WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama faces a long re-election campaign having all but given up on the economy rebounding in any meaningful way before November 2012. His own budget office predicts unemployment will stay at about 9 percent, a frightening number for any president seeking a second term. Obama’s prospects aren’t entirely grim, however. The ...

ROME – A man has vandalized a fountain in Rome’s famed Piazza Navona, detaching two big chunks off a marble statue. The damaged statue was a 19th-century copy. A Rome culture official, Umberto Broccoli, said the pieces were recovered and can be reattached to the Moor Fountain. Security camera footage on Italian TV stations and ...

NEW YORK – Even if it turns out to be nothing, which Rafael Nadal insists was the case, the frightening scene in his post-match interview Sunday will go down as memorable. Answering questions in Spanish, Nadal suddenly started grimacing in pain. He tilted his head back, covered his face with his arm. His face twisted ...

VAN HORN, Texas – An unmanned spacecraft bankrolled by Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos failed during a recent test flight. The vehicle became unstable at 45,000 feet and ground controllers had to terminate it as a precaution. Additional details about what went wrong were not released. “Not the outcome any of us wanted, but we’re ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A consortium that included the Chinese government was the biggest buyer of a 5 percent stake in China Construction Bank Corp sold last month by Bank of America, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the National Social Security Fund and Citic Securities bought the CCB ...

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration has explained its effort to block ATT’s purchase of T-Mobile USA by saying it will fight mergers that would reduce competition and hurt consumers. Yet few think the lawsuit the administration filed Wednesday signals a more aggressive stance toward acquisitions in other industries. Rather, experts say, the administration’s challenge of ...

NORTH OF BANI WALID/TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) – Libya’s interim council said it hoped to seize one of Muammar Gaddafi’s last strongholds without resistance on Sunday as it pursues its drive to assert control over the whole country. Outside the pro-Gaddafi town of Bani Walid, a National Transitional Council (NTC) negotiator said talks were over. “Everything ...

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Sarah Palin struck a populist tone and assailed corporate favoritism Saturday in a campaign-style speech to tea party activists. The Republican star visited the state that kicks off the GOP presidential race as the clock ticks down on her self-imposed deadline to enter it. She did not announce whether she will run ...

FlynetUs Magazine Party ’til you pass out! As Brad Pitt continued shooting World War Z at Longcross Studios outside London, his love Angelina Jolie found just the thing to keep their six kids happy, entertained…and tuckered out! On Saturday, Jolie, 36, dazzled her brood — Maddox, 10, Pax, 7, Zahara, 6, Shiloh, 5, and twins ...

ARLINGTON, Texas – In a rare opening matchup of top-five teams, both missing key players, Jarrett Lee admirably directed LSU’s offense in place of suspended quarterback Jordan Jefferson. Being without standout cornerback-punt returner Cliff Harris was more than mistake-prone and third-ranked Oregon could overcome. The Ducks’ fill-in punt returner had a fumble that led directly ...