The Lede: Reeva Steenkamp, Steve Biko and the Quest for Justice in South Africa

LONDON – The title of the presiding judge 35 years ago was the same, chief magistrate of Pretoria, and the venue for the hearing, a converted synagogue, was not far from the modern courthouse seen on television screens around the world in recent days as Oscar Pistorius, the gold medal-winning Paralympic athlete, fought for bail in the killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.The case that unfolded...

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We Totally Agree With Your Pick for Best Dressed Star This Week

Stylewatch Style News Now 02/23/2013 at 12:00 PM ET Sara De Boer/StartraksFor a moment, it looked like Miranda Kerr was going to be crowned the best dressed star for a second week in a row. But one very stylish actress managed to...

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Chinese Passports Seen as Political Statement

Todd Heisler/The New York TimesHu Ping, the editor of a pro-democracy journal in New York, has not seen his aging parents in decades because of passport restrictions. BEIJING — Flush with cash and eager to see the world, millions of middle-class Chinese spent the 10-day Lunar New Year holiday that ended on Monday in places like Paris, Bangkok and New York. Last year, Chinese made a record 83 million...

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Nick Carter Engaged to Lauren Kitt

By Jennifer Garcia and Patrick Gomez 02/22/2013 at 04:30 PM EST Lauren Kitt and Nick Carter Angela Weiss/WireImage Nick Carter has found his fire, his one desire."I had the ring in my pocket for two weeks," the Backstreet Boy tells PEOPLE exclusively of his engagement...

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Wall Street rebounds on HP results, Fed officials' views

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday as Dow component Hewlett-Packard surged on strong results and comments from Fed officials allayed fears that the central bank would curtail its stimulus measures. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke downplayed worries that the Fed has fueled asset bubbles that could hurt the economy in a private meeting with bond dealers and investors...

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FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent...

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3 Convicted in Britain Over Terrorist Plot

LONDON — Three men accused of plotting what prosecutors said would have been the most devastating terrorist attacks in Britain since the London transit system bombings of July 2005 were convicted Thursday after a 12-week trial. The judge hearing the case told the men to expect sentences of life imprisonment. Prosecutors said the three men — Irfan Naseer, 31, Irfan Khalid, 27, and Ashik Ali,...

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PHOTO: Seth MacFarlane Lets Popcorn Fly in New Oscar Promo

02/21/2013 at 04:45 PM EST Seth MacFarlane isn't crying over spilled popcorn.Before he gets down to the business of hosting on Sunday's 85th Annual Academy Awards, MacFarlane 39, posed in a lighthearted set of promotional photos, leading up to Hollywood's biggest night. In one of the shots, the Family Guy creator...

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Flu shot doing a poor job of protecting elderly

ATLANTA (AP) — It turns out this year's flu shot is doing a startlingly dismal job of protecting senior citizens, the most vulnerable age group.The vaccine is proving only 9 percent effective in people 65 and older against the harsh strain of the flu that is predominant this season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.Health officials are baffled as to why this is so. But...

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IHT Special: Lebanon Voting Plan Stirs Sectarian Fervor

BEIRUT — A controversial draft law to overhaul Lebanon’s electoral system gained traction Tuesday when a parliamentary joint committee supported it, raising the possibility that voters will in future be able to cast ballots only for candidates from their own sect. Proponents say the law would protect their communities and ensure fairer elections. Opponents say it would further entrench sectarianism...

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Can You Guess Which Star Was First To Wear Elizabeth Taylor's $6 Million Emerald Necklace?

Stylewatch Style News Now 02/20/2013 at 11:15 AM ET Nate Beckett/Splash News Online; Popperfoto/GettyOn Tuesday night, Julianne Moore did what few women would be able to: She did justice to one of Elizabeth Taylor‘s most prized pieces...

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Obama administration tackles colonoscopy confusion

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's one part of the new health care law that seemed clear: free coverage for preventive care under most insurance plans.Only it didn't turn out that way.So on Wednesday, the Obama administration had to straighten out the confusion.Have you gone for a colonoscopy thinking it was free, only to get a hefty bill because the doctor removed a polyp?No more.Taking out such precancerous...

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Wall Street ends down sharply after Fed minutes

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend, "Doug" (24), and I (22) have been in a long-distance relationship for a year, but we were friends for a couple of years before that. I had never had a serious relationship before and lacked experience. Doug has not only been in two other long-term relationships, but has had sex with more than 15 women. One of them is an amateur porn actress.I knew about this, but it didn't...

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At War Blog: General Allen's Tenure in Afghanistan

Most Americans probably know of him only as a secondary character in the sweeping drama of David H. Petraeus’s affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. But Gen. John R. Allen, who announced Tuesday that he would retire from the Marine Corps rather than become the top commander of NATO, was for more than a year and a half the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan. And when he said farewell to...

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Mindy McCready 'Really Loved Her Dog'

People Pets 02/19/2013 at 03:45 PM EST When Mindy McCready was found dead on Sunday of an apparent suicide, the country singer was not alone: Her dog, who'd been fatally shot, was by her side.But a source close to the star tells Fox News that her decision to end the animal's life would "not have been an act...

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Costlier robotic surgery soars for hysterectomies

CHICAGO (AP) — Robotic surgery is increasingly being used for women's hysterectomies, adding at least $2,000 to the cost without offering much benefit over less high-tech methods, a study found.The technique was used in just 0.5 percent of operations studied in 2007, but that soared to almost 10 percent by early 2010. Columbia University researchers analyzed data on more than 260,000 women who had...

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M&A deals lift Wall Street shares nearer a record high

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as this year's ongoing surge in merger activity suggested investors were still finding value in the market even as indexes closed in on all-time highs. Office Depot Inc surged 9.4 percent to $5.02 after a person familiar with the matter said the No. 2 U.S. office supply retailer was in advanced talks to merge with smaller rival OfficeMax...

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Mikhail Pakhomov’s Body Is Found Near Moscow in Cement-Filled Barrel

MOSCOW — The body of a missing city legislator and construction tycoon has been found in a private basement garage on the city’s outskirts, inside a rusted metal barrel filled with cement, the police said Monday. Russian television showed investigators removing the body of the man, Mikhail Pakhomov, 36, on Sunday evening from the garage, 20 miles east of Moscow, where the police said he had...

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The Bachelor: AshLee Dishes on Her Connection with Sean - and Tierra

TV Watch The Bachelor By Carrie Bell 02/18/2013 at 04:25 PM EST For The Bachelor's AshLee Frazier, 32, the week spent with Sean Lowe in St. Croix was a series of emotional highs and lows, from coming clean with the final skeleton in her closet to a super-charged confrontation with Tierra. The Houston-based professional...

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Study: Better TV might improve kids' behavior

SEATTLE (AP) — Teaching parents to switch channels from violent shows to educational TV can improve preschoolers' behavior, even without getting them to watch less, a study found.The results were modest and faded over time, but may hold promise for finding ways to help young children avoid aggressive, violent behavior, the study authors and other doctors said."It's not just about turning off the television....

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Yen resumes fall after G20, U.S. holiday thins trade

LONDON (Reuters) - The yen resumed falling on Monday after Japan signaled it would push ahead with expansionist monetary policies having escaped criticism from the world's 20 biggest economies at the weekend. Industrial metals also dipped and European shares were soft on lingering worries about the economic outlook, especially for the euro zone. While the risk of an inconclusive outcome...

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IHT Rendezvous: Taming the Runaway U.S. Budget

WASHINGTON — If Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on a deficit reduction plan, in two weeks automatic budget cuts will kick in that could severely weaken the U.S. economy and the American military.As I write in my latest Letter From Washington, there are sensible ways to avoid this, though it is far from certain dysfunctional Washington can achieve them.One reason is that so much of spending is...

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Downton Abbey-Inspired Cocktail Is Perfect Way to Toast the Crawleys

Celebrity Diners Club By Aaron Parsley 02/17/2013 at 05:00 PM EST The Crawley Classic Courtesy Nick Van Tiel; Inset: Matthew Lloyd Here's to Downton! Season 3 of Downton Abbey is coming to a close on Sunday – and in case you need something to soothe your soul while...

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G20 steps back from currency brink, heat off Japan

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Group of 20 nations declared on Saturday there would be no currency war and deferred plans to set new debt-cutting targets, underlining broad concern about the fragile state of the world economy. Japan's expansive policies, which have driven down the yen, escaped direct criticism in a statement thrashed out in Moscow by policymakers from the G20, which spans developed...

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