Authorities in Illinois said a landscaper working across from a Lake Michigan beach discovered a 12-foot to 15-foot Burmese python.Waukegan Police Lt. Edward Fitzgerald said the yellow snake was spotted by a man trimming bushes Monday near Waukegan Municipal Beach and the reptile was captured without incident by Animal Control officers, the Chicago Sun-Times Media Network reported Tuesday."It was

Seven babies died after being fed an additive used to help thicken infant formula or breast milk, U.S. regulators said.The deaths were among 21 premature infants and one born full-term that developed inflamed intestines after they were given SimplyThick, the Food and Drug Administration said in a consumer update today. The product is a thickening gel designed to help premature babies swallow food

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Wednesday as major tech firms suffered losses, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.18 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,997.78 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips led the decline, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.76 percent and its smaller rival LG Electronics declining 0.52 percent following a law

South Korea will sharply increase the budget intended to provide more support and incentives for foreign businesses interested in making investments here, the finance ministry said Wednesday.The government will set aside 300 billion won (US$268.1million) for next year, which will be used exclusively to attract foreign investment, according to the ministry. The amount is up 36.1 percent from 220.5

A South Korean disabled athlete has accused his coach of repeatedly physically assaulting him since 2010 and taking money to cover training expenses, officials said Tuesday.Prosecutors in Incheon said they're investigating charges brought on Monday by a boccia athlete, identified only as A. The athlete, who has cerebral palsy, competed at the London Paralympics this month, and alleged his coach ab

A former South Korean government provided support to a secret network of civilians working to rescue South Korean prisoners of war (POWs) in North Korea, a journalist-turned-scholar here said Tuesday."I believe the network is still running," Melanie Kirkpatrick, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington D.C., said in an interview.The former veteran journalist was introducing her new bo

The 81st anniversary of a Japanese invasion brought a fresh wave of anti-Japan demonstrations in China on Tuesday, with thousands of protesters venting anger over the colonial past and a current dispute involving contested islands in the East China Sea.Outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, thousands shouted patriotic slogans and demanded boycotts of Japanese goods. Similar protests took place i

Foods that make a person healthier also make them better looking, a U.S. food expert says. "Vitamin C rich foods, especially strawberries, can help keep your skin glowing and bright. Vitamin C is an important building block for collagen, which supports the underlying structure of your skin. Just 1 cup of delicious strawberries contains over 100 percent of your daily vitamin C recommendation," Phil

Shakira and Usher are to replace Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green as mentors for Season 4 of the U.S. competition series "The Voice," NBC announced.Current "Voice" coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton will stay with the show when it returns for its fourth outing next spring.Aguilera and Green, who are leaving the series to fulfill other professional commitments, are expected to return the follo

A Delaware man was arrested for allegedly stealing his own impounded car, then leading police on a 35-minute chase before driving into a pond, police said.Donald Smith II, of Bear, was arrested early Friday and charged with theft, trespass and related offenses for the incident, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.Police said Smith used a front-end loader to steal his pickup truck from a repair sh

South Korean stocks started higher Tuesday, led by gains in big tech firms, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained0.81 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2003.16 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Big-cap tech names led the rise, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics increasing 0.99 percent and SK hynix climbing 0.87 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,1

U.S.-China trade tensions heated up Monday as the U.S. lodged a complaint over Beijing's automotive subsidies with the WTO and China countered with a filing over U.S. duties on Chinese products.Washington accused China of providing at least $1 billion in illegal subsidies to Chinese auto and auto parts exporters over 2009-2011, helping them beat U.S. manufacturers in the huge U.S. market.The U.S.

Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, renowned for her peaceful struggle against military rule, began a marathon tour of the U.S. Monday, the latest milestone in her remarkable journey from political prisoner to globe-trotting stateswoman.The Nobel Peace laureate will be presented with Congress' highest award during a 17-day visit that comes as the Obama administration considers easing remain

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee did not lodge an appeal by the due date against the latest high court ruling that found him guilty of malpractices carried out to make his son's takeover of the conglomerate easier, industry and court officials said Monday. South Korea's richest man showed no signs of filing an appeal at the Daegu District High Court, which was due on Sept. 12 if he had dec

 ‘Gangnam Style’ offers social commentarySouth Korean rapper PSY's ``Gangnam Style'' video has more than 200 million YouTube views and counting, and it's easy to see why. No Korean language skills are needed to enjoy the chubby, massively entertaining performer's crazy horse-riding dance, the song's addictive chorus and the video's exquisitely odd series of misadventures. Beneath the antic, funny

Two French doctors contend in a new book that half of all drugs prescribed in the country are useless at best and dangerous at worst.Professor Philippe Even, director of the Necker Institute, and Bernard Debre, a physician and member of Parliament, maintain the French health service could save as much as 10 billion euros ($13 billion) annually if dozens of drugs were no longer prescribed, The Guar

 A U.S. psychologist says people don‘t save because they don’t do the math to calculate the result of their savings -- if they did, it would motivate them. Craig McKenzie, a cognitive psychologist with the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego, said his experiment with a simple intervention demonstrated the enormous benefits of earning compound interest motivated his

South Korean stocks opened higher on Monday as investor sentiment got a boost from the U.S. Fed's latest stimulus measure, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed0.85 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2008.43 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips drove up the shares, with LG Electronics gaining 1.59 percent and SK hynix, the world No. 2 memory chipmake

A nuclear reactor at one of South Korea's nuclear power plants stopped generating power due to malfunctions on Sunday, plant operators said.A turbine and a generator of the Wolsong 1 reactor in Gyeongju stopped at 4:51 p.m. due to the malfunction of a device that supplies exiting currents to the generator, according to an official from the state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. The reacto

Heading into this year's U.N. General Assembly meeting, South Korea has two major goals _ winning a seat in the Security Council and making the case for its firm stance in history disputes with Japan.The 67th session of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly will open on Tuesday in New York for discussions on a range of international issues, including renewed anti-American protests in the Islamic wo