Activists, actors, athletes among those receiving nation’s highest civilian honor from Obama

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor to 16 “agents of change” on Wednesday, highlighting their accomplishments as examples of the heights a person can reach and the difference they can make in the lives of others.

Murder for ratings? Police allege Brazil crime-show host had hand in several killings

SAO PAULO, Brazil — In one murder after another, the “Canal Livre” crime TV show had an uncanny knack for being first on the scene, gathering graphic footage of the victim.

NYC mayor says 9 believed dead after small plane, helcipter collide over the Hudson River

NEW YORK —A small private plane collided with a sightseeing helicopter over the Hudson River on Saturday, scattering debris in the water and forcing thousands of people on the New Jersey waterfront to scamper for cover. Nine people on both aircraft were presumed dead.

Oscar-winning ‘On the Waterfront’ screenplay writer Budd Schulberg dies in NY at 95

NEW YORK — Budd Schulberg, the son of a studio boss who wrote a novel that defined the Hollywood hustle and later proved himself a player with the Oscar-winning screenplay for the Marlon Brando classic “On the Waterfront,” died Wednesday at age 95.

Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky says he will not run for re-election, cites lack of donations

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky said Monday he will not run for a third term in 2010, citing a lack of campaign money and interference from Senate Republicans who were pushing for him to exit the race.

Ahead of 40th anniversary of the moon landing, Aldrin reflects on ‘the climax of my life’

DAYTON, Ohio — Buzz Aldrin still has the felt-tipped pen he used as a makeshift switch needed to fire up the engines that lifted him and fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong off the moon and started their safe return to Earth nearly 40 years ago.

Baron Cohen’s ‘Bruno’ sashays to box-office fame with $30.4M; ‘Ice Age’ follows with $26.5M

LOS ANGELES — Gay Austrian fashion devotee Bruno has proven he has serious box-office clout.

Supreme Court nominess puts on best face, but rough times also help define who she is

NEW YORK — For weeks, Sonya Sotomayor has put on her best face, displaying a pleasant disposition that has somewhat fended off critics of her nomination to become the nation’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.

Knut the polar bear is officially Berlin resident after zoo settles financial dispute

BERLIN — Berlin’s beloved polar bear Knut can stay in his home city.

Famed Montana dinosaur hunter gets probation, community service in stolen bones case

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Renowned dinosaur hunter Nathan Murphy was sentenced Wednesday to four months in a halfway house and three years probation after pleading guilty to stealing fossils.

FBI files show agency made vast but vain attempt to stop “Deep Throat” film

MIAMI — When the FBI investigated the landmark 1972 porno movie “Deep Throat,” the case touched the highest levels of the FBI, even its second-in-command W. Mark Felt, the shadowy Watergate informant whose “Deep Throat” alias was taken from the movie’s title.

China’s rich and famous defying one-child policy

BEIJING - China’s rising affluent urban class has been defying the nation’s family planning policy of not having more than one child, it has emerged.

China blocks Twitter, bars reporters from Tiananmen ahead of 20th anniversary of crackdown

BEIJING — Foreign journalists were barred from Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Wednesday as an Internet clampdown that blocked Twitter expanded to include more blogs on the eve of the 20th anniversary of a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

You go girl: Filly Rachel Alexandra to take on the boys in the Preakness

BALTIMORE — This must be one special filly.

With one of the great final rounds at Sawgrass, Stenson is Players champion

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Henrik Stenson gained fame when he stripped down to his underwear and played from a muddy water hazard at Doral two months ago.

Kate Winslet extends sympathy for young actresses

WASHINGTON - Kate Winslet considers herself lucky to have found fame in the 1990s, because she thinks today’s young actresses are at the centre of more intense media attention than she ever was.

Todd Pletcher looking to snap Derby drought with Dunkirk, Advice and Join in the Dance

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — D. Wayne Lukas remembers the lean years in the early 1980s when he’d come to Churchill Downs with a hot Kentucky Derby contender and leave watching somebody else’s horse draped in the traditional blanket of roses given to the winner.

Filmmaker Cheryl Hines defends actresses opting for plastic surgery

WASHINGTON - Filmmaker Cheryl Hines, who has directed the Meg Ryan-starrer ‘Serious Moonlight,’ has come to the defence of actresses going for cosmetic surgery, claiming that they should go for it if it makes them happy.

Japanese pop singer apologizes for nude behaviour

LONDON - A Japanese pop singer, arrested for public indecency, after he was found drunk and naked in a Tokyo park has apologized to his fans for his “shameful” conduct.

Who is Priyanka Chopra’s mystery boyfriend?

MUMBAI - She has been linked with three actors - Hurman S. Baweja, Shahid Kapur and Hollywood star Gerard Butler of ‘300′ fame - all within a span of one year, but the mystery behind Bollywood’s svelte actress Priyanka Chopra’s actual love interest continues.

Susan Boyle’s rise to stardom to be turned into film

LONDON - Scottish singer Susan Boyle’s rise to fame on Britain’s Got Talent has led to many wanting to make a movie on her life, but show boss Simon Cowell has vowed to produce the film himself.

Even as a schoolboy, Churchill yearned for the thrill of battle

LONDON - Even as a schoolboy, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874-1965) yearned for the thrill of battle.

Anjali Waghmare: the plucky woman who will defend the terrorist

MUMBAI - Anjali Waghmare, the court-appointed government lawyer who will defend Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir alias Kasab, is grappling with the sudden celebrity status that befell her Monday afternoon.

Nano will not affect two-wheeler market: Hero Honda MD

New,DELHI - Dispelling apprehensions over the future of the two-wheeler segment with the launch of Nano, Pawan Munjal, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Hero Honda Motors, said that it will have no bearing in the two-wheeler market.

Men dress up as women to pray at Kerala temple

KOLLAM - Every year for two days men make a beeline for a temple in Kerala for a festival carrying lamps - and dressed up as women.

‘I Got A Crush…On Obama’ singer voted No.1 woman on Internet

LONDON - A Hawaiian Tropic beauty queen, who shot to fame during U.S. President Barack Obama’s campaign with her raunchy tribute song ‘I Got A Crush…On Obama’, has been voted the No.1 woman on the Internet.

‘Sikandar’ not like ‘Slumdog’, but conveys same message: Director

MUMBAI - ‘Sikandar’ is a film set in Kashmir and revolves around two teenagers, but director Piyush Jha is quick to brush aside rumours that the story is similar to the rags-to-riches tale of Oscar-winning ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.

Will Kate Winslet be lucky at Oscars?

Kate Winslet has the slightly dubious honour of having appeared nude the most for a mainstream actress in non-porn roles. But she has another more worthy honour - the youngest actress to have received six Oscar nominations.

Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell team up for new Tintin film

LONDON - After ‘Defiance’, Daniel Craig and Jamie Bell are teaming up again for a new animated version of one of the Tintin adventures.

Bollywood exults as smoking ban in movies lifted

NEW DELHI - With the Delhi High Court removing the ban on smoking in films, you can now again catch your favourite actors puffing away without landing in trouble. Filmmakers just can’t stop rejoicing over the ruling.