A young man sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex

ATLANTA – A young man sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with another teenager was freed Friday by Georgia’s highest court, which ruled that his sentence amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.
Genarlow Wilson’s case led to widespread protests of heavy handed justice. His supporters said race was one reason he [...]

Turkey’s leadership will hold off on ordering an offensive against Kurdish guerrilla bases

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Turkey’s leadership will hold off on ordering an offensive against Kurdish guerrilla bases in northern Iraq until the prime minister visits Washington early next month, the military chief said Friday.
The country’s civilian leaders, meanwhile, said they were not satisfied with proposals from Iraq’s U.S.-backed government for dealing with Turkish Kurd separatist fighters [...]

Stocks advance on Microsoft, Countrywide

NEW YORK – Wall Street closed an erratic week with strong gains on Friday as strong earnings from Microsoft Corp. and an optimistic outlook from Countrywide Financial Corp. outweighed investor [...]

Some Calif. fire evacuees return home

SAN DIEGO – Thousands of evacuees from areas hard hit by this week’s Southern California wildfires were returning Friday to neighborhoods stripped bare, but other communities remained emptied because of [...]

Berlusconi cleared of corruption

Italy’s highest court has acquitted former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi definitively of corruption charges dating back to the 1980s. The charges concerned a privatisation deal in which Mr Berlusconi was accused of bribing judges to block the sale of food group SME to a rival.
In April an appeals court acquitted the media [...]