WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Superman’s parents say Brandon Routh is still the kind and earnest son they raised in Norwalk. That may be true, but things are changing for the star of “Superman Returns.” Back in Iowa for a special premiere of his new movie, Routh was greeted by …

KABITHIGOLLEWA, Sri Lanka – Suspected Tiger rebels attacked a crowded bus Thursday in northern Sri Lanka, triggering a pair of hidden explosives that killed at least 64 people in the worst violence since a 2002 cease-fire, officials said. The government quickly launched retaliatory airstrikes against rebel-held positions. With peace talks …

A suburban Chicago resident is so outraged by an image on the cover of her town’s anniversary brochure that she wants the city to spend $34,000 to reprint it and include an apology in the new version, reports the Beacon News. Naperville resident Sherid Smith is angry with one of …

Don’t worry, the doctor told Brian Lykins’ parents, as he prepared to use cartilage from a cadaver to fix their son’s knee. A million people a year have operations that use tissue from donated dead bodies. The nation’s largest tissue bank had supplied this cartilage. It was disinfected and perfectly …

BASRA, Iraq – About 500 followers of a Shiite cleric attacked the Iranian consulate in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Wednesday, throwing stones and setting fire to a building in the diplomatic complex. The Iranian Embassy in Baghdad confirmed the attack on its consulate in Basra, Iraq’s second-largest …

LOS ANGELES – Mike Slabaugh doesn’t have a stomach. Neither do his 10 cousins. Growing up, they watched helplessly as a rare hereditary stomach cancer killed their grandmother and some of their parents, aunts and uncles. Determined to outsmart the cancer, they turned to genetic testing. Upon learning they had …

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration moved Monday to clamp down financially on Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko as well as other government officials. The Treasury Department added Lukashenko to its list of specially designated nationals, meaning that any assets belonging to Lukashenko found in the U.S. must be blocked and …

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – A state judge spared the life of alleged neighbor-assaulter Lewis the cat on Tuesday, but ordered that he remain inside his owner’s Fairfield home at all times. “There are no exceptions. None,” said Judge Patrick Carroll, who also granted accelerated rehabilitation to Lewis’ owner, Ruth Cisero. That …

BALTIMORE – Recovery operations resumed Tuesday for a Maryland publisher and former diplomat who disappeared over the weekend while sailing the Chesapeake Bay. Search crews continued to look for Philip Merrill, 72, but rescuers said it was unlikely Merrill was still alive after so many days missing. His abandoned sailboat …

NEW DELHI – India’s top business conglomerate, Reliance Industries Ltd., unveiled an ambitious plan Tuesday to venture into retail, investing billions of dollars and hiring thousands to create a network of giant Wal Mart-style stores. Reliance Industries — known for its ability to plan and execute big projects — would …