NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Chris Young of Murfreesboro, Tenn., beat out two other finalists to win the fourth edition of the “Nashville Star” talent search series. The 20-year-old singer was chosen by viewers Tuesday night. Vote totals weren’t immediately announced. Young won a recording contract with the RCA Label Group, plus …

WASHINGTON – President Bush laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery on Monday, carrying on a tradition that has been held every Memorial Day for the past 138 years. He said afterward that fallen soldiers have died for a worthy cause. “In this place where …

WASHINGTON – In the annual competition for counterterror funding, the Homeland Security Department wants the 46 cities receiving money this year to consider the other side of the coin: The aid means the government thinks they are terror targets. Major urban areas will find out Wednesday how much they will …

LAS VEGAS – If you’ve ever wanted to dive into the Octopus’s Garden or meet a psychedelic Sgt. Pepper, the creators of a new Beatles-themed Cirque du Soleil show are offering a little help from their friends. The theatrical interpretation, “Love,” is based on 130 songs and song fragments. It …

MEXICO CITY – If Arnold Schwarzenegger had migrated to Mexico instead of the United States, he couldn’t be a governor. If Argentina native Sergio Villanueva, firefighter hero of the Sept. 11 attacks, had moved to Tecate instead of New York, he wouldn’t have been allowed on the force. Even as …

The National Hurricane Center has predicted there will be four to six major hurricanes and up to 16 named storms in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico this season. As the June 1 start of the hurricane season approaches, it is important to ensure your business is prepared. This …

DETROIT – Get ready to say goodbye to the Hummer H1, the hulking, gas-guzzling status symbol that has attracted celebrities and off-road enthusiasts but has drawn the ire of environmentalists. General Motors Corp. said Friday that the 2006 model year will be the last for the H1, which has been …

NEW YORK – Crude oil prices rose above $73 a barrel Monday on supply concerns arising from Iran’s defiance of a U.N. Security Council deadline to stop enriching uranium. Also lifting energy prices Monday were refinery outages in Italy and California, and violence in Nigeria, the fifth-largest source of U.S. …

WASHINGTON – Scotland travel records for Rep. Bob Ney and former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed spilled onto the public record in a federal criminal trial Friday, underscoring potential peril for politicians in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. In the first case arising from the Abramoff influence peddling probe, an …

Older teens living in poverty may be more likely to be overweight than their peers from wealthier families, a new study shows. The study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, makes it clear that in the U.S, weight issues have become common for people from all backgrounds. …