Syrian activists: 200 dead in government assault (AP)
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:58:09 GMT
AP - In a barrage of mortar shells, Syrian forces killed 200 people and wounded hundreds in Homs in an offensive that appears to be the bloodiest episode in the nearly 11-month-old uprising, activists said Saturday.

Hiring surges in January; jobless rate at 8.3 pct. (AP)
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:51:09 GMT
AP - In a long-awaited surge of hiring, companies added 243,000 jobs in January — across the economy, up and down the pay scale and far more than just about anyone expected. Unemployment fell to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three years.

Surprises about Planned Parenthood cancer testing (AP)
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:02:25 GMT
AP - To many people, breast cancer screening means a mammogram. But for millions of poor, mostly young women who visit Planned Parenthood, it is usually just a physical exam by the only health professional they may ever see.

Popular character actor Ben Gazzara dies in NY (AP)
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:57:09 GMT
AP - Ben Gazzara, whose powerful dramatic performances brought an intensity to a variety of roles and made him a memorable presence in such iconic productions over the decades as the original "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" on Broadway and the film "The Big Lebowski," has died at age 81.

Prosecutors won't charge cyclist Lance Armstrong (AP)
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:58:59 GMT
AP - The case against Lance Armstrong is closed. His legacy as a seven-time Tour de France champion endures.

State election has big implications for all India (AP)
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:01:36 GMT
AP - One of India's most powerful and controversial politicians rises from a throne-like armchair, a clutch of candidates standing deferentially behind her and two large portraits flanking the stage. A gated semicircle keeps tens of thousands of supporters 20 yards (meters) away.

Hackers intercept FBI, Scotland Yard call (AP)
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:04:08 GMT
AP - Trading jokes and swapping leads, investigators from the FBI and Scotland Yard spent the conference call strategizing about how to bring down the hacking collective known as Anonymous, responsible for a string of embarrassing attacks across the Internet.

Heavy snowstorm hits Colorado on its way east (AP)
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:36:19 GMT
AP - The most powerful storm of the winter season pounded Colorado and parts of neighboring states on Friday, creating whiteout conditions on the eastern plains, cancelling more than 600 flights in Denver and closing hundreds of miles of highway between major Colorado cities and the Kansas border.

CEO of chip maker Micron dies in plane crash (AP)
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:12:55 GMT
AP - The head of memory chip maker Micron, long known for taking risks in stunt piloting, died Friday when a small experimental plane he was piloting steeply banked, stalled and crashed near an Idaho runway.

Kobayashi downs record 337 wings at Pa. Wing Bowl (AP)
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:22:49 GMT
AP - Competitive-eating champ Takeru Kobayashi (tah-kah-roo koh-bee-yah-shee) conquered Philadelphia's annual gustatory gorge-fest by eating 337 chicken wings in a half-hour before a crowd of nearly 20,000 at Wing Bowl XX.