MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — Soldiers killed 25 suspected cartel members Thursday in a raid and gunbattle in a Mexican state near the U.S. border that has seen a surge in drug gang violence, the military said.

BUXTON, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Earl sideswiped North Carolina's Outer Banks early Friday, flooding the vacation islands but causing no injuries and little damage, then chugged up the Eastern Seaboard toward Cape Cod, a weaker but still dangerous storm.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The EU's trade chief apologized Friday for blaming Jews and the "Jewish lobby" in Washington for blocking Mideast peace as the embarrassed EU head office quickly distanced itself from his comments.

HAVANA (AP) — Fidel Castro dusted off his full military uniform for the first time since stepping down as president four years ago, a symbolic act in a communist country where little signals often carry enormous significance.

COMBAT OUTPOST SENJERAY, Afghanistan (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday he saw and heard evidence that the U.S. counterinsurgency strategy is taking hold in critical Kandahar province.

MIAMI (AP) — A scientist has been detained at the Miami International Airport after screeners spotted a metal canister in his luggage that looked like a pipe bomb, prompting an evacuation, a government official said.

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Suicide bombings targeting religious minorities killed at least 44 people in Pakistan on Friday, sharply driving up the toll of sectarian assaults in a country already battered by massive flooding.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — U.S. Agriculture Department employees worked full-time at two Iowa egg farms at the center of a salmonella outbreak and massive recall, but two former workers said they ignored complaints about conditions at one site.

TEHRAN (AP) — Pro-government militiamen attacked the home of an Iranian opposition leader with homemade bombs and beat one of his bodyguards unconscious, an opposition website reported, in an apparent attempt to keep him from attending a key rally on Friday.

The Obama administration could be breaking the law if it follows through on guidance that would mean the government detains fewer illegal immigrants, two top Republican senators said in a warning letter to the Department of Homeland Security this week.

Defying President Obama, Congress seems increasingly reluctant to let taxes go up, even on wealthier Americans.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Thursday against "America's toughest sheriff," Joe Arpaio in Phoenix, accusing him, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and the county of refusing to fully cooperate in a federal investigation into allegations that he and his deputies are guilty of racial discrimination.

Palestinian and Israeli leaders agreed Thursday to pursue an interim understanding, or framework agreement, before ironing out a peace treaty during the first direct talks between the two sides since 2008.

With recent polls showing Republicans poised for major congressional gains this fall, party leaders are wary of appearing overconfident and peaking too soon, playing down for now the prospect of winning majorities in the House and Senate in a vote that is still two months away.

The aftershocks from Alaska are being felt clear across the country in Delaware.

BUXTON, N.C. | The last ferry left for the mainland, and coastal residents hunkered down at home as Hurricane Earl closed in with 110 mph winds Thursday on North Carolina's dangerously exposed Outer Banks, the first and potentially most destructive stop on the storm's projected journey up the Eastern Seaboard.

Top Amtrak officials declined to participate in an internal investigation until they were provided private lawyers on the government-owned company's dime, an unusual request considering they were not even targets of the probe.

With interest rates near zero and the Federal Reserve already owning a large share of the mortgage and Treasury securities markets, many investors fear the central bank may be out of ammunition should the economy take a serious turn for the worse.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility on Friday for a suicide bombing that killed at least 43 people in the southwestern city of Quetta.

U.S. Agriculture Department employees worked full-time at two Iowa egg farms at the center of a salmonella outbreak, but two former workers said they ignored complaints about conditions at one site.

It wasn't what you would call a casual get-together.  A popular New York blogger attended a brunch with fellow "frazzled moms." They took in tips from a style expert and listened to a nurse extol the virtues of Mirena, a birth control device sold by Bayer Healthcare.  The nurse was on Bayer's payroll.

A 70-year-old scientist sparked a bomb scare at Miami airport Thursday evening when screeners found a metal canister in his luggage that looked like a pipe bomb, a government official said.

As the last of 30,000 U.S. reinforcements arrive in Afghanistan, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday got a firsthand look at operations in the dangerous south.

Seven people were convicted of child sex abuse in Portugal on Friday in a major trial that lasted nearly six years, a prosecutor said.

Pro-government militiamen attacked the home of an Iranian opposition leader with homemade bombs and beat one of his bodyguards unconscious, an opposition website reported, in an apparent attempt to keep him from attending a key rally on Friday.

An Indonesian volcano that was quiet for four centuries shot a new, powerful burst of hot ash more than 10,000 feet in the air Friday, sending frightened residents fleeing to safety for the second time this week.

Flirting, after all, is one of the oldest tricks in the book. But how do you use it to your professional advantage without crossing the line or inviting unwanted advances?

At 84 and having dusted off his military uniform, Fidel Castro on Friday addressed his first political rally since becoming ill and resigning as president in 2006.

Wolf spiders and carnivorous plants called sundews may compete with each other for food in the wild, a new study finds.

Terrelle Pryor tossed three touchdown passes, Brandon Saine rushed for 103 yards and two scores and No. 2 Ohio State rolled over error-prone Marshall 45-7 on Thursday night in a tuneup for a big date with Miami.

The Coast Guard is backing off its earlier report that an oil sheen about a mile long was spreading following a platform explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

In "The American," which opens Sept. 1, George Clooney plays Jack, an assassin who retreats to Italy after a job goes bad. He's no James Bond, but there's a Bond-like sense about him.

Viewers get precisely what they're paying for: beheadings, skewerings and kill shots to the head by the dozen, with other means of dispatch — death by corkscrew, high heels, crucifixion — tossed in for variety.

"The American" is a ho-hum name for a thriller starring one of Hollywood's most powerful leading men -- George Clooney -- but it also makes you realize just how many movies have the word "American" in their title.

While Michael Costello virtually no love from his fellow contestants, Heidi Klum and the judges raved about his re-invented bridesmaid dress.

Kat Von D and Jesse James put their relationship on display Thursday, holding hands and posing for photos together at the opening of her Wonderland gallery in West Hollywood.

Actor Paul Hogan, star of the "Crocodile Dundee" movie trilogy, has been cleared to return home to the United States after he was barred last month from leaving Australia because of a disputed tax bill, his lawyer said Friday.

Ne-Yo says T.I. has had many chances — and it's time he gets his act together.

The actor hit his Twitter account to lash out at Star magazine, which claimed in its latest issue that his marriage to Demi Moore "is in danger of falling apart."

When the heiress was arrested in Las Vegas, she claimed the Chanel purse containing a bindle of cocaine wasn't hers, and a Twitpic she posted in July may be proof she's not telling the truth.

Despite what looked to be impending doom of some characters on the Aug. 28 episode, many of the show's newbies will be back for season four, according to sources.

The first week of the final season of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will include a selection for Oprah's Book Club.  In the past, Winfrey's picks have turned obscure novels into best-sellers.

Cammie King Conlon, the former child actress who portrayed the doomed daughter of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind," has died at the age of 76.

Robert "Joe" Halderman admitted he demanded $2 million in hush money last fall to keep from revealing personal information about Letterman.

Grammy-winning rapper T.I. was arrested along with his wife on suspicion of possessing methamphetamines, five months after the hip-hop star finished a prison stint on weapons charges.

In "The American," which opens Sept. 1, George Clooney plays Jack, an assassin who retreats to Italy after a job goes bad. He's no James Bond, but there's a Bond-like sense about him.

Director Anton Corbijn has crafted a quiet, haunting European thriller, drained of emotion and moving to its own deliberate pace.

The 48-year-old singer of U.S. hard-rock band Guns N' Roses irritated thousands of his Dublin fans at the 02 Arena on Wednesday night by showing up nearly an hour late.

Sofia Coppola is behind the camera in Venice, Jaden Smith poses with his fans, Jesse James and Kat Von D open a gallery and more.

Here's the first clip from Let Me In, Matt Reeves' remake of the brilliant Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In. And this scene looks very promising for fans of the original (which we wholeheartedly are).

If you're an M. Night Shyamalan fan who's been waiting to see the long-promised Unbreakable sequel, well ... we're not sure how you're going to feel about this. On the plus side, M. Night had an idea for Unbreakable 2 that he's excited about and that's going to be made into a film.

Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking says the universe is perfectly capable of creating itself, thank you very much, and it doesn't require the existence of God or a God-like outside source to get things started.

Many people were disappointed with the way Lost ended, and even those who liked the ending still had lots of unanswered questions after the finale. Well, prepare to get some answers, because a diligent fan who goes by the name of That John Locke just found a way to take all the theories about Lost floating around the Internet and turn them into one unifying explanation that actually seems to make more sense than the show itself did.

Jane Espenson is one of the most beloved science fiction TV writers out there, and also a very busy one. She's worked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Dollhouse, Caprica and a whole bunch of other shows, and now she's working on the new season of Torchwood.

Ever since Spider-Man came out in 2002 and set all kinds of records for making money, the movie industry has gone crazy for superheros. Eight years on, they just keep on coming. We've had some great ones (Iron Man, The Dark Knight) along with some not-so-good ones (Wolverine, Fantastic Four).

Over the next three years we're going to have the chance to see more than a dozen superhero films, mostly from Marvel and DC, but also a few others. To help keep track of it all we've created this handy guide to the 19 most notable titles that are supposed to come out (some more tentatively than others) through 2013.

The True Blood season-three finale is going to air next Sunday, Sept. 12, which pretty much means now is the time to start talking about season four. On cue, E! Online has pieced together info on some of the characters who'll be coming back next year, which means not only that they have a head start on spoiling season four, but that they're also spoiling the season-three finale by letting you know who won't be dying.

Marvel's grand plan to release a bunch of individual superhero movies leading up to the ensemble adventure of Joss Whedon's Avengers film apparently involves hiding easter eggs all over the place.

When it was announced that David Tennant had scored the role of Peter Vincent in the Fright Night remake, the collective sound of millions of squeeing fans from the Doctor Who/David Tennant community was probably heard all over. Today, we now have our very first look at what the actor looks like in the role, and it's really, REALLY interesting. And kind of shocking.

Neil Gaiman's landmark literary comic series The Sandman is being developed by Warner Brothers as a TV series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That's the good news. The bad news is, Neil isn't actually working on it.

This was first announced back in March, but today Syfy said production is going to start next week on its four-hour Peter Pan prequel called Neverland. It's being written and directed by Nick Willing, who worked on Syfy's Tin Man and Alice, which were reimaginings of The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland.

Hamadoun Touré, the Secretary General of the UN's International Telecommunications Union since 1999, says that it's crucial that we start thinking in new terms about cyberspace. If not, he warns, we could face a destructive potential "worse than a tsunami."

One of the cooler pieces of future-tech shown off in the movie Minority Report were the ads that recognized people and gave them personalized messages. I mean, they were incredibly creepy, but cool in a fantasy situation. Guess what? They're becoming real.

That didn't take long. We're on day two of Apple's Ping and it's already showing the telltale signs of a social network being dirtied up. It doesn't take long for prospectors to spot a potential gold mine, and by "prospectors," of course, I mean no good dirty spammers.

People have been saying that OLED TVs are the wave of the future, offering up brilliant color and brightness in very thin panels that are very energy efficient. What's not to like? Well, the price, for one, with Sony's first OLED TV, the XEL-1, measured a mere 11 inches and cost over $2,000.

Once again Japanese schoolgirls are popularizing bleeding-edge technology, this time via Japan's latest photo booths that zap anyone with instant photoshop magic designed to make even the homeliest poser cute as a puppy.

With the shuttle fleet due to retire and the Constellation program — which was going to give NASA an option in deploying personnel to orbit and beyond — entirely scrapped, all eyes have been on what NASA will work on next. The agency has the answer.

Here comes Apple's Android tablet competition. Along with today's official reveal of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Archos has taken the wraps off not one but a full line of five small and large tablets. The star: a 10.1-inch challenger to the iPad that's $200 cheaper.

With the Space Shuttle program winding down, NASA is busy developing new equipment that can do the work of the shuttle, and that includes the Orion escape module. While it has performed well in tests, Orion doesn't exactly give its passengers the softest landing, so MIT graduate student Sydney Do has developed a clever system to cushion the impact.

Just a day after Steve Jobs showed off a freshly shrunk, content-backed Apple TV, Amazon is taking the Cupertino company's streaming policy head-on. With Apple, you're renting — a dollar only gets you so much time. With Amazon, your buck lasts forever.

Ferrari has already built a truly awesome F1 simulator for their own use, but now they have taken a big slice of that experience, and turned it into a home game version you can play on your PC.

In the U.S., "iPod" is pretty much synonymous with "MP3 player." How many people do you know who own anything else? It's the same in Japan, but times could be a-changin'. See, the iPod has finally be out-sold, and it was beat by the venerable Sony Walkman.

During his time on the International Space Station, astronaut Don Pettit captured what few of us terrestrials will ever get to see with our own eyes: the Earth from orbit. It's a breathtaking sight, and Pettit was good enough to turn his snaps into a gorgeous time-lapse.

Yesterday, Apple had on of the company's trademark self-lovefests, and if you were following DVICE on Twitter, you got all the news as it was happening (and not minutes after it was happening, which is what people who tuned into the "live" stream saw). One lucky reader got more than that, though.

How do you make a badass Nerf belt-fed machine gun even more badass? By modifying it to sense out body heat and fire at anything alive that crosses its path. Holy moly.

Most people have widescreen TVs now, as all HDTVs are widescreens. Unlike older tube TVs, which had a more square aspect ratio, people are now into a more rectangular image. But Philips 21:9 3D TV makes normal widescreen TV's look downright square in comparison.