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I have the cover story this week in the dead-tree/living table TIME, on the future of oil ( available here to subscribers ). Gas prices have dominated the political conversation for weeks—at least until the Supreme Court started its health care hearings—and with the summer driving season just around the corner, the national obsession won’t be lift any time soon. Republicans and Democrats, oil executives and environmentalists have seized the opportunity to take potshots at each other, with one side claiming that more drilling will greatly ease the pain at the pump, and the other side arguing that energy efficiency and alternative energy are the only solutions. (I lean toward the latter .) The reason gas prices are so high, of course, is because oil itself is expensive, with Brent crude over $125 barrel. And that’s largely because oil markets are spooked over possible conflict with Iran, which could take one of the world’s major crude suppliers offline—and potentially block

If Sunday's by-election in Myanmar is deemed to be free and fair, it will cap off a startling about-turn by the former military men currently running the country. For the first time ever, credible alternatives to the ruling party will appear on the ballot, including pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was serving the final days of her house arrest during the general election in November 2010, which was widely derided as a sham. This by-election, analysts say, will be the first real test of the government's commitment to removing the fear and paranoia of citizens silenced by nearly five decades of military rule. The vote was called to fill seats vacated by the promotion of parliamentarians to the Cabinet and other posts last year. "It's hugely important and it will provide a new semi-democratic political system with an opportunity to show that it has ambition to become more transparent, more inclusive and thus more democratic," said Nicho

Mohammed Merah had plenty of stamps in his passport, according to French intelligence officials. He traveled through at least seven Middle Eastern and central Asian countries on his way to Afghanistan in 2010. It was a meandering journey that might have been a metaphor for a young man in search of a purpose and identity. But it's also clear that by then he had been exposed to a variety of jihadist influences. The 23-year-old Frenchman was shot dead last Thursday after being cornered by police in Toulouse. By then he had murdered seven people in a series of gun attacks. As more details emerge about his short and troubled life, French security services are examining family and local influences on Merah, as well as trying to establish who he may have met during that trip to Afghanistan and another two-month visit to Pakistan in 2011. Toulouse suspect died while shooting Bullet holes riddle Toulouse scene Merah certainly never made any attempt to disguise his

Amal Abdulfattah, from Yemen, was Bin Laden's youngest wife. She was arrested after the US raid on his compound near the Pakistani capital in 2011. She said two of her children were delivered in state hospitals, but she stayed there just "two or three hours". Bin Laden, 54, orchestrated the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington in which nearly 3,000 people died. He evaded the forces of the US and its allies for almost a decade, despite a $25m (£15m) bounty on his head. Family 'scattered' According to a report of the interrogation carried out by Pakistani investigators, Ms Abdulfattah, who came from a family with 17 children, married Bin Laden because "she had a desire to marry a Mujahideen", or holy warrior. Along with three other wives found living at the residence, she was charged with entering and living illegally in the country. The report recommends that the 30-year-old and her ch

Two army helicopters were scrambled in response, a local official told AFP news agency by phone. Gao, with a population of 87,000, more than twice the size of Kidal, hosts one of the biggest garrisons in the north. Separatist rebels seeking to carve out a desert homeland began a rebellion in the west African state in January. A regional group, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), has placed on alert a peacekeeping force of 2,000 soldiers, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara was quoted as saying by AFP news agency. After a coup by disgruntled military officers in Mali a week ago, Ecowas has threatened to close land borders, freeze assets and impose a financial blockade if the army does not stand aside before Monday. The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office has now advised against all travel to Mali and urges any British citizens currently there to leave. 'People running' "We can hear

(CBS/AP) CHICAGO -- Maryland lottery officials announced early Saturday that their state sold what could become the world's largest lottery payout of all-time, but it wasn't immediately clear if that ticket holder would get sole possession of the $640 million jackpot or have to split it with other winners. Carole Everett, director of communications for the Maryland Lottery, said the winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased at a retailer in Baltimore County. She said it's too early to know any other information about the lucky ticket holder or whether others were sold elsewhere in the nation. The Baltimore Sun reports the winning ticket was sold at a 7-11. The winning numbers were 02-04-23-38-46, and the Mega Ball 23.

A winning Mega Millions ticket for Friday’s record $640 million drawing was sold in Maryland, lottery officials said early Saturday, and other winning tickets might also have been sold. The winning numbers are: 02-04-23-38-46. The Mega Ball is 23. Carole Everett, spokeswoman for the Maryland Lottery, said the winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased at a retailer in Baltimore County. She said it’s too early to know any other information about the lucky ticket holder or whether others were sold elsewhere in the nation. “We’re thrilled,” she said. “We’re due and excited.” The estimated jackpot dwarfs the previous $390 million record, which was split in 2007 by two winners who bought tickets in Georgia and New Jersey. Americans wagered nearly $1.5 billion on the longest of long shots Friday. As sales of the tickets soared throughout the day for what could be the biggest single lotto payout in the world, the state’s new online lottery website creaked under the stra

10:06 p.m. | Updated For nearly a year now, Al Gore and Joel Hyatt have been building their liberal cable news channel, Current TV, with the mercurial television anchorman Keith Olbermann at its center. This week, the center collapsed. Current said on Friday afternoon that it had fired Mr. Olbermann — one of the nation’s most prominent progressive speakers — just a year into his five-year, $50 million contract. It was the culmination of months of murky disputes between Mr. Olbermann and the channel that he was supposed to save from the throes of ratings oblivion. Yet as inevitable as it might have seemed to some in the television business who know the long history of antipathy between Mr. Olbermann and his employers, it was nonetheless shocking to his fans, to his detractors and to staff members at Current when the announcement was made. Forty-five minutes afterward, in a stream of Twitter messages , Mr. Olbermann threatened to take legal action against the channel and sa

The former Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf, who has battled an addiction to prescription drugs but who had appeared to right his life recently, was arrested Friday in his hometown in Montana, Great Falls, on burglary and drug possession charges, the police said. He later released a statement: “I’ve made some mistakes, and have no excuses. I am using the tools I’ve learned to move forward rather than backwards, and will be open to talking about the details in the days to come. I am confident that there will be further understanding when the facts are revealed, and feel very blessed for all of the support, especially from my friends and family.” Leaf, the No. 2 pick in the 1998 draft, had surgery last June to remove a benign brain tumor. He had written a book about his career at Washington State and was promoting it .

Across the country, Americans plunked down an estimated $1.5 billion on the longest of long shots: an infinitesimally small chance to win what could end up being the single biggest lottery payout the world has ever seen. The numbers drawn Friday night in Atlanta were 2-4-23-38-46, Mega Ball 23. Lottery officials expected to release details about possible winners a couple of hours after the 11 p.m. Eastern drawing. Forget about how the $640 million Mega Millions jackpot could change the life of the winner. It’s a collective wager that could fund a presidential campaign several times over, make a dent in struggling state budgets or take away the gas worries and grocery bills for thousands of middle-class citizens.

LOS ANGELES, Mar 25 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Reality television star Kim Kardashian laughed off being pelted with a flour-bomb while stepping out to promote her new fragrance.  The star of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" was on the red carpet in West Hollywood on Thursday when an unidentified woman ran up behind her and emptied a bag of white flour over her head, shouting what appeared to be "fur hag".  The woman was briefly detained and Kardashian, 31, left the event, but returned 10 minutes later in an identical outfit with no trace of flour. 

London, Mar 3 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Fifty years to the day after the Rolling Stones first took to the stage, the veteran rockers will publish a photographic record of their rise to fame and lasting success.  "The Rolling Stones: 50" will hit the shelves on July 12, the date in 1962 when the band debuted at the Marquee Club in London's Oxford Street.  The book, published by Thames & Hudson in Britain, is part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for one of rock and roll's biggest acts, but what fans are calling for most is another world tour. 

LOS ANGELES, Mar 29 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Veteran rock band Aerosmith said on Wednesday they were bringing "a little of 1975 back" on a long-delayed album of new material to be released this summer to coincide with a US tour.  The band said they were working on finishing up the album - the first of new material since 2001's "Just Push Play" - ahead of the tour, but kept the title under wraps.  "The camaraderie's there, there's some songs that are new rock, and old rock and middle-of-the-road rock, and blues, piano. Joe Perry singing a couple of songs, I'm playing the drums, Joey sings, just all kinds of stuff," frontman Steven Tyler told Reuters.  Aerosmith, whose previous attempts to make a new album were dogged by a litany of health problems and internal strife, said they had been working with their long-time producer Jack Douglas to bring "a little bit of 1975 back."  The band will kick off their North American "Global

March 30, 2012 (NEW YORK) -- Aaron Bright came off the bench to spark Stanford to an NIT title. The sophomore point guard had 15 points and six assists in Thursday's 75-51 rout of Minnesota to earn most outstanding player honors, energizing the Cardinal just as the coaches had hoped when they took him out of the starting lineup in mid-February. "I give him all the credit, because it takes a player buying into something like that before it works, and he bought into his role," coach Johnny Dawkins said. "When he comes in, he brings us energy. ... I think it's hard for teams to prepare for him because he's not out there right away. When he comes in, it gives us a big lift, and it gives our kids confidence in what they can do." The victory brought Stanford's season full circle. Back in November, the Cardinal let a late lead slip away in the final of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden against a Syracuse team that wou

By Jason Reid , Published: March 29 We already knew quarterback Donovan McNabb had a bad relationship with Mike and Kyle Shanahan. On Thursday, we learned McNabb is still holding a grudge long after their breakup. During an interview on ESPN’s “First Take,” McNabb again ripped the father-son coaching tandem , with whom he battled over the direction of the Washington Redskins ’ offense during the 2010 season. McNabb believes that Mike, the team’s head coach, and Kyle, Washington’s offensive coordinator, will force quarterback Robert Griffin III to fit into their system instead of tailoring an offense to Griffin’s strengths. 131 Comments Weigh In Corrections? Personal Post Archive e-mail facebook twitter

Earl Scruggs , who died Wednesday at age 88, was the banjo player of his time, right? Right. He defined the sound of a bluegrass band with his banjo style, right? Right. A bluegrass band without a Scruggs-style banjo isn't a bluegrass band, right? It may be a country band, a folk band or some kind of jazz band, but it's not a bluegrass band, is it? Right about that, too. You'd think transforming the way people worldwide play, perceive and enjoy one instrument would be enough of a contribution for one musician. But with musicians as inspired as Scruggs, peeling back the sparkling outer layer often reveals more glowing layers within. In Scruggs' case, when you gently peel back the banjo layer of his musical persona, you find a guitar player as impressive as the banjo picker, as well as a gospel singer the equal of any in the finest Southern traditional quartet. Scruggs' finger-picked guitar,

NEW YORK (AP) — Katie Couric helped start and perpetuate morning television's most epic winning streak. Now she'll try to break it. ABC announced Thursday that the former "Today" show anchor will be guest host next week on "Good Morning America," the rival wake-up show that has been rising in the ratings. She will sub for the vacationing Robin Roberts for a week, teaming with George Stephanopoulos. Couric was co-host of "Today" in December 1995, when the NBC show's streak began. "Today" has won every week in the ratings since then, 850 consecutive and counting, according to the Nielsen company. Yet frisky "GMA" has been making noise lately. Last week the ABC show was only 137,000 viewers behind "Today" (an average of 4.98 million to 4.84 million), the closest the two shows have been since 2008. "This has been one of the longest marathons of all time," said Tom Cibrowski, senior executive produ

(CBS News) Lottery agents in New York were selling 1.3 million Mega Millions tickets per hour Thursday. Multiply that by 42 states, and get an idea of the frenzy over Friday night's record $540 million Mega Millions jackpot. It's the biggest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. Officials were expecting to sell about 1.2 billion tickets total before the drawing, and one says there's a 90 percent chance there will be a winner Friday night. But we may not know who it is right away. $540M lottery has states anticipating tax jackpot What to do if you win the $540M When Garina Fearon won, she said there was "jumping all over the place!" It was a Cinderella story. The single mom from Jamaica had been both homeless and bankrupt, but she won a $54 million dollar Mega Millions jackpot in 2010. "It was a shock," she says. "Shock, shock, shock. Because ... the day when I went to play the lottery, I asked for Powerball but yet, still, I was

NEW YORK — Will Ferrell’s swashbuckling newscaster Ron Burgundy had his own breaking news to announce Wednesday night: A sequel to “Anchorman” is finally happening. Ferrell made a surprise, in-character appearance on “Conan” to regale the audience with a flute solo and declare a deal with Paramount Pictures. A sequel to the 2004 hit comedy, “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” has long been discussed. Ferrell informed host Conan O’Brien: “It’s official, there will be a sequel to ‘Anchorman.’” Earlier, Paramount had declined a musical plan put forth by Ferrell and director Adam McKay that also included a proposed Broadway stage show. No details on the project were immediately available but McKay, producer Judd Apatow, and co-stars Paul Rudd and Steve Carell are expected to return.

Michelle Duggar, star of TLC's reality show, "19 Kids and Counting" , says there needs to be more children because our world needs more joy. And as for overpopulation? That's just a lie, Duggar recently told the Christian Broadcasting Network in a web interview . "The idea of overpopulation is not accurate," Duggar says, because the entire population of the world could fit inside of Jacksonville, Florida. "I agree with Mother Teresa when she said, 'to say that there are too many children is like saying there are too many flowers,'" Duggar said. She explains how her large family is resourceful and therefore not posing as big of an environmental problem as perceived. They buy used cars, she says, and frequently shop at thrift stores, purchasing things others would discard of. Jezebel's Erin Gloria Ryan points out that , even so, "A family of three or four would practically have to prance around throwing a trail of sty

With this week's Mega Millions pot holding a record-breaking $500 million prize, one could head to the closest quickie mart and leave the numbers up to the lottery machine gods. Or.... one could attempt a bit of strategy. And who better to predict such a thing than one of the Baltimore area's card-carrying psychics? We got on the phone this morning to see if any of them were getting a divine line on Friday's drawing. First we called Savetta Stevens, a psychic with a shop in Mount Washington. "It's so exciting," she gushed about the big prize, "but." But?!?! "It takes time for me probably to study that." Plus, she added, "I don't play it because it's against my religion to play the lottery." But before hanging up, Savetta said, "I thought you were calling about the Orioles.

Only a few country stars publicly supported Chely Wright when she announced she was a lesbian in 2010. Others, like Faith Hill , chose to privately congratulate her, while a third group won’t talk to her. Wright spoke to the SiriusXM’s Michelangelo Signorile about how her decision was received by her friends in Nashville. LeAnn Rimes , SHeDAISY and Mary Chapin Carpenter were the only ones willing to publicly support Wright, but she said received emails and letters from a number of friends. “Privately — Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood and Naomi Judd ,” she says (via the Huffington Post ). No male artists offered an encouraging word. “I think some of the artists really have a fundamental belief that there’s something wrong with me,” the ‘Single White Female’ singer said. “But I think most of the artists don’t want their fans to know that they’re supportive of me because they don’t want to lose a record sale. Because, look, there’s a reason I’m the first artist to come out in c

Adrienne Rich , a fiercely gifted, award-winning poet whose socially conscious verse influenced a generation of feminist, gay rights and anti-war activists, has died. She was 82. Rich died Tuesday at her Santa Cruz home from complications from rheumatoid arthritis, said her son, Pablo Conrad . She had lived in Santa Cruz since the 1980s. Through her writing, Rich explored topics such as women's rights, racism, sexuality, economic justice and love between women. Rich published more than a dozen volumes of poetry and five collections of nonfiction. She won a National Book Award for her collection of poems "Diving into the Wreck" in 1974, when she read a statement written by herself and fellow nominees Alice Walker and Audre Lorde , "refusing the terms of patriarchal competition and declaring that we will share this prize among u

After years of chatter and online rumors, a sequel to the cult comedy favorite “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” has finally come together as funnyman Will Ferrell has signed on to star again as 1970s news anchorman Ron Burgundy. Ferrell showed up at Conan O’Brien’s TBS talk show in character as Ron Burgundy on Wednesday, where after a dazzling jazz flute solo and some insulting banter with O’Brien and sidekick Andy Richter he made the announcement. “I want to announce this to all of our friends in the Americas, Spain, Turkey and the U.K. — including England — that as of 0900 mountain time, Paramount pictures and myself … have come to terms on a sequel to ‘Anchorman,’” Ferrell said to massive audience applause. “There will be a sequel.”

A video that Alicia Silverstone recently posted on her “Kind Life” Web site has gone viral in the past 24 hours. In it, the actress who played Cher in “Clueless” feeds her son, Bear Blu , mother-bird-style by transferring food from her mouth directly into his. The Internet is officially grossed out. ( The Kind Life with Alicia Silverstone Web site ) As Lindsay Lohan stands on the verge of finally getting off probation (her next court hearing is Thursday), she also looks poised to guest star on “ Glee .” Lohan is working out a deal to appear on the Fox series. She will — spoiler alert — reportedly play herself and judge nationals. ( TV Line ) Lady Gaga: She was born today. (Charles Krupa - AP) Today is Lady Gaga’s birthday. She turns 26. Please feel free to celebrate this occasion by wearing huge veils, dresses made out of meat or ensembles that invite comparisons to Ralph Macchio . ( Lady Gaga’s Twitter feed ) 20th Century Fox is pulling teaser trailers and poste

By Lauren Williams and Mike Anton, Los Angeles Times March 28, 2012

The winning numbers Tuesday night in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery were 9-19-34-44-51 and the Mega number was 24, lottery officials announced. The estimated jackpot was $363 million, one of the largest in the history of the game. The Mega Millions website was apparently flooded with visitors Tuesday night and was slow to load. The lottery had placed the odds of winning Mega Millions at about 1 in 176 million. The retailer who sells the winning ticket will receive a maximum $1-million bonus.

Welcome to jackpot freak-out. Even major media outlets like Good Morning America are going gaga over Mega Millions smashing through the $400 million barrier, soaring toward the half-billion-dollar mark, and rewriting the record book. Forty-seven tickets, including two in Pennsylvania and two in New Jersey, just missed last night. They matched the first five numbers - 9, 19, 34, 44 and 51 - but not the Mega Ball of 24. Most will win $250,000 - instead of more than 1,000 times that much. The annuity jackpot rocketed to $476 million for Friday night's drawing - obliterating the old U.S. mark of $390 million set by Mega Millions in March 2007. The $120 million jump in the annuity also was a record, beating the $115 million also witnessed in March 2007. The cash jackpot clobbered its own record, catapulting from $259 million to $341 million - $101 million more than the second-biggest cash jackpot ever, the $240 million reached by Mega Millions in January last year. (See

A JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) captain locked out of the cockpit by his co-pilot after acting erratically on a flight is a “consummate professional” with no history of trouble, Chief Executive Officer Dave Barger said. Clayton Osbon has flown for JetBlue for 12 years, a spokeswoman, Jenny Dervin, said today. Dervin said Osbon has been charged with “interfering with crew-member instructions” and remains in a medical facility in Amarillo, Texas, where the plane landed, in Federal Bureau of Investigation custody. Enlarge image Passengers on a JetBlue flight. Photographer: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images Play Video