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Americans tune out Afghan war as fighting rages on

Written by DEB RIECHMANN - Associated Press Tuesday, 21 August 2012 20:10

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — It was once President Barack Obama's "war of necessity." Now, it's America's forgotten war. The Afghan conflict generates barely a whisper on the U.S. presidential campaign trail. It's not a hot topic at the office water cooler or in the halls of Congress — even though more than 80,000 American troops are still fighting here and dying at a rate of one a day. Americans show more interest in the economy and taxes than the latest suicide bombings in a different, distant land. They're more tuned in to the political ad war playing out on television…

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Oil resumes upward march, hits 3-month high

Written by SAMANTHA BOMKAMP - AP Business Writer Tuesday, 21 August 2012 19:57

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil resumed climbing Tuesday, reaching its highest point since early May. Speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve might take action to spark the sluggish recovery and hopes for good news from upcoming debt-crisis meetings in Europe were the catalysts. Benchmark crude finished up 71 cents at $96.68 per barrel in New York. Earlier, it crossed $97 for the first time since May 11. It lost 4 cents Monday after rising for four straight days. Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, rose 94 cents to $114.64 per barrel in…

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Ohio man gets life for killing, dismembering lover

Written by ASSOCIATED PRESS Tuesday, 21 August 2012 19:55

URBANA, Ohio (AP) — A man who pleaded guilty to stabbing, suffocating and dismembering his girlfriend has been sentenced to life in prison and must serve at least 42 years before being eligible for parole. Matthew Puccio, who was sentenced Monday in Champaign County Common Pleas Court, pleaded guilty last month to aggravated murder in the death of Jessica Rae Sacco along with other charges including felonious assault, gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. The remains of Sacco, 21, were found in the bathtub of their apartment in Urbana, in western Ohio, in late March. Authorities said…

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Mo. congressman renews vow to stay in Senate race

Written by JIM SALTER - Associated Press Tuesday, 21 August 2012 19:52

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rep. Todd Akin renewed his vow to carry on with his embattled Senate campaign Tuesday, even as a key deadline loomed to withdraw from the race over his comments that women's bodies can prevent pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape." Akin, who has been frantically trying to salvage his once-promising bid against incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill, insisted the uproar surrounding his remarks was an overreaction to misspeaking "one word in one sentence on one day." For the second time in two days, Akin went on the radio show hosted by former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee…

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Tuskegee airman G. Hickman dies in Seattle at 88

Written by PHUONG LE - Associated Press Monday, 20 August 2012 18:14

SEATTLE (AP) — George Hickman, one of the original Tuskegee airmen and a longtime usher at University of Washington and Seattle Seahawks games, has died at age 88. His wife, Doris, confirmed Monday that he died early Sunday morning in Seattle. Hickman was one of the country's first black military pilots and ground crew members who fought in World War II. In 2007, he and other Tuskegee airmen traveled to Washington, D.C., to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor. In 2009, he attended President Barack Obama's inauguration as a special guest. Hickman was a fixture at…

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Activists up ante in China, Japan isle dispute

Written by ERIC TALMADGE - Associated Press Monday, 20 August 2012 17:46

TOKYO (AP) — When Tokyo's nationalist governor suggested buying uninhabited islands at the center of a long-simmering dispute with China, Beijing immediately denounced him and even Japan's government played down the plan, fearing an international firestorm. Now activists on both sides have put the islands front-and-center in one of the biggest territorial flare-ups between the two Asian giants in years, a collision of the persistent animosities over Japan's imperialist past and the new fears of China's rising economic and military clout. An unauthorized landing by Japanese activists on a tiny island in what the Japanese call the Senkaku chain —…

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Pakistan Christian girl held, accused of blasphemy

Written by REBECCA SANTANA - Associated Press Monday, 20 August 2012 17:32

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani authorities have arrested a young Christian girl after hundreds of furious neighbors gathered outside her house and accused her of violating the country's strict blasphemy laws by burning pages of the Muslim holy book, police and neighbors said Monday. The girl's age was not immediately clear, with reports ranging from 11 to 16, and some have raised the possibility she might be mentally handicapped. Under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad or defiling the holy book, or Quran, can face life in prison or even execution. The laws have been an…

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Wife of disgraced Chinese politician sentenced

Written by GILLIAN WONG - Associated Press Monday, 20 August 2012 17:27

HEFEI, China (AP) — The wife of a disgraced Chinese politician received a suspended death sentence Monday for the murder of a British businessman, as authorities move to tidy up a huge political scandal ahead of a once-in-a-decade leadership transition this fall. Gu Kailai's sentencing clears the way for the ruling Communist Party to deal with her husband, Bo Xilai, who was formerly one of China's most prominent politicians before being stripped of his Politburo post in the scandal. Bo has not been directly implicated in the murder of Neil Heywood, but is accused of unspecified grave violations of party…

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Stocks slip on Europe worries, Lowe's miss

Written by BERNARD CONDON - AP Business Writer Monday, 20 August 2012 17:21

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell Monday as worries flared anew about the European debt crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 14 points at 13,261 at noon EDT. The Standard & Poor's 500 was off two points at 1,416. And the Nasdaq composite index was down almost six points at 3,071. In a report issued Monday, the German central bank questioned the wisdom of having the European Central Bank buy bonds to help the struggling European economies. It stressed that such purchases could carry "substantial risks." Earlier this month, stocks rallied after ECB President Mario Draghi said the…

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THE RACE: Romney reunites with Ryan at NH forum

Written by Tom Raum - ASSOCIATED PRESS Monday, 20 August 2012 17:19

For Mitt Romney, this is the last week to rally GOP troops before the Republican National Convention. He began by fielding questions side-by-side with running mate Rep. Paul Ryan on Monday at an outdoor town-hall-style forum at St. Anselm College near Manchester, N.H. Both criticized President Barack Obama's plan to trim payments to Medicare providers, even though part of that plan had previously been endorsed by Ryan as chairman of the House Budget Committee. "We want this debate, we need this debate and we will win this debate about Medicare," Ryan said. Romney, who has a vacation home in New…

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