NEW YORK – New U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is trying to depersonalize the Fed by making its decision-making more democratic and easier to understand, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The Journal quoted Mark Gertler, a New York University economist and friend of Bernanke as saying the …

TOKYO – The number of Japanese living beyond 100 has almost quadrupled in the past 10 years, with the once-exclusive centenarian club expected to surpass 28,000 this year, the government said Friday. The Health Ministry said Japan was likely to have 28,395 citizens aged 100 years or older at the …

LONDON – Seven junior members of Prime Minister Tony Blair ‘s government resigned Wednesday to protest his refusal to leave office as calls for the British leader to announce when he will step aside gained momentum. The rebellion in Blair’s Labour Party flared despite strong hints by senior ministers that …

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Il made his first known public appearance since his nation’s nuclear test, official media reported Wednesday, amid concerns that the regime was readying a second detonation. Kim, accompanied by top Communist Party officials and military officers, attended a performance of songs …

LONDON – Global warming could wreck the world economy as badly as did the world wars or the Great Depression, the British government said in a report issued Monday. British Treasury chief Gordon Brown, the likely next prime minister who commissioned the report, also said former Vice President Al Gore …

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Supreme Court judges raised many questions Wednesday as they considered the constitutionality of a new state law requiring people to show photo identification to vote. A lower judge threw out the law last month, saying it infringes on the fundamental right to vote. On Wednesday, …

LOS ANGELES – Scientists frustrated by the iron grip that academic journals hold over their research can now pursue another path to fame by taking their research straight to the public online. Instead of having a group of hand-picked scholars review research in secret before publication, a growing number of …

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – Four children were found dead in a public housing complex Friday after a man walked into police headquarters and said he had killed his family. The man, who had been living in Oregon, had an argument about the children with his estranged wife before he attacked her …

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A 6-year-old boy remained hospitalized Saturday after a school bus dragged him along the road for about 60 feet. Shane Stout had skin scraped from his torso, patches of hair ripped off his head, a broken thumb and bruises on his face after Friday’s accident on the …

BEIJING – China on Monday slammed North Korea for carrying out a nuclear test, openly criticizing its ally’s nuclear program for the first time and demanding that Pyongyang return to disarmament talks. “China expresses its resolute opposition,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on its Web site. It said the North …