News

Toronto mayor denies he smokes crack cocaine
TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denied Friday that he smokes crack cocaine and said he is not an addict after a video purported to show him using the drug. The mayor of Canada's largest city did not say whether he has ever used crack.
Guatemalan ex-president extradited to U.S. on money-laundering charges
By Mike McDonald GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo was extradited on Friday to the United States to face money-laundering charges, just days after former dictator Efrain Rios Montt's genocide conviction was overturned. A U.S. grand jury decided in 2009 that Portillo, who was in office from 2000 to 2004, should face charges that he laundered $70 million through U.S. banks. ...
IMF's Lagarde escapes formal investigation in French case
PARIS (Reuters) - French magistrates decided on Friday not to place IMF chief Christine Lagarde under formal investigation over her role in a 285-million-euros ($368.5 million) arbitration payment made to a supporter of former president Nicolas Sarkozy. Lagarde was instead given the status of a "supervised witness", after she was questioned on her 2008 decision as Sarkozy's finance minister to use arbitration to settle a court battle between the state and businessman Bernard Tapie. ...
Afghan Taliban attack aid group, 2 guards killed
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — In the latest militant strike on the Afghan capital, Taliban gunmen backed by a suicide car bomber attacked an international aid group's compound on Friday, killing two guards and setting off an hours-long street battle with police in the heart of Kabul .
Toronto mayor says he doesn't smoke crack cocaine
TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denied Friday that he smokes crack cocaine and said he is not an addict after a video purported to show him using the drug. Ford did not say whether he has ever used crack.

FDA warns of infections tied to Tennessee pharmacy WASHINGTON (AP) — Government health officials are investigating cases involving patients who suffered complications after being injected with potentially contaminated medications made by a Tennessee specialty pharmacy.
Furlough Friday: Unpaid day off for many in gov't
WASHINGTON (AP) — No one answered the tax-help hotline at the IRS on Friday. And you could forget about getting advice on avoiding foreclosures at the 80 Housing and Urban Development field offices nationwide.
Judge orders Philadelphia faith-healing couple held in son's death By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Philadelphia couple charged with murder after their baby died without medical care must be held in jail whether or not they make bail, a judge ruled on Friday. The couple, Herbert and Catherine Schaible, believe in faith healing, and those who share their beliefs might be willing to harbor them if they decide to flee, Judge Benjamin Lerner told a court hearing in Philadelphia. The Schaibles were charged with third-degree murder on Wednesday after the April 18 death of their seven-month-old son Brandon from bacterial pneumonia, dehydration and strep. ...
Arizona jury foreman says believed Jodi Arias was abused
By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - The foreman of an Arizona jury that deadlocked over whether Jodi Arias should be put to death for murdering her ex-boyfriend believes she was mentally abused, but said on Friday that had not been enough to excuse her crime. Arias, a former waitress from California, was found guilty this month of murdering Travis Alexander, whose body was found slumped in the shower of his Phoenix-area home in June 2008. He had been stabbed 27 times, had his throat slashed and been shot in the face. ...
AP PHOTOS: Storm survivor looks for silver lining
MOORE, Okla. (AP) — Sabrina Mitchell is used to looking for silver linings.