BETHESDA, Maryland (AP) ― If he keeps playing like this, Rory McIlroy’s next chance to close out a major should come very soon.McIlroy, who blew a four-shot lead in the final round of the Masters, is on top at the U.S. Open, shooting a 6-under-par 65 on Thursday to take a three-stroke lead over Yang Yong-eun and the man who wound up taking the green jacket, Charl Schwartzel.There’s still a lot of

CHUNCHEON (Yonhap News) ― The national marathon team head coach is being probed for allegedly doping his athletes, including an Asian Games gold medalist, local police said Friday.Jeong Man-hwa has allegedly made his marathoners inject themselves with illegal substances that increase red blood cells since April, said a spokesman for the police here, about 85 kilometers east of Seoul, adding these

Fed chief says brinkmanship threatens to backfire and harm the economyWASHINGTON (AP) ― Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday urged Republicans to support raising the nation’s borrowing limit. He said threatening to block the increase to gain deeper federal spending cuts could backfire and worsen the economy.Even a short delay in making payments on the nation’s debt would cause severe d

NEW YORK (AP) ― Imagine being pregnant and taking a simple blood test that lays bare the DNA of your fetus. And suppose that DNA could reveal not only medical conditions like Down syndrome, but also things like eye color and height. And the risk for developing depression or Alzheimer’s disease. And the chances of being gay.So far that’s still science fiction. But scientists have been taking some b

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) ― Two explosions went off minutes apart in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar Sunday, killing 34 people and injuring nearly 100 in one of the deadliest attacks since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden last month, officials said.The blasts, one of which was caused by a suicide bomber, occurred just after midnight in an area of the city that is home to political

Television networks gradually show more commercials online as viewer habits changeLOS ANGELES (AP) ― One of the rewards of watching TV online is not having to sit through as many commercials. Now the networks are chipping away at that little luxury.CBS shows twice as many ads per show on its website as it did last year. The CW network shows four times as many. Dozens of shows from major cable netw

BEIJING (AP) ― French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Thursday she is “very positive” after talks with Chinese officials about her candidacy to head the International Monetary Fund and said Beijing’s stake in the body should increase.Lagarde is on a global tour to promote her candidacy to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who quit after he was charged with sexually assaulting a New York hote

Activist casts doubt on account; official says authorities will respond firmly to attacksBEIRUT (AP) ― Armed men killed 120 Syrian security forces and torched government buildings Monday in a northern region where troops have unleashed deadly assaults on protesters for days, Syria said. The government vowed to respond “decisively,” hinting at an even more brutal crackdown by a regime known for rut

SANTIAGO (AP) ― An erupting Chilean volcano sent a towering plume of ash across South America on Monday, forcing thousands from their homes, grounding airline flights in southern Argentina and coating ski resorts with a gritty layer of dust instead of snow.Booming explosions echoed across the Andes as toxic gases belched up from a 5 kilometer long fissure in the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic comp

White House touts value of emergency loans to GM and ChryslerWASHINGTON (AP) ― Taxpayers will lose about $14 billion in the government’s $80 billion bailout of Chrysler and GM, the White House said Wednesday, portraying the outcome as good news since the losses are far lower than originally anticipated.Seizing on the figures, the Obama administration took credit for the resurgence of the U.S. auto

NEW YORK (AP) ― Sarah Palin and Donald Trump exchanged words of admiration Tuesday after a brief meeting at the real estate magnate’s penthouse in a Manhattan skyscraper bearing his name.Palin, the former Republican vice presidential nominee, said she and Trump shared similar ideas for improving the U.S. economy, while Trump called Palin a “terrific woman and a terrific friend” whom he hoped would

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Instead of paying attention in high school, Nick Cammarata preferred to read books on whatever interested him. He also has a gift for coding that got him into Carnegie Mellon University’s esteemed computer science program despite his grades.But the 18-year-old programmer won’t be going to college this fall. Or maybe ever.Cammarata is one of two dozen winners of a scholarship j

WASHINGTON (AP) ― From the United States to Europe and even to booming China, the global economy is showing signs of strain.Most major economies are expected to keep growing. But evidence is mounting that many around the world are struggling to expand as fast as they did last year.European governments are struggling with debts and squeezed budgets. Britain’s economy scarcely grew at the start of t

OECD sees world growth of 4.2%, urges Fed to raise ratesPARIS (AFP) ― Crisis still stalks the global economy with stagflation lurking and Japan set for recession this year despite moderate overall recovery, the OECD said on Wednesday, warning against complacency.The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development held its 2011 global growth forecast steady at 4.2 percent in its latest semi-a

EU head calls for independent privatization body to tackle debtBERLIN (AP) ― Greece’s prime minister admitted for the first that his country might not be able to tap the markets for its borrowing needs next year as the head of the eurogroup urged the debt-ridden country to set up an independent privatization body overseen by the European Union to bring down its ballooning debt level.Tweet ShareThi

CAMDEN, New Jersey (AP) ― The charter bus arrived on a warm day in May a year ago, and when the doors opened, close to 50 people climbed aboard. They brought with them hopes for a better future, in decent homes, free of drugs and crime and all the woes that come from living on the margins.For days, months or years, they had been living in a ragtag city of tents, tucked away in the woods near Camde

Fed minutes reveal debate in April how to tighten credit if inflation persistsWASHINGTON (AP) ― The Federal Reserve said last month that the economy is gradually improving and began discussing how it would reverse policies adopted during the recession that pumped billions of dollars into the economy.Some members said the Fed might need to start boosting interest rates this year to guard against in

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― Senior EU officials on Tuesday raised the possibility of a limited but controversial restructuring of Greece’s mountain of debt which could involve private sector creditors taking some of the pain.Leading eurozone policy-maker Jean-Claude Juncker said a “soft restructuring” of Greece’s 330-billion-euro ($470-billion) accumulated debt was a possibility as an EU-IMF mission in Athen