Lone Chinese home destroyed; farmer accepts deal

BEIJING (AP) — Authorities have demolished a five-story home that stood incongruously in the middle of a new main road and had become the latest symbol of resistance by Chinese homeowners against officials accused of offering unfair compensation.Xiayangzhang village chief Chen Xuecai told The Associated Press the house was bulldozed Saturday after its owners, duck farmer Luo Baogen and his wife, agreed...

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Asperger's dropped from revised diagnosis manual

CHICAGO (AP) — The now familiar term "Asperger's disorder" is being dropped. And abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given a scientific-sounding diagnosis called DMDD. But "dyslexia" and other learning disorders remain.The revisions come in the first major rewrite in nearly 20 years of the diagnostic guide used by the nation's psychiatrists. Changes were approved Saturday.Full details...

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Police: Kansas City Chiefs player kills girlfriend, takes own life

Chiefs and Panthers will play at regularly scheduled time on Sunday: The Kansas City Chiefs announced that Sund... http://t.co/Ah1nF...

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Suu Kyi wants gov't apology for violent crackdown

MONYWA, Myanmar (AP) — Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday said authorities must apologize for a violent crackdown on monks and other foes of a mine in northwest Myanmar, but she also stuck to the government's view that the country must follow through on its commitment to build the project.Speaking Friday morning to a crowd of more than 10,000 in the northwestern town of Monywa, the Nobel...

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Katy Perry, Carly Rae Jepsen get Billboard honors

NEW YORK (AP) — Billboard named Katy Perry its woman of the year, but the pop star thought her year was 2011."I felt like my year was last year ... I thought my moment had passed," Perry said in an interview with Jon Stewart at Billboard's Women in Music event Friday in New York City.Perry released "Teenage Dream" in 2010, and the double platinum album sparked five No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot...

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Kenya village pairs AIDS orphans with grandparents

NYUMBANI, Kenya (AP) — There are no middle-aged people in Nyumbani. They all died years ago, before this village of hope in Kenya began. Only the young and old live here.Nyumbani was born of the AIDS crisis. The 938 children here all saw their parents die. The 97 grandparents — eight grandfathers among them — saw their middle-aged children die. But put together, the bookend generations take care of...

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Pelosi vows to force tax rate extension vote

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)WASHINGTON—House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will try to force a vote on the House floor to extend current tax rates for the middle class next week if Republicans do not act, the California Democrat announced on Friday.During a press conference on Capitol Hill, Pelosi called on House Republicans, who control the chamber, to hold another...

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Myanmar cracks down on mine protest; dozens hurt

MONYWA, Myanmar (AP) — Security forces used water cannons, tear gas and smoke bombs Thursday to clear protesters from a copper mine in northwestern Myanmar, wounding villagers and Buddhist monks in the biggest use of force against demonstrators since the reformist government of President Thein Sein took office last year.Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who arrived in the area hours later on a previously...

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Father of Michael Jackson suffers mild stroke

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A spokeswoman for Michael Jackson's father says the musical family's patriarch has suffered a mild stroke.Angel Howansky says Joe Jackson went to a Las Vegas hospital late Wednesday night when he had trouble standing up and walking. She says the 83-year old Jackson was having pains in his head but reports he is feeling fine Thursday and should be released on Friday.She says he called...

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Clinton releases road map for AIDS-free generation

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an ambitious road map for slashing the global spread of AIDS, the Obama administration says treating people sooner and more rapid expansion of other proven tools could help even the hardest-hit countries begin turning the tide of the epidemic over the next three to five years."An AIDS-free generation is not just a rallying cry — it is a goal that is within our reach," Secretary...

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U.N. upgrades Palestine to 'state,' U.S. objects

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations voted overwhelmingly Thursday to recognize a Palestinian state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians and an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States.The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the U.N. was approved by a vote of 138-9, with 41 abstentions, in the 193-member world body.A Palestinian flag...

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Rapper PSY wants Tom Cruise to go 'Gangnam Style'

BANGKOK (AP) — The South Korean rapper behind YouTube's most-viewed video ever has set what might be a "Mission: Impossible" for himself.Asked which celebrity he would like to see go "Gangnam Style," the singer PSY told The Associated Press: "Tom Cruise!"Surrounded by screaming fans, he then chuckled at the idea of the American movie star doing his now famous horse-riding dance.PSY's comments Wednesday...

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Wii U Sells 400,000 Units in First Week

Nintendo‘s Wii U sold 400,000 units during its first week of sales, and Nintendo’s president has said the console is “virtually sold out” at retailers.[More from Mashable: YouTube-Exclusive ‘Halo’ Miniseries Nets 26 Million Views]The Wii U, Nintendo’s next-generation console that features a touch screen as a controller centerpiece, was released on Nov. 18 across the United States. Despite large crowds...

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Oh, Yoko! Ono's fashion line gropes for Lennon

NEW YORK (AP) — You remember that Beatles classic "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"? Turns out Yoko Ono had other things in mind.Ono's new menswear collection inspired by John Lennon includes pants with large handprints on the crotch, tank tops with nipple cutouts and even a flashing LED bra.The collection of menswear for Opening Ceremony is based on a series of drawings she sketched as a gift for Lennon for...

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Simple measures cut infections caught in hospitals

CHICAGO (AP) — Preventing surgery-linked infections is a major concern for hospitals and it turns out some simple measures can make a big difference.A project at seven big hospitals reduced infections after colorectal surgeries by nearly one-third. It prevented an estimated 135 infections, saving almost $4 million, the Joint Commission hospital regulating group and the American College of Surgeons...

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'We had the best crop in years': Residents feel pinch after FDA shutters plant

PORTALES, N.M. (AP) — Farmers in a revered peanut-growing region along the New Mexico-Texas border should be celebrating one of the best harvests in recent memory.Instead, millions of pounds of their prized sweet Valencia peanuts sit in barns at a peanut butter plant shuttered for two months amid a salmonella outbreak that sickened 41 people in 20 states.Farmers are worried about getting paid for...

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China's party paper falls for Onion joke about Kim

BEIJING (AP) — The online version of China's Communist Party newspaper has hailed a report by The Onion naming North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as the "Sexiest Man Alive" — not realizing it is satire.The People's Daily on Tuesday ran a 55-page photo spread on its website in a tribute to the round-faced leader, under the headline "North Korea's top leader named The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive for 2012."Quoting...

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Judge bows out of 'pink slime' suit over ABC ties

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A federal judge has recused himself from presiding over a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit against ABC because his daughter-in-law works as a producer on one of the network's morning shows.Judge Lawrence L. Piersol recused himself from hearing the defamation lawsuit filed by South Dakota-based Beef Products Inc. against ABC because his daughter-in-law works as a producer on...

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CDC: HIV spread high in young gay males

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say 1 in 5 new HIV infections occur in a tiny segment of the population — young men who are gay or bisexual.The government on Tuesday released new numbers that spotlight how the spread of the AIDS virus is heavily concentrated in young males who have sex with other males. Only about a quarter of new infections in the 13-to-24 age group are from injecting drugs or heterosexual...

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W.H. blasts GOP 'obsession' with Rice

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee—flanked by fellow committee …The White House sharply escalated its attacks Tuesday on Republicans trying to stop Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice from succeeding Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state. Press secretary Jay Carney described GOP lawmakers as being gripped by a politically fueled...

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Pakistani TV anchor survives attempted bombing

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Police on Monday found and defused a bomb planted under the car of a prominent Pakistani TV anchor threatened by the Taliban for his coverage of a schoolgirl shot by the militants, police said.The bomb was made up of half a kilogram (one pound) of explosives stuffed in a tin can, said Bani Amin, the police chief in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, where the incident occurred. It was...

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Man accused of stealing Tim Allen's Chevy Impala

DENVER (AP) — A man suspected of stealing one of Tim Allen's custom cars says the comedian left the keys so he could drive it to Denver.Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson said Monday that 34-year-old Faustino Ibarra is being held without bond while awaiting extradition to California after his arrest on Saturday.In a jailhouse interview with KDVR-TV (http://bit.ly/TpJirK ), Ibarra claimed Allen...

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains,...

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FDA flexes new muscles, shuts down peanut plant

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration halted operations of the country's largest organic peanut butter processor Monday, cracking down on salmonella poisoning for the first time with the new enforcement authority the agency gained in a 2011 food safety law.FDA officials found salmonella all over Sunland Inc.'s New Mexico processing plant after 41 people in 20 states, most of them children,...

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112 killed in fire at Bangladesh garment factory

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Fire raced through a garment factory that supplies major retailers in the West, killing at least 112 people, many of whom were trapped by the flames because the eight-story building lacked emergency exits, an official said Sunday.The blaze broke out late Saturday at a factory operated just outside Bangladesh's capital of Dhaka by Tazreen Fashions Ltd., a subsidiary of the...

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Nokia imaging chief to quit

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Nokia‘s long-time imaging chief Damian Dinning has decided to leave the loss-making cellphone maker at the end of this month, the company said in a statement.The strong imaging capabilities of the new Lumia smartphone models are a key sales argument for the former market leader, which has been burning through cash while losing share in both high-end smartphones and cheaper handsets.Nokia’s...

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'Twilight,' Bond, 'Lincoln' lead record weekend

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bella Swan, James Bond and Abe Lincoln have combined to lift Hollywood to record Thanksgiving revenue at the box office.Kristen Stewart's finale as Bella in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2" was No. 1 again with $64 million during the five-day holiday stretch that began Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday.Daniel Craig's Bond adventure "Skyfall" came in at No....

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