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Ron Shelton says he's just now realizing what a home run he hit with "Bull Durham."
Two decades have passed since the release of the movie Shelton wrote and directed about an aging minor league catcher, a hotshot pitching prospect and the groupie wooed by both that has been praised as one of the top sports movies of all time.
"It's just dawning...

A judge on Wednesday tossed out a lawsuit by a television writer who claimed Jennifer Lopez had a hand in stealing his idea for a TV series.
Writer Jack Bunick claimed in a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that the series "South Beach" that debuted in January 2006 was too...

They are rare, intimate images of John Lennon just before the breakup of the Beatles: He's hunched over a piano writing songs, smoking pot, joking about putting LSD in President Nixon's tea.
Almost four decades after the footage was shot at Lennon's estate in England, his widow is in court, fighting to...

The jump in April in US soldier deaths in Iraq -- at 49 the highest monthly toll since September 2007 -- does not reflect deteriorated security in the country, a senior US military official said Wednesday.
"While it is sad to see an increase in casualties, I don't think it is necessarily...

The U.S. military on Wednesday dismissed speculation that it was drafting new plans to attack Iran but again charged Tehran with supporting Iraqi militias and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Lt. Gen. John Sattler, the military's director of strategic plans, said that while the Pentagon had plans on the shelf for numerous potential conflicts around the world, there had been no order for officers to advance new plans for...

An Army sergeant who shot an unarmed Iraqi insurgent testified Wednesday at his court-martial that he was following the rules of engagement because the man was a threat.
After testifying for more than three hours, Sgt. Leonardo Trevino said he was innocent of premeditated murder, covering up a crime scene and other charges stemming from the June killing after a firefight in...

New research shows that the extent of weather-related airline flight delays and disruptions at any major U.S. airport in any given season can be predicted reliably.
Airlines are affected in exactly the same predictable way,
"We can't control the weather, but now we can do a better job understanding the relationship between...

SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc.'s once-austere Web site is turning into an eclectic art gallery.
Hoping to spur more customization of its home page, the Internet search leader has unveiled a lineup of colorful graphics dreamed up by a mix of creative souls, ranging from fashion designer Oscar de la Renta to the rock group Coldplay.
The panoramic decorations, known as "skins," can...

Owners of Wii game consoles from Nintendo Co. have always enjoyed the freedom its motion-sensing games offer, but the wire between the remote and the nunchuk needed for some games could limit movement.
Video game accessory maker Nyko Technologies Inc. on Monday rolls out its $34.99 Kama Wireless Nunchuk, which is powered by two AAA batteries and a device that plugs into...

SAN JOSE, Calif. - For nearly 40 years, scientists have speculated that basic electrical circuits have a natural ability to remember things even when the power is switched off. They just couldn't find it.
Now researchers at Hewlett-Packard Co. have proven them right, with a discovery they hope will lead to memory...

I don't have kids. But I'm still enough of one inside that I get a certain amount of glee from seeing what's out there for today's generation. That, and I tend to spoil my friends' kids silly, but so far it's been real young kid/toddler stuff. I'm ready to step it...

Female canaries adore a good old-fashioned love song that abides by rigid musical rules. Mature males always follow the rules. Curiously, young males will go against convention -- and rock out to tunes that would not impress the ladies.
But the feathery punks will shape up when it counts. In a study by scientists at Rockefeller University in New York City, young...

The Nokia 1200 will never win a beauty contest. Slightly clunky, with a basic candy bar shape, the phone is pure practicality, from its monochrome black-and-green screen to its plastic one-piece keypad. Industry commentators have been catty, describing it as "plasticky" and "sad-looking." But to Nokia, last summer's release of the...

WASHINGTON - Add this to the lore of championship ceremonies at the White House: President Bush believes in the Jessica Simpson jinx.
Bush, a Texas guy, lauded the New York Giants on Wednesday for winning the Super Bowl. Any football championship is big to the team and its fans, but this one...

SEATTLE - Kevin Durant of the Seattle SuperSonics has been chosen as the NBA Rookie of Year, The Associated Press has learned.
The person with knowledge of the vote requested anonymity because the official announcement has not been made.
The honor was first reported by The Seattle Times in Wednesday's editions.
The announcement is...