A newspaper analysis has found that the most recent estimate of the cost to ride California’s bullet train from Los Angeles to San Francisco is a bargain at an average of $86. At roughly 20 cents a mile, it would be one of the world’s cheapest high-speed rail trips, the …

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The 13th son of a Michigan couple now has a name. Forty-year-old Jay Schwandt told The Associated Press in a text message that the couple decided Friday morning to name their newborn Francisco Matthew Schwandt. The father said earlier it was a challenge for him and …

NEW YORK – The yoga instructor sits cross-legged, telling the class to say “Ohm.” Instead, some students bark. This is no ordinary yoga class– it’sCrunch gym’s “Ruff Yoga,” for people and pups. “We do the traditional poses. The dogs just get incorporated,” said the instructor, Crunch’s yoga director Suzi Teitelman, …

I’ve discovered something thatMichael Jackson (search)has in common with disgraced CEOs and bigwigs: A very warped sense of reality. Michael Jackson’s PR person says the pop star is a kind and giving man.Dennis Kozlowski’s (search) PR person said the exact same thing. Michael Jackson has given so much to charity. …

Simple is best when it comes to Iraq. Late Friday afternoon, President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain held a press conference in Washington basically saying that the Iraq situation will be resolved in the next few weeks but nothing much else by way of specifics. And here …

The Abedini family never imagined that Pastor Saeed would spend his last three birthdays in captivity. But that’s exactly what’s happened. Instead of celebrating his birthday with his wife Naghmeh, and their two young children – Jacob and Rebekkah – at their home in Idaho, Pastor Saeed is once again …

MADRID – A judge overseeing the fraud and money laundering case involving former International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato has ordered him to put up 18 million euros ($20 million) as collateral to unblock his financial accounts. Rato headed the IMF from 2004 to 2007 and is a historic figure …

CARACAS, Venezuela – Jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has begun a hunger strike and is calling for a mass anti-government protest next weekend. The former Caracas area mayor accused authorities in a video leaked to news media on Saturday of killing dozens of people during 2014 protests. More than 40 …

JERUSALEM – Israel’s defense minister is blaming Islamic Jihad — a smaller Palestinian militant group in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip — for the latest rocket fired at Israel that drew retaliatory airstrikes overnight. Moshe Yaalon says the airstrikes targeted both Islamic Jihad and Hamas sites in Gaza early on Wednesday, …

UNITED NATIONS – Lithuania’s foreign minister says his government wants a NATO battalion deployed permanently in the country as a “security guarantee” — not a provocation against Russia which has stepped up military action in the Baltic states. Linas Linkevicius said in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press that …