MOSCOW (AFP) ― Russia on Saturday faced a storm of international criticism after sentencing three members of the Pussy Riot punk band to two years in prison for a political protest in an Orthodox cathedral.Speculation mounted that the women, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich, could have their sentences cut on appeal after the damaging global reaction, with the Russian public also questioning the sentence.Judge Marina Syrova said the three young protesters had sho

Obama slams Romney and Ryan on tax rates, Medicare in stops in New HampshireTHE VILLAGES (AP) ― Who loves Medicare more? President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney’s running mate vied for that distinction Saturday as Medicare became the latest flashpoint in a presidential campaign of flying elbows.The issue is dicey for both sides: Obama is steering billions from the entitlement to help pay for the expansion of coverage under his health care law; Paul Ryan is a champion of overhauling Medicare to ma

Shanghai sizzles in the summer. In China’s humid south, the temperature can easily climb to 38 degrees Celsius by lunchtime. For years, locals have rushed to overcrowded swimming pools and assembled in air-conditioned shopping malls in a vain attempt to avoid the sweltering streets. But now, there’s a new kid on the block for heat-harassed residents. An industry previously perceived as shady, unregulated and downright unseemly, has come in from the cold. China’s beauty industry has had a makeove

An anti-Japan protester shouts slogans while holding a poster, which reads "Diaoyu Islands belong to China," outside Japanese Embassy in Beijing, China, Sunday (AP-Yonhap News)Anti-Japanese rallies took place in southern cities in mainland China on Sunday amid a recent territorial row between China and Japan over islets in the East China Sea, witnesses said. Some 1,000 people gathered in Shenzhen,

 Health officials say six people have died and at least 100 others have been sickened by pickles contaminated with E. coli bacteria in northern Japan.The officials in Hokkaido said Saturday that the pickled Chinese cabbage was made by two local producers and sold across the prefecture. The first reports of illness occurred about 10 days ago.Most victims were elderly people in nursing homes, but a

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AFP) ― Fans of Elvis Presley cheered as his daughter and ex-wife appeared publicly at Graceland to personally thank them for their loyalty, 35 years after the music legend’s death.Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley spoke for little more than a minute on Wednesday at the start of an all-night candlelight vigil in memory of the king of rock ‘n’ roll, who died suddenly on Aug. 16, 1977 at the age of 42.But it was enough to thrill the mainly older but passionately dedicated crowd t

CHICAGO (AP) ― Barack Obama first kissed the woman who would become his wife outside a Chicago ice cream shop ― and now there’s a plaque to prove it. The managers of a shopping center in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood installed the 1,361-kilogram granite marker this week with a plaque reading, “On this site President Barack Obama first kissed Michelle Obama.” The plaque includes a picture of the first couple and a quote taken from an interview the president gave to “O, The Oprah Magazine” des