Rare Cuba trips by Americans all 'work' and no beach playground
HAVANA - After several frenetic days of traveling, listening to lectures, walking through historic Havana and meeting Cubans, Terry McAbee did not hesitate when asked what the trip with her fellow West Virginia school teachers was missing.
'Toffs' in red trousers a turn-off for nearly half of Britons
LONDON - Britain's class-conscious public have voiced their dislike of men in red trousers, associating them with elitism and garish buffoonery, according to a survey this week.
Vodka boycott in U.S. spreads on concerns over gay rights in Russia
- Gay rights activists in New York City dumped vodka onto the street on Wednesday to protest new laws in Russia targeting homosexuals, as a growing number of gay bar owners across the United States vowed to stop pouring Russian vodka.
Uruguay president defends 'cutting edge' pot legalization vote
MONTEVIDEO - Uruguay's leftist President Jose Mujica said his country would not become a haven for pot smokers the day after its lower chamber of Congress narrowly voted to legalize the cultivation and sale of marijuana.
German Catholic seminarians expelled for Nazi jokes, salute
PARIS - An investigation into rumors of neo-Nazi activity at a seminary in Bavaria has resulted in two student priests being expelled for imitating the Nazi salute and making jokes about death camps, two bishops announced.
Misconduct allegations rise for U.S. airport security workers
- Misconduct allegations increased 26 percent against U.S. airport security employees in the past three years, half of them over attendance and security issues, a government report said, but a workers' union said its members had "a strong record."
Detroit art museum warns auction could be death knell
- A top officer at the Detroit Institute of Arts predicts near-certain closure for the museum if Detroit sells major pieces from the 60,000 works in the institute's art collection as a way to address the city's dire financial situation.
China's army defends "sovereign territory" from Japanese - in video game
BEIJING - He walks backwards, emptying the magazine of his rifle into the three soldiers charging toward him with bayonets raised. They drop dead, and a small Japanese flag, its red sun stylized to resemble a bullet wound, flashes onto the screen.
Rome mayor plans traffic revolution near ancient Colosseum
ROME - Less than two months in office, the mayor of Rome is promising a minor revolution in the Italian capital and risking the ire of local motorists by closing the area around the ancient imperial forum complex to traffic.
Book Talk: Susan Choi returns to probe love, youthful selfishness
NEW YORK - Author Susan Choi in her latest book starts with a graduate student's fascination with a professor when she arrives at a prestigious university in 1992. But the initial attraction is where similarities between "My Education" and usual tales of college love end.
McCain, Biden coming together for Sedona, Arizona forum
These days Washington is not known for bipartisanship, but every now and then a breakthrough is made. It is noteworthy that Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Senator John McCain, a Republican, are appearing together at a forum in Sedona, Arizona on Friday.


