Severe weather rakes US midsection

JACKSON, Miss. – A large storm system packing high winds, rain and some possible tornadoes tore across several states in the South and central U.S. on Wednesday, blacking out power to thousands, downing trees and damaging homes.One death was reported when a large tree blew down on a shed in Nashville, Tenn., where a man was sheltering, police told Nashville broadcaster WTVF-TV. Authorities did not...

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Why women belong on war front-lines

Vernice Armour says "bottom line is if you can do the job, you should be out there doing it...man or a woman. "STORY HIGHLIGHTSVernice Armour: In 2004 battle in Iraq, she saved a Marine squad by shooting a missileShe says rescued Marines didn't care she was a woman. Now Pentagon lifting banShe says women in combat roles doesn't lower standards; they have long served in militaryArmour: Having more...

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Ex-Gov. Ryan arrives at halfway house: 'He has paid a severe price'

A somber and silent George Ryan arrived at a West Side halfway house this morning after the former governor was released from...

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Merkel urges Egypt's Mursi to hold crisis dialogue

CAIRO/BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Egypt's Islamist president on Wednesday to open a dialogue with all political forces in the crisis-ridden Arab country after a week of violence that has killed more than 50 people. President Mohamed Mursi flew to Germany to try to convince Europe of his democratic credentials, but in a sign of the political tensions back home,...

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Wall Street little changed ahead of data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed at the open on Tuesday as investors were cautious following a recent rally and before consumer confidence data. The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> rose 10.09 points or 0.07 percent, to 13,892.02, the S&P 500 <.spx> gained 0.05 point to 1,500.23 and the Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> dropped 8.27 points or 0.26 percent,...

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Mayor: New Orleans deserves Super Bowl spotlight

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A 20-story-high mural of the Lombardi Trophy, affixed to the glass exterior of a bustling hotel that was once a shattered symbol of Hurricane Katrina's devastation, rises like a beacon above the expansive white roof of the Superdome.The Super Bowl is back in the Big Easy, finally, after 11 years, giving New Orleans a spotlight of global proportion to showcase how far it has come...

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And Now, Back to Charles (Barkley) with the Weather

We realize there’s only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:RELATED: This Is How You Super Moonwalk; Old People Show Us the DubstepSo, Charles Barkley is a semi-wonderful,...

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Why haven't we learned from fires?

STORY HIGHLIGHTSPyrotechnics, overcrowding, poor exits have contributed to tragic fires in recent yearsYou would think the world would have learned from past incidents, John Barylick saysConcertgoers have to be their own fire marshals, he saysEditor's note: John Barylick, author of "Killer Show," a book on the 2003 Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island, is an attorney who represented victims in wrongful...

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2 men wounded at gas station where clerk slain in July

At least eight people were shot across Chicago overnight, including two men wounded just outside a West Side gas station where...

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Army warning: unrest pushing Egypt to brink

CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt's army chief said political strife was pushing the state to the brink of collapse - a stark warning from the institution that ran the country until last year as Cairo's first freely elected leader struggles to contain bloody street violence. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a U.S.-trained general appointed by President Mohamed Mursi last year to head the armed forces,...

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