estate agents said sales activity was up 1.3 percent in January from December. Actual sales for January, not seasonally adjusted, were down 5.2 percent from a year earlier. CREA's Home Price Index rose 3.1 percent in January from a year earlier, the smallest gain since April 2011. … 
LONDON (AP) -- Tests have found horsemeat in school meals, hospital food and restaurant dishes in Britain, officials said Friday, as the scandal over adulterated meat spread beyond frozen supermarket products. 
ISLAMABAD/JAMMU, India (Reuters) – A Pakistani was killed after crossing into the Indian side of Kashmir, officials on both sides said on Friday, but their competing accounts indica ted that tension remains high a month after the worst outbreak of violence in years in the disputed region. The Pakistani army said one of its soldiers on Thursday inadvertently strayed across the Line of Control (LoC) dividing the mountain territory. … 
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India is seeking to cancel a $750 million order for a dozen helicopters from Italian defense group Finmeccanica, the defense ministry said on Friday, escalating its response to kickback allegations. Indi a has frozen payments for the AgustaWestland helicopters pending an inquiry, after Italian police arrested the head of Finmeccanica, Giuseppe Orsi, in connection with the case earlier this week. Orsi, who has denied any wrongdoing, formally resigned on Friday. … 
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Pro-autonomy leaders in eastern Libya urged followers to cancel planned rallies against central authorities on Friday for fear they could ignite violence as the country marks two years since the start of its revolution. Various opposition and interest groups in Benghazi, fount of the 2011 uprising that ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi, have prepared mass demonstrations later in the day to demand better security and investment for Libya's second biggest city. … 
MOSCOW (AP) -- A meteor streaked through the sky and exploded Friday over Russia's Ural Mountains with the power of an atomic bomb, its sonic blasts shattering countless windows and injuring more than 750 people. The spectacle deeply frightened thousands, with some elderly women declaring the world was coming to an end. 
(Reuters) – Canadian stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Friday after Toronto's main stock index hit a one-week low on Thursday, with investors focused on results from major companies like Rogers Communications, Telus and Goldcorp. (Reporting by Chandrashekha r Modi; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson) 
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Relatives of an Australian immigrant to Israel who killed himself in 2010 while secretly jailed o n charges of violating national security are seeking compensation from the state, a source briefed on the affair said on Friday. The source said the talks were preliminary as Israel had not formally faulted its prison authorities in the death of Ben Zygier, which was made public this week by an Australian television expose that described him as a Mossad officer. … 
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian manufacturing sales recorded the biggest decline in about 3-1/2 years in December, due mainly to weaker auto production but also on lower sales across most other industries, Statistics Canada said on Friday. Factory sales tumbled 3.1 percent in the month, the sharpest fall since May 2009 in seasonally-adjusted terms, compared with market forecasts for a 0.8 percent decline. The setback more than erased the 1.9 percent gain in November, revised from 1.7 percent previously. Excluding the auto sector, sales fell 1. …