Proposal trims defense spending, limits tax benefits for the rich and freezes many domestic programsWASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama will send Congress on Monday a $3 trillion-plus budget for 2012 that promises $1.1 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade by freezing many domestic programs for five years, trimming military spending and limiting tax deductions for the wealthy.Jac

Athens slams debt inspectors after IMF and EU visit, accusing them of overstepping rolesATHENS (AP) ― An indignant Greece slammed EU and International Monetary Fund inspectors overseeing its efforts to reform its debt-crippled economy, accusing them Saturday of overstepping their role and interfering in Greece’s internal affairs.In an unusually harshly worded, pre-dawn statement, government spokes

PEBBLE BEACH, California (AP) ― D.A. Points knew it was going to be a great week at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am when he found out Bill Murray was his amateur partner.It got even better Thursday.Points found Murray’s antics to be more amusing than annoying, and it showed in his play. With eight birdies on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula, he opened with a 7-under 63 and shared the lead w

IMF chief urges bigger global role for yuan, emerging economies' currenciesWASHINGTON (AFP) ― IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Thursday said the currencies of China and other emerging economies should play a greater role in global finance, as part of a bid to promote monetary stability.Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the 187-nation International Monetary Fund, backed the inclusion of the

BOSTON (AP) ― Kobe Bryant scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half, and the Los Angeles Lakers spoiled Ray Allen’s record-setting night by beating the Boston Celtics 92-86 in an NBA finals rematch Thursday night.Allen became the NBA’s career leader in 3-pointers in the first quarter, but Bryant later put him on the bench in foul trouble during his big second half that rallied Los Angeles from

ROME (AFP) ― Italian magistrates on Wednesday will request that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi face a fast-track trial over allegations he had sex with an underage girl and abused his powers to help her.Chief prosecutor Edmondo Bruti Liberati and his fellow judges in Milan have finished an inquiry into allegations that the 74-year-old premier paid for sex with a nightclub dancer nicknamed Ruby t

Choi Hak-young, a 37-year-old office worker in Seoul, grew up seeing people smoking just about everywhere in South Korea, including at subway stations and even on city buses and airplanes.Today, South Korea is no longer a smokers’ haven. The social environment of smoking has changed so much over the years, and smokers like Choi too often find themselves unwelcome almost everywhere in the country.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) ― Brian Wu hoisted his six-year-old daughter onto his shoulders at The Mirage hotel-casino so the delighted little girl could get a better look at the leaping dragons shimmying to a boisterous drumbeat.For Wu’s daughter, Yvonne, this is what Chinese New Year is all about. The Wu family, who live near Los Angeles, have celebrated the holiday on the Las Vegas Strip every year

Russia, the only one of the so-called BRIC countries without capital controls, is following China and Turkey in relying on reserve requirements to drain cash from the economy and avoid luring more speculative investment.“We stand ready to continue increasing mandatory requirements, if needed,” Bank Rossii Chairman Sergey Ignatiev said in Frankfurt on Feb. 4. Policy makers will “act decisively to m

Market fears unrest could disrupt flow of oil from the Middle EastNEW YORK (AP) ― A key global oil price contract topped $100 per barrel on Monday for the first time since 2008, as investors kept an anxious eye on Egypt and worried about unrest there disrupting the flow of oil from the Middle East.While Egypt is not a major oil-producing country, each day about two million barrels of oil pass thro

WALTHAM, Massachusetts (AP) ― An alcohol-detection prototype that uses automatic sensors to instantly gauge a driver’s fitness to be on the road has the potential to save thousands of lives, but could be as long as a decade away from everyday use in cars, federal officials and researchers said Friday.U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood visited QinetiQ North America, a Waltham, Massachusetts-b

BEIJING (AFP) ― In stews, as pets or adorning shop windows, rabbits are ubiquitous as millions of Chinese mark the Lunar New Year, hoping for a more tranquil time ahead as the old Year of the Tiger roars its last.The nation’s 1.3 billion inhabitants will welcome the Year of the Rabbit on the night of Feb. 2-3 in a hugely important family event marked by feasts and a blaze of fireworks.Occupying th

WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama tried to win over Egyptians enraged by their autocratic ruler and assure an essential ally that the U.S. stood by it.His four-minute speech from the White House on Friday evening was a balancing act. He had much to lose in the chaos engulfing Egypt, where protesters are demanding that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak step down from a government violently cl

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Amazon has released the first of a new line of short digital books pitched as quick, captivating works for its popular Kindle electronic readers.The launch of Kindle Singles included the debut of TED Books, written versions of inspirational 18-minute talks that are a trademark of renowned TED gatherings dedicated to cultivating “ideas worth spreading.”“This first set of Singl

BEIJING (AP) ― China on Wednesday unveiled fresh measures to curb property prices, including requiring unruly local governments to set price controls, but made no mention of a widely expected property tax.City governments must set property price control targets in line with local income levels for 2011 and need to make the targets public in the first quarter, according to a state media report citi

Fed likely to cite economy's gains and risks and maintain pace of $600b bond-buying programWASHINGTON (AP) ― The economy isn’t growing fast enough to lower unemployment and still needs help from the Federal Reserve’s $600 billion Treasury bond-purchase program.That was the assessment Wednesday of Fed policymakers as they ended their first meeting of the year. The Fed made no changes to the program

 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Yahoo Inc.’s fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled, but the Internet company’s sagging revenue showed that it is still lagging in the high-stakes race for online advertising.The results announced Tuesday illuminated why many investors are wondering if Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is the right person for the job as she enters the second half of a four-year contract she signed in

ISTANBUL (AFP) ― World powers Saturday failed to persuade Iran to take steps to ease suspicions over its nuclear program as the defiant Islamic republic insisted on uranium enrichment.The two-day talks in Istanbul between Iran and the six world powers ended without progress and no new meeting was scheduled to tackle concerns that Tehran is secretly developing an atomic bomb.“We had hoped to embark

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. coffee chain Starbucks on Wednesday began allowing customers in its U.S. stores to keep their cash and credit cards in their wallets and pay for their drinks with mobile phones.Starbucks said the mobile payment system, which has been tested in selected cities since last year, was being expanded to the nearly 6,800 Starbucks around the country and the more than 1,000 Starbuc

Nation's economy grew 10% in 2010, spurred by surging investmentSHANGHAI (AP) ― By the usual measures, the world’s second largest economy is doing just fine: China’s growth this year looks likely to slow only slightly. Prices appear to be moderating and shops are packed as families stock up on food and clothes for Lunar New Year festivities.But despite the upbeat holiday mood, China is struggling