LONDON (AP) — Memo to Brazil: That idea of putting up a giant Jesus statue in a London park is not going over well. Brazil’s tourist board floated the notion of erecting a 30- foot replica of Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue — a symbol of peace and a well- known landmark of […]

NEW YORK ( AP) — The mayors of New York and Boston are rooting for opposing teams in the Super Bowl. But they’re on the same side when it comes to pushing for stricter gun-control laws. That’s why New York City’s Michael Bloomberg and Boston’s Thomas Menino have filmed a gun- control commercial that will […]

ISLAMABAD ( AP) — A female university professor sent a packet containing anthrax to the office of Pakistan’s prime minister in October last year, his spokesman said today, an incident that will fuel security concerns in a country that is home to top al-Qaida leaders and other extremists. No one was made ill, and her […]

FITCHBURG, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts mother says the FBI used a chain saw blade to cut through her door and held her at gunpoint for at least 30 minutes before agents realized they were conducting a raid at the wrong home. Judy Sanchez, of Fitchburg, says she awoke to heavy footsteps in the stairwell […]

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Employees of an Australian bus company have been given a 15 million Australian dollar ($16 million) share of the proceeds of the business sale as a thank you for their loyalty, an executive and a newspaper said today. The 1,800 staff at Melbourne based Grenda Corp. have received bonuses averaging more […]

BEIRUT ( AP) — Syrian troops battled army defectors in a string of towns in the mountains overlooking Damascus today in a new assault to crush rebellious areas around the capital, activists said. The battles in a mountain valley came after regime forces succeeded in largely retaking control of suburbs on the eastern side of […]

LONDON ( AP) — Julian Assange took his extradition battle to Britain’s Supreme Court today, arguing that sending him to Sweden would violate a fundamental principle of natural law. The two- day hearing is Assange’s last chance to persuade British judges to quash efforts to send him to Scandinavia, where he is wanted on sex […]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The warning level for a remote Alaska volcano has been raised after a new lava dome began forming, indicating the mountain could explode and send up an ash cloud that could threaten aircraft. The Alaska Volcano Observatory on Tuesday elevated the alert status for Cleveland Volcano. Officials say the new lava […]

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The body of an 11th person has been found in a pickup truck days after a deadly pileup on Interstate 75, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The victim was inside a Dodge pickup truck that crashed into a tractor trailer as it traveled south early Sunday, authorities determined Tuesday. The driver […]

DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler, propelled by higher sales of Jeeps and other revamped cars and trucks, reported its first annual net income since 1997, capping a pivotal turnaround year that many thought would never come. The U. S. automaker, now privately held and majority owned by Italy’s Fiat SpA, earned $183 million last year, reversing […]