Let’s not kid ourselves: Valentine’s Day is torture. I’m not referring just to petulant “woe is me” single folk. Even happy couples consider Cupid’s holiday a nuisance.In the aftermath of the holiday season, most people don’t have the creativity or desire to come up with exceptional Valentine’s Day presents for their significant others. Chocolate and…

ATLANTA – A lawsuit claiming an Alabama coal company executive paid paramilitary forces to kill three Colombian union leaders was revived Thursday when an appeals court ruled the victims' children could sue in the U.S.The mine operator, Drummond Company Inc., was cleared of any wrongdoing by jurors in Birmingham during a 2007 trial in a…

UNITED NATIONS – Human Rights Watch singled out U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for especially harsh criticism Monday as it took world leaders to task for what it called their failure to be tougher on rights offenders.Ban's office rejected the criticism, insisting that the U.N. chief employs both quiet diplomacy and public condemnation with abusive governments…

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A top US senator called Egypt "an extremely important ally" on Wednesday but kept mum on support for President Hosni Mubarak after protests in Cairo modeled on Tunisia's uprising."All I could say this morning is that Egypt has been an extremely important ally of ours since Anwar Sadat, and we're all watching…

Here's our list of headlines that should be on your morning media menu: Dylan Stableford rounds up the media's reaction to President Obama's State of the Union address. () TechCrunch honcho Michael Arrington is throwing punches again -- this time at his own blog. () One hundred fifty-one newspapers folded in 2010 -- and 688…

VIENNA (Reuters) – Major powers are expected to test whether Iran might be ready to start addressing their concerns about its nuclear plans at a meeting in Istanbul this week, possibly by exploring ways to reduce deep mutual mistrust.Both sides have in recent months indicated willingness to resume talks about a plan to swap atom…

If a theme song were chosen for the first Republican National Committee chairman debate it would’ve been the O’Jays ditty “For The Love of Money” that goes “Money! Money! Money! Money!”Though current RNC Chairman Michael Steele was not present at the first debate among RNC chairman hopefuls, the state of the committee’s finances and spending…

WASHINGTON – Cars and trucks made the biggest year-to-year increase in fuel efficiency in nearly three decades in the 2009 model year, averaging 22.4 miles per gallon, the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday.The government reported that new vehicle fuel efficiency improved 6 percent last year from 21.0 mpg during the 2008 model year, the largest…

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes were modestly higher on Wednesday, led by gains among retailers after a bullish outlook from Target, but Europe's debt crisis kept investors cautious.Discount chain Target Corp (TGT.N) jumped nearly 4 percent to $55.62 after it forecast its best same-store sales in three years during the…

NEW YORK (AFP) – Designers from around the world start unveiling their creations Thursday at New York's Spring-Summer 2011 Fashion Week, held for the first time at the city's prestigious Lincoln Center.The fashion world was in buoyant mood for the start of the event, which runs to September 16, celebrating both the new venue and…