News

Though most people rely on cellphones, not pay phones these days, the telephone boxes aren't obsolete. During an art exhibit in summer 2012, artist Benjamin Shine transformed one into a work called Box Lounger, on display here in Central St. Giles in Lond

World News

Some Brits Not Ready To Say 'Ta-Ra' To Iconic Telephone Box

10:14am January 15, 2014

by Ari Shapiro

A race is on to save Britain's beloved crimson phone booth, threatened not by habitat loss or climate change, but by the ubiquity of cell phones. The country had 92,000 payphones in 2002; now, it has just 48,000. But devotees are finding new uses for the booths.

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'Pretty Good' Budget Deal Looks Good Enough To Avoid Shutdown

9:01am January 15, 2014

by David Welna

The so-called "omnibus" package of all 12 annual spending bills has more money in it than what Congressional Republicans wanted, but less than what President Obama had asked for. There is some disappointment with the measure on both sides of the aisle, but this time nobody is talking about forcing another government shutdown.

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Charleston Mayor: Company Behind Chemical Leak Run By 'Renegades'

7:08pm January 14, 2014

by Eyder Peralta

Mayor Danny Jones says he's not "even sure they cared what happened to the public." Jones adds the West Virginia capital is considering taking legal action.

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World News

On Third Anniversary, Tunisians May Get A Constitution

6:33pm January 14, 2014

by Eleanor Beardsley

Celebrations in Tunisia on Tuesday are marking the third anniversary of the revolution that led to the ouster of its dictator and set in motion the regional uprisings of the Arab Spring. As huge crowds gather in the streets of the capital, members of the National Assembly are voting on a new constitution that has the approval of both secular groups, which are popular in the capital, and Islamists, whose strongholds are in the countryside. New parliamentary elections are expected later this year.

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National

In California, Alarm Grows Over Shrinking Water Levels

6:33pm January 14, 2014

by Richard Gonzales

The drought in California has become so severe that cities are preparing to impose restrictions on water use in homes. In Northern California, the water level in Folsom Lake is so low that remnants of Gold Rush life, which have long been underwater, are now exposed and being collected.

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Hopes Dim For Long-Term Extension To Jobless Benefits

6:33pm January 14, 2014

The Senate is still struggling to find a way to pay for an extension of unemployment benefits for those out of work for 26 weeks or more. Majority leader Harry Reid agreed to bring up five Democratic and five Republican amendments in hopes to winning enough Republicans over to get to the 60 votes needed for passage.

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Students in Central High School walk through the hallways between classes.

Nearly Six Decades Later, Integration Remains A Work In Progress

1:30pm January 14, 2014

by Debbie Elliott

In Little Rock, Ark., a federal judge approved a settlement that brings an end to a landmark school desegregation case. The case dates back to 1957, when nine black students integrated Central High School, which up until that point was all-white. But after 60 years of desegregation efforts, are the classes really integrated?

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The Big Impact Of A Little-Known Chemical In W.Va. Spill

10:06am January 14, 2014

by Elizabeth Shogren

At the time of the accident, the CDC didn't have a standard for how much of the coal-cleaning chemical is safe in drinking water. So the agency had to come up with one.

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There are dozens of varieties of borscht — but at its most basic, it's a beet soup with potatoes, tomatoes and often beef or pork.

Borscht Make Your Heart Beet? They're Serving 70,000 Gallons In Sochi

8:57am January 14, 2014

by Serri Graslie

Organizers of the Winter Games are preparing to serve up quite a bit of the hearty, deep-red Russian soup. Which is kind of ironic, says Russian food writer Anya von Bremzen, since borscht carries with it complicated political implications. And not all borschts are created equal, she warns.

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Target Co. estimates that at least 70 million individuals may have had information including their "names, mailing addresses, phone numbers or email addresses" stolen in a recent data breach.

Economy

Security Experts Say Data Thieves Are Getting Harder To Fight

8:53am January 14, 2014

by Yuki Noguchi

Even retailers that invest heavily in sophisticated security systems are seeing new vulnerabilities from rogue hackers who are buying software tools on the black market.

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