News

AP - The world's tallest skyscraper has unexpectedly closed to the public a month after its lavish opening, disappointing tourists headed for the observation deck and casting doubt over plans to welcome its first permanent occupants in the coming weeks.

Reuters - Federal government agencies in the capital region will remain closed for a second day on Tuesday as residents brace for another blizzard while trying to clean up from a weekend storm that paralyzed the area with two feet of snow.

AP - Toyota says it is recalling about 437,000 Prius and other hybrid vehicles worldwide to fix brake problems — the latest in a string of embarrassing safety lapses at the world's largest automaker.

AP - A second major storm in less than a week was blowing Tuesday toward the Mid-Atlantic region, where plows still hadn't touched some roads, utility workers were struggling to restore power and shovels were in short supply.

AP - The head of the Iran's atomic agency said Iran would not enrich uranium to a higher level if the West provides the fuel it needs for the Tehran research reactor.

AP - A sheriff's dispatcher says fires have struck two more rural east Texas churches, just hours after investigators announced that a blaze last week marked the eighth arson against a house of worship in the state this year.

AP - Iran said it will cut ties with the British Museum on Monday because of the museum's failure to lend Tehran an ancient Babylonian artifact described as the world's earliest bill of rights.

AP - Even as Republicans publicly welcome President Barack Obama's call for a bipartisan confab on health care, some privately worry that he might be laying a trap to portray their ideas as flimsy.

AP - Deep inside millions of computers is a digital Fort Knox, a special chip with the locks to highly guarded secrets, including classified government reports and confidential business plans. Now a former U.S. Army computer-security specialist has devised a way to break those locks.

AP - Rep. John Murtha, who said the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq was based on "flawed policy wrapped in illusion" and called for a withdrawal of U.S. troops there, is being remembered as an advocate on Capitol Hill for those serving in military uniform.

AP - The commander of Canada's largest Air Force base, who once flew dignitaries around the country, has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of two women

AP - The scene was eerily familiar, Katherine Jackson and her family walking grimly into a courtroom, occupying a special family row, demonstrating their love for their beloved son and sibling, Michael.

AP - A star for former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame Monday evening during a whimsical ceremony that also marked the 50th anniversary of the sidewalk attraction's groundbreaking.

AFP - US Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Monday called on a health insurance company to publicly explain why it raised premiums for some customers by 39 percent.

AP - Take a desert of yellow-orange dust so flat it looks like Mars, with a freezing wind that blows so hard it can lift a large tent.

AFP - People who drink at least two sugary sodas a week have an increased risk of developing cancer of the pancreas, and researchers suspect the culprit is sugar, a new study shows.