Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Romney would raise eligibility age for Medicare (AP)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:35:19 GMT

AP - Four days before critical primary elections, Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney outlined a far-reaching plan Friday to gradually delay Americans' eligibility for Medicare as well as Social Security.

Clinton rips Russia, China for U.N. veto on Syria (AP)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:33:03 GMT

AP - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton blasted Russia and China as "despicable" for opposing U.N. action aimed at stopping the bloodshed in Syria, and more than 60 nations began planning a civilian peacekeeping mission to deploy after the Damascus regime halts its crackdown on the opposition.

Oil prices rising to near 2011 highs (AP)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:33:08 GMT

AP - Oil prices are approaching last year's highs as tensions increase over Iran's nuclear program. The rise pushed gasoline prices on Friday to a national average of $3.65 per gallon, the highest ever for this time of year.

UN atomic agency: Iran rapidly expands nuke work (AP)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:33:14 GMT

AP - Iran has rapidly ramped up production of higher-grade enriched uranium over the last few months, the U.N. nuclear agency said Friday, in a confidential report that feeds concerns about how quickly the Islamic republic could produce an atomic bomb.

Chavez flies to Cuba for urgent tumor removal (AP)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:23:35 GMT

AP - President Hugo Chavez bid an emotional farewell laced with references to Jesus Christ and independence hero Simon Bolivar as he departed Venezuela on Friday for Cuba for urgent surgery to remove a tumor he says is probably malignant.

It's not easy for presidents to say 'I'm sorry' (AP)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:31:13 GMT

AP - Nearly every president ends up saying he's sorry for something America has done — from a bomb gone tragically astray to the locking up of Japanese-Americans during World War II. This time it's disrespectful disposal of Qurans. And again there are critics who see an apology as a sign of weakness or a failure of patriotism.

Ala girl's short life full of turmoil before death (AP)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:30:36 GMT

AP - Savannah Hardin's life was in turmoil long before police say the 9-year-old was run to death by her grandmother and stepmother for allegedly lying about some candy she ate.

351-year-old will sparks bitter dispute in Mass. (AP)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:29:33 GMT

AP - With only eight days to live, a wealthy, ailing Massachusetts merchant wrote in his will 351 years ago that he was leaving a spectacular 35-acre seafront property for the benefit of public school children, decreeing the land should never be sold or wasted.

Shipwrecked silver begins voyage back to Spain (AP)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:20:48 GMT

AP - A 17-ton haul of silver coins, lost for two centuries in the wreck of a sunken Spanish galleon, began its journey back to its home country on Friday after the deep-sea explorers who lifted it to the surface lost their claim to ownership.

Ohio man given choice of Facebook apology or jail (AP)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:08:37 GMT

AP - A man who was threatened with jail time for posting comments about his estranged wife on his personal Facebook page unless he posted daily apologies for a month says the court ruling violates his freedom of speech.

Twelve killed in protests across Afghanistan (Reuters)

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:14:39 GMT

Reuters - Twelve people were killed on Friday in the bloodiest day yet in protests that have raged across Afghanistan over the desecration of copies of the Muslim holy book at a NATO military base with riot police and soldiers on high alert braced for more violence.

Housing, confidence data bolster growth outlook (Reuters)

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:43:07 GMT

Reuters - New U.S. home sales fell in January but upward revisions to the prior months' data and a drop in the supply of properties on the market added to signs of a budding housing recovery.

Romney's rugged Mormon ancestors sowed riches in Mexico (Reuters)

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:33:06 GMT

Reuters - In the craggy desert of northern Mexico, U.S. presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's relatives turned an arid valley into lush agricultural land and prospered after being chased from the United States for their Mormon beliefs.

Greece launches long-awaited debt offer (Reuters)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 01:50:24 GMT

Reuters - Greece formally launched a bond swap offer to private holders of its bonds on Friday, setting in motion the largest-ever sovereign debt restructuring in the hope of getting its messy finances back on track.

U.S., Saudi maneuver to contain Iran oil market threat (Reuters)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:57:18 GMT

Reuters - Saudi Arabia has raised oil exports and the United States is considering releasing crude from its strategic reserves as oil prices hit nine-month highs on Friday and concerns deepened over Iran's nuclear program.

Evacuations in Syria as diplomatic pressure mounts (Reuters)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 01:51:56 GMT

Reuters - The first wounded and sick women trapped in the most embattled district of the Syrian city of Homs have been evacuated, and talks were held to evacuate more on Saturday, while pressure mounted on President Bashar al-Assad's government to call a ceasefire and let in humanitarian aid.

Supreme Court to hear corporate human rights case (Reuters)

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:12:47 GMT

Reuters - The Supreme Court will weigh next week whether corporations can be sued in the United States for suspected complicity in human rights abuses abroad, in a case being closely watched by businesses concerned about long and costly litigation.

AMR says it needs labor deals in "matter of weeks" (Reuters)

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 01:41:58 GMT

Reuters - AMR Corp, the bankrupt parent of American Airlines, needs concessions from its labor groups in a matter of weeks, not months, in order to emerge from Chapter 11 in the near term, the company said on Friday.

Is taking DNA a reasonable search? US judges uphold California law. (The Christian Science Monitor)

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:40:51 GMT

The Christian Science Monitor - A federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Thursday that a California law requiring the taking of a DNA sample from every adult arrested for a felony does not violate the Constitution’s prohibition on unreasonable searches.

National Enquirer ignites furor with Whitney Houston casket photo (The Christian Science Monitor)

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:12:53 GMT

The Christian Science Monitor - The National Enquirer’s decision to feature cover photos of the late Whitney Houston, in a casket, has touched off a furor, raising anew a debate over professional ethics, taste, morality, greed, and privacy.