Watchdog: Company botched Afghan police stations

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Afghan-owned company bungled the construction of police stations there so badly that the buildings are at risk of collapse, undermining U.S.-led efforts to beef up the country's security forces, a government watchdog says.

In a report to be released Wednesday, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction found the company, Basirat Construction Firm, cut corners with low-quality concrete, substandard roofing, uninsulated windows, and plastic plumbing.

The six police stations were built in Helmand and Kandahar provinces in the country's violent south, where the international coalition and Afghan security forces are trying to wrest control of …

Futures higher ahead of housing, confidence data

Stocks are looking to extend their gains into a seventh straight day as investors anticipate positive readings on home prices and consumer confidence.

Overseas markets are also higher. Other markets, including bonds and commodities, are little changed.

U.S. stock futures edged higher Tuesday ahead of the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller October index of home prices and the Conference Board's release of its Consumer Confidence Index for December.

Trading has been quiet in recent days, as many investors take vacation between the Christmas and New Year's holidays. But even in light volume, the market continues to plod higher, adding to the big …

`English Patient' star snares leading men

Kristin Scott Thomas may not have won the Oscar for herperformance in "The English Patient," but that loss sure hasn't keptThomas from working with some of the biggest male stars in thebusiness. On the heels of "The Horse Whisperer" with Robert Redford,Thomas has moved on to "Up at the Villa," with Sean Penn, now filmingin Italy. Her latest good news: being tapped to co-star withHarrison Ford in "Random Heart," going before the cameras this fall. WEDDING BELLS: Sounds like lots of things have fallen back intoplace for Marv Albert. Along with his gig at Madison Square Gardenin New York, the disgraced sportscaster is said to be close to tyingthe knot with his longtime fiancee, …

Case of accused White House shooter is rare

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who shot an assault rifle at the White House is one of only a handful of people ever accused of trying to assassinate the president, and if the past is any guide he could spend many years in prison or a mental hospital if convicted.

Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, 21, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, is accused of firing from a car at the White House on Nov. 11. Ortega was arrested last week in Pennsylvania after a four-day search and appeared in court in Washington for the first time Monday.

Since President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, however, only a small group of people has been accused of attempting to kill the president. There's Charles Manson …

Iran praises US participation in nuclear talks

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that the United States' participation in the latest round of nuclear talks is a step toward recognizing Tehran's right to acquire nuclear technology.

A senior diplomat from the U.S. joined envoys from five other world powers in Switzerland at Saturday's talks on Iran's nuclear program. Ahmadinejad told thousands of supporters gathered in the southern Iranian town of Yasouj that U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns "spoke politely and in a dignified manner."

"It was a step toward recognizing the rights of the Iranian nation, toward justice, toward repairing your image in the world, …

Baseball P.M.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

East Division

W L Pct GB L10 Str Home Away Intr

Toronto 45 38 .542 - z-6-4 W-1 22-18 23-20 5-4 New York 40 36.526 11/2 4-6 W-2 17-16 23-20 5-3

Boston 39 39 .500 31/2 2-8 W-1 19-17 20-22 3-6

Baltimore 35 45 .438 81/2 5-5 L-1 23-13 12-32 3-6

Tampa Bay 32 48 .400 111/2 z-4-6 L-3 17-24 15-24 5-4

Central Division

W L Pct GB L10 Str Home Away Intr

Chicago 53 29 .646 - z-7-3 W-4 25-15 28-14 7-2

Cleveland 41 39 .513 11 z-4-6 W-1 18-20 23-19 7-2

Kansas City 37 43 .463 15 3-7 L-4 22-18 15-25 5-4

Detroit 36 43 .456 151/2 z-8-2 W-4 18-19 18-24 5-4

Minnesota 37 47 .440 17 z-6-4 L-2 17-22 20-25 …

Scooby-Doo and the gang makes their Rosemont Theater debut

A none-too-brave Great Dane named Scooby-Doo is the mascot to a group of high school students - two boys, Fred and Shaggy and two girls, Daphne and Velma - who are fascinated by the mysterious and the Supematural.

Their club, Mystery Inc., seeks out and finds mystery and suspense as well as thrills and harrowing adventures in every situations. This time out, the gang jumps from the tube to the stage in "Scooby-Doo In Stage Fright," live, on-stage presentation that continues at the Rosemont Theatre through Feb. 17.

The first theatrical production of the Scooby-Doo franchise is a throwback to the late-1960s classic animated series presented in the form of a "long lost …