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Happy birthday, Hotel Babylon!

Sat, 26 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

She has been part of the Hollywood scene for as long as anyone can remember, known and loved by everyone from Howard Hughes and Charlie Chaplin to Gregory Peck, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and Steven Spielberg. Thanks to the occasional facelift, and in defiance of old age, she still looks as resplendent as ever. And, this month, she celebrates a major landmark: her 100th birthday.

Man charged with murdering NYC boy in 1979

Sat, 26 May 2012 07:19:15 GMT

Thirty-three years to the day after 6-year-old Etan Patz vanished without a trace while walking to catch a school bus, a man accused of strangling him and dumping his body with the trash was arraigned on a murder charge in a locked hospital ward where he was being held as a suicide risk.

A dimmer Detroit: Mayor prepares to switch off half of his city's streetlights in attempt to save money

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

The parades of broken streetlights in Detroit – darkened by blown bulbs or by thieves who have made off with the wiring – have long been a symbol of the once-great city's long decline. But as the home of Motown and the Mustang is forced to downsize, its leaders have a solution: eliminate almost half of them for good.

Alaska clears up tsunami debris

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Teams of volunteers were heading to an uninhabited island in Prince William Sound near Anchorage yesterday to clean up debris washed out to sea by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami last year and sent by Pacific currents to Alaska.

Crime writer who became the story

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

A crime reporter has been charged with robbing a liquor store and shooting at police.

Astronauts snare SpaceX Dragon capsule in historic first for private craft

Fri, 25 May 2012 14:52:51 GMT

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured Space Exploration Technologies' Dragon cargo ship today, the first privately owned vehicle to reach the orbital outpost.

Las Vegas grocer deported over Bosnian war crimes allegations

Fri, 25 May 2012 07:49:48 GMT

A man accused of commanding a police squad that rounded up Bosnian Muslims for slaughter in 1995 fashioned a new life in Las Vegas as a modest grocery store owner before being arrested and deported to his native country, a lawyer and US officials said yesterday.

Nanny sues Sharon Stone for unfair dismissal

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

A nanny who worked for Sharon Stone is suing the actress, claiming the Oscar winner repeatedly insulted her Filipino heritage and sacked her after discovering she was paid overtime.

Fury at Obama over filmmakers' access to Bin Laden kill team

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

The White House has denied putting politics before national security after it was revealed to have offered the makers of a high-profile Hollywood film access to the Navy Seal team which killed Osama bin Laden.

Solved after 33 years? Case of first missing boy shown on milk carton

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Police in New York said yesterday they had a suspect in custody in the landmark case of six-year-old Etan Patz, who vanished while walking to his school bus in Manhattan 33 years ago.

Bride who faked cancer for money pays back donors

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

A mother of two who tricked friends and well-wishers into paying for her wedding and honeymoon in Aruba after falsely claiming she had leukaemia has been freed from jail after paying everyone back.

Mark Zuckerberg saved $111m by selling Facebook shares before stock slumped

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

The anger surrounding the sharp decline in the value of Facebook shares deepened yesterday when investors who have lost millions discovered that its founder apparently saved more than £110m by selling early.

Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels says there are not enough roles for African American actors in films

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:26:48 GMT

The Oscar-nominated director of Precious said today that there are not enough roles for African American actors in films.

Ronald Reagan blood vial auction cancelled after outrage

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:10:00 GMT

The online auction of a vial of Ronald Reagan’s blood has been terminated following outrage from the former US President’s foundation in California.

Suspect held over missing boy in 33-year-old murder mystery

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:20:25 GMT

It is one of the city's highest profile crimes in history and helped launch a missing children's movement across the United States.

Ronald Reagan blood vial auction cancelled after complaints

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:20:00 GMT

A vial believed to contain Ronald Reagan's blood has been withdrawn from an auction after its sale was condemned by a foundation set up to promote the US president's legacy.

US hospital settles lawsuit over foetuses in jars

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:00:30 GMT

A US hospital has reached a proposed settlement of $1 million with women who say an employee put dozens of miscarried or stillborn foetuses into jars for years instead of medically disposing of them.

Man who shot Trayvon accuses police of cover-up

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:20:06 GMT

Neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman publicly accused police of covering up the beating of a homeless black man by the son of a white officer more than a year before he shot unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, it emerged today.

US hacked al-Qa'ida sites, says Hillary Clinton

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:50:28 GMT

US cyber-experts hacked al-Qa'ida propaganda online in Yemen, changing ads that bragged about killing Americans into ones that showed the death toll of the terror group's attacks against Yemenis, Hillary Clinton said.

On the high seas with the high rollers

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

Just think how hard it must be to be loaded. All that tax and grief from poor people about greed. And then there are the trials of love. Just how do you find a partner if you're a multimillionaire?

Polls boost for Romney as Obama loses ground

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

There were fresh signs yesterday that President Barack Obama is struggling to gain traction with America's voters less than six months before the presidential election and that his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, may be gathering strength.

Secret Service accused of sexual misconduct 64 times in five years

Wed, 23 May 2012 23:00:01 GMT

A US Senate panel investigating how members of the Secret Service came to be caught with their pants down, as it were, on a mission to Colombia heard yesterday of a wider history of allegations of sexual misdeeds inside the elite agency. Senator Joseph Lieberman, chairing the panel, cited 64 instances since 2007 of agents being accused of sexual misconduct, including one complaint of "non-consensual intercourse". Appealing to insiders to come forward, he added: "We can only know what the records of the Secret Service reveal."

The Bain of Mitt Romney's life?

Wed, 23 May 2012 06:00:56 GMT

Was this the moment Mitt Romney lost the election? At a campaign stop, he was assailed by workers from an office supplies manufacturer owned by Bain Capital, the private equity group where he made his $250m fortune. The workers, from a firm called Ampad in Indiana, had been stripped of their old contracts and told to work for lower pay and fewer health benefits.

Mark Zuckerberg loses friends on Wall Street as regulators probe $19bn slump

Wed, 23 May 2012 06:00:01 GMT

Facebook's $104bn stock market flotation descended into anger and recrimination last night, as shares in the social network slumped further in value and regulators investigated whether important information was kept hidden from some investors.

The Bain of Romney's life?

Tue, 22 May 2012 23:00:56 GMT