The Miss Universe Organization announced Monday that it might reverse an earlier decision and allow a transgender woman to enter the Miss Universe Canada pageant.Jenna Talackova, 23, was born male, leading organizers to disqualify her last month as a finalist in the 61st Miss Universe Canada pageant in May.The rules of the contest run by Donald Trump’s New York City-based organization say entrants

Culture April 3, 2012

A Michigan teacher's aide says she was suspended for refusing to allow school administrators access to her Facebook account to examine a picture she posted.Kimberly Hester, an aide at Frank Squires Elementary School in Cassopolis, Mich., found herself in trouble with the Lewis Cass Intermediate School District after posting a picture in April 2011 of a co-worker's pants around her ankles and a pai

World News April 3, 2012

A group of sixth-graders scooping trash out of a California lake discovered sunken treasure, including rings, coins and brooches.Richard Bailey, executive director of the Lake Merritt Institute, said the students from the St. Paul's Episcopal School in Oakland were pulling trash out of Lake Merritt Thursday when a girl discovered two bags that were too heavy for her pull out with her net, the San

Podcast April 3, 2012

Syria told international envoy Kofi Annan that its military will withdraw troops and heavy weapons from populated areas by April 10, in what could be a first step toward ending the bloody yearlong conflict, U.N. diplomats said Monday.The announcement came as Syrian troops hunted down activists and destroyed their homes in the country's rebellious areas, and the United States remained skeptical of

World News April 3, 2012

The debt service burden of South Korean households rose sharply last year, as their debt payments increased amid high inflation, the country's central bank said Monday.The so-called household debt service ratio (DSR), an estimate of the ratio of debt payments to disposable personal income, stood at 12.9 percent last year, compared with 11.4 percent a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (B

April 2, 2012

A passenger plane carrying 43 people crashed in Siberia shortly after taking off Monday morning, and Russian emergency officials said at least 32 were confirmed dead..The ATR-72, a French-Italian-made twin-engine turboprop, operated by UTair was flying from Tyumen to the oil town of Surgut with 39 passengers and four crew.The aircraft went down outside Tyumen, a major regional center in Siberia. T

World News April 2, 2012

"Jack and Jill," a big-screen comedy starring Adam Sandler as the titular twin siblings, "won" 10 Razzie Awards at a Santa Monica ceremony Sunday night.The movie is the first to sweep all categories in the Razzies' 32-year history.It was named Worst Picture of 2011, while Sandler was declared Worst Actor and Worst Actress, and the cast was dubbed Worst Ensemble.Sandler's Oscar-winning co-star Al P

Film April 2, 2012

Moody's Investors Service upgraded its outlook Monday on South Korea's sovereign credit rating to "positive" from "stable," citing the country's improving fiscal status and solid economic growth, the finance ministry said.The move came after the credit rating agency raised the government bond rating of South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, from A2 "stable" to A1 "stable" in April 2010."The c

April 2, 2012

South Korea will attack Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, in retaliation if the communist country strikes Seoul, the capital of the South, an official said Monday.South Korea has set up the principle of tit-for-tat retaliation in dealing with North Korea's possible aggression against Seoul and its adjacent areas, the senior military official said in a recent meeting with reporters.South Korea

Defense April 2, 2012

A U.S. language instructor who fled South Korea after being suspected of child molestation was recently arrested in his native country and extradited to the South, police here said Monday.The 56-year-old teacher, whose identity was withheld, is accused of five counts of molestation of four boys between June and July 2010, the police said.The suspect allegedly forced the boys into areas at an eleme

Social Affairs April 2, 2012

Most U.S. women say the reason they don't cook frequently was having a partner who does most of the cooking, a survey indicated. The survey of 2,806 U.S. women, commissioned by Asia Food Recipe, indicated 58 percent of the respondents said their husbands are better cooks, but 36 percent said they didn't have sufficient time to cook and 12 percent said they didn't want to clean up afterwards. Almos

World News April 2, 2012