By Michael Bowman
Voice of America
WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2008 —  The embattled governor of the state of Illinois has named a replacement for President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. The surprise announcement came amid assertions by Senate Democrats that anyone chosen by the scandal-tainted governor would not be seated in Washington.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich tapped [...]

By Todd DeFeo
HarpBlaster.com News Wire
FLUSHING, N.Y. – When it comes to baseball stadiums, Shea Stadium doesn’t usually top the most charming ballpark list.
The so-called “cookie cutter” stadium opened in 1964 as the home of the hapless New York Mets and the New York Jets until 1983 when they left the city and started calling New [...]

By Todd DeFeo
HarpBlaster.com News Wire
ATLANTA – Drivers beware: As many as 53 percent of the people on the road say they used a cell phone while behind the wheel.
That’s according to the AAA Foundation’s 2008 Traffic Safety Culture Index. Furthermore, more than 14 percent of drivers said they send text messages.
Just a couple of statistics [...]

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2008 — A federal jury convicted five men on charges they plotted to kill members of the U.S. military, announced Patrick Rowan, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr.After 5½ days of deliberations, which began Dec. 17, 2008, the jury convicted Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, brothers [...]

Voice of America
ROME, Italy, Dec. 16, 2008 — Italian police backed by helicopters carried out a major anti-mafia operation in Sicily and Tuscany. Almost 100 people were arrested in one of the largest operations of its kind in recent years.
Italian police have carried out a major anti-mafia operation, arresting scores of people. They said those [...]

HarpBlaster.com News WirePresident-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will travel to Washington by train to kick off a series of events for inauguration week, officials said.
According to inauguration organizers, Obama and his family will start the day-long journey on Jan. 17 with an event in Philadelphia. The president-elect will then travel by train [...]

Voice of America
A U.S. official says Washington would condemn any unnecessary use of force against the journalist who threw his shoes at U.S. President George Bush.
Asked about reports that journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi was beaten when detained by security forces Sunday, a U.S. State Department spokesman said Tuesday he does not know if it happened, but [...]

Voice of America
WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama has selected the public schools chief from the city of Chicago to head the U.S. Department of Education.
Mr. Obama Tuesday named Arne Duncan as his choice for education secretary. He praised Duncan for his work reforming the Chicago school system, which is the third-largest in the country.
Mr. Obama [...]

CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges alleging that they and others are engaging in ongoing criminal activity: conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United States Senator; threatening [...]

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2008 – The war in Iraq isn’t over, but a successful end is in sight, thanks to hard work between the United States and Iraq, President George W. Bush said in his weekly radio address.
“Earlier this week, Iraq’s Presidency Council approved two landmark agreements that will [...]