Little Clarity in Italian Vote, Aside from Anger

Italians Head to the Polls: Italians voted Sunday and Monday in a general election that is being closely watched to see whether a clear winner will emerge.ROME — Italian voters delivered a rousing anti-austerity message and a strong rebuke to the existing political order in national elections on Monday, plunging the country into political paralysis after results failed to produce a clear winner. ...

Read More..

AP source: Tom Brady gets 3-year extension

Tom Brady will be a Patriot until he is 40 years old.Brady agreed to a three-year contract extension with New England on Monday, a person familiar with the contract told The Associated Press. The extension is worth about $27 million and will free up nearly $15 million in salary cap room for the team, which has several younger players it needs to re-sign or negotiate new deals with.The person spoke...

Read More..

Global Health: After Measles Success, Rwanda to Get Rubella Vaccine

Rwanda has been so successful at fighting measles that next month it will be the first country to get donor support to move to the next stage — fighting rubella too. On March 11, it will hold a nationwide three-day vaccination campaign with a combined measles-rubella vaccine, hoping to reach nearly five million children up to age 14. It will then integrate the dual vaccine into its national...

Read More..

Little Clarity in Italian Vote, Aside from Anger

Italians Head to the Polls: Italians voted Sunday and Monday in a general election that is being closely watched to see whether a clear winner will emerge.ROME — Italian voters delivered a rousing anti-austerity message and a strong rebuke to the existing political order in national elections on Monday, plunging the country into political paralysis after results failed to produce a clear winner. ...

Read More..

Afghanistan Order U.S. Troops From Key Province

Bryan Denton for The New York TimesAn Afghan soldier and resident of Maidan Wardak Province, which the government has decreed off limits to United States forces. KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan government barred elite American forces from operating in a strategic province adjoining Kabul on Sunday, citing complaints that Afghans working for American Special Operations forces had tortured and killed...

Read More..

Johnson wins 2nd Daytona 500; Patrick finishes 8th

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A big first for Danica Patrick, but an even bigger second for Jimmie Johnson.Patrick made history up front at the Daytona 500 Sunday, only to see Johnson make a late push ahead of her and reclaim his spot at the top of his sport.It was the second Daytona 500 victory for Johnson, a five-time NASCAR champion who first won "The Great American Race" in 2006."There is no other...

Read More..

The Texas Tribune: Advocates Seek Mental Health Changes, Including Power to Detain

Matt Rainwaters for Texas MonthlyThe Sherman grave of Andre Thomas’s victims. SHERMAN — A worried call from his daughter’s boyfriend sent Paul Boren rushing to her apartment on the morning of March 27, 2004. He drove the eight blocks to her apartment, peering into his neighbors’ yards, searching for Andre Thomas, Laura Boren’s estranged husband. Expanded coverage of Texas is produced by...

Read More..

Many Cruise Ship Lack Backup Power Systems, Vexing Regulators

Denis Poroy/Associated PressThe Carnival Splendor cruise ship was towed into San Diego Bay in 2010, after a fire destroyed its electrical systems. It is becoming a familiar tale: When the cruise ship was towed into port, the endless hours for passengers of sleeping on deck and going without electricity or toilets were finally over. “It was really hell,” said Bernice Spreckman, who is 77 and...

Read More..

The Lede: Reeva Steenkamp, Steve Biko and the Quest for Justice in South Africa

LONDON – The title of the presiding judge 35 years ago was the same, chief magistrate of Pretoria, and the venue for the hearing, a converted synagogue, was not far from the modern courthouse seen on television screens around the world in recent days as Oscar Pistorius, the gold medal-winning Paralympic athlete, fought for bail in the killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.The case that unfolded...

Read More..

Fans injured when car sails into fence at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — At least 30 NASCAR fans were injured Saturday when a car sailed into the fence at Daytona International Speedway, and large chunks of debris — including a tire — flew into the grandstands. No fatalities were reported from the accident on the last lap of the Nationwide Series race.The crash began as the field closed in on the finish line, and rookie Kyle Larson's car came...

Read More..