Search results for

The news of Mexico's bloody cartel war is reflected in a controversial folk-music genre called narcocorridos, or drug ballads. They're like journalism put to song — telling stories of drug lords, arrests, shootouts, daring operations and betrayals. But, like the cartel war itself, writing corridos about drug traffickers can be risky business.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called the recent beating death of a Chicago teen a "wake-up call" that would lead to action. Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan held a news conference with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. The two Cabinet officials were sent by the White House to Chicago after the killing.

The U.S. Supreme Court took on a long-running legal fight Wednesday over an 8-foot cross in the Mojave Desert. The court heard arguments on whether the cross, which was erected on federal parkland as a war memorial, violates the rights of those who are offended by its religious symbolism.

Paul Shaffer is much more than just David Letterman's sidekick, his memoir reveals. We'll Be Here For the Rest of Our Lives details Shaffer's appearances on Saturday Night Live, his extended stint living in a hotel in Manhattan and the surprising place where he got his start in music.

President Obama met Tuesday with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to discuss Afghanistan. The meeting comes as Obama debates whether to increase troop levels in Afghanistan, as called for by his top commander in the country, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

A British publisher launched an unusual book Monday — an authorized history of MI5, the British domestic intelligence agency. It's the first authorized history of any Western intelligence agency, and allowing an academic to write it and comb through the agency's files has raised some questions about why the agency's secrets shouldn't be kept secret.

Rescue workers are trying to find survivors from Wednesday's earthquake that hit Indonesia, killing more than 1,000 people. BBC reporter Rachel Harvey, who is in Padang, a city of 900,000 people, says parts of the city are unaffected while other parts are devastated.

Representatives from the U.S. and five other world powers outlined their concerns about Iran's nuclear program at a meeting in Switzerland with an Iranian delegation. U.S. officials held the highest-level direct talks with the Iranians in years.

Iranian envoys meet Thursday in Geneva with representatives from Europe, Russia, China and the U.S. for talks that will focus on Tehran's suspect nuclear program. The meeting comes as Iran's foreign minister visited Washington on Wednesday on a rare visit.

An earthquake early Tuesday in the south Pacific sent tsunami waves crashing into Samoa and American Samoa. Charles McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, says he isn't sure if the warning reached people in time. But, he says, there would have been natural warning signs of a tsunami.