WASHINGTON — Like a hard-fought draw in a World Cup soccer match, consumers won sweeping new protections under a revamp of financial regulation that lawmakers agreed to Friday but large banks dodged the biggest hits that had been coming their way.The sweeping regulatory revamp affects everything from credit cards and mortgages to the structure of large global banks and who regulates the fin
Paris – Jean-Marie Le Pen, who heads France's National Front party, has long peppered politics with right-wing bons mots. Now his daughter, Marine Le Pen, is showing that she, too, can make headlines.She called on President Nicolas Sarkozy to step down if implicated in a bribery case dating to 1995.She recently knocked France's racially diverse World Cup soccer team: I don't see myself rep
JOHANNESBURG – Cecilia Dube's dream has taken her from dust-choked building sites to university classrooms, from the rubble of demolished food stands to cooking meals in a park in an upscale neighborhood where fans watch World Cup soccer on a giant screen.The World Cup.Biggest sporting event on Earth.The host nation's month in the world spotlight.Tourists in their droves.A jolt of adrenalin
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron set sudsy stakes on Saturday's World Cup soccer match between their countries.The two leaders wagered British and American beer on the outcome.But the game ended in a 1-1 tie, leaving the payout unclear. Obama, during a telephone call with Cameron on Saturday, claimed history was on the U.S side.In 1950, the Americans
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama took a fist-and-olive-branch approach to the Gulf oil spill Saturday, giving BP a deadline to accelerate cleanup efforts while also reassuring Britons he's not pointing a finger at them or their national institutions.The strategy carries some political risk.Obama was overtly diplomatic in his phone call Saturday with British Prime Minister David Cameron,