Before I moved to California, I enjoyed voting. Once every four years, I thought very deeply for a very long time about the presidential candidates and then voted for the Democrat. I left the crappy high school gym knowing I had voted for a government that would bring progress and change, ignoring the fact that the high school gym kept getting crappier. But once I got to Los Angeles, I learned that the East Coast version of democracy ...

In the black market of prison life, cell phones have become perhaps the hottest commodity. Now, Texas is among a growing number of state governments going after them. Tiny, easy to hide and an unmonitored link for convicts to the outside world, cell phones are valuable contraband, fetching a greater asking price from convicts than some shipments of illegal drugs. John Moriarty, inspector general for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said that one phone can fetch as much as ...

As Britain's Prince Harry neared the end of his second and final day in New York City on Saturday, he described his experiences as "fantastic." The 24-year-old visited the Harlem Children's Zone, a nonprofit organization that offers free programs and classes in a low-income area, then went to Governors Island in New York Harbor to play in the Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic. Profits from the match will benefit Sentebale, a charity for orphans in Lesotho, Africa, a cause Harry's ...

Life imitated art in Paris on Saturday. A thief staged a brazen, daylight holdup in an upscale district of the French capital, stealing at least $8.5 million in jewelry from the prestigious Chopard store, police said. A spokesman for Paris police told CNN the man escaped after holding people inside the store at gunpoint. He provided no other details, but police investigator Olivier Lebon told CNN's Paris affiliate BFM-TV, "From the first elements we have, it would be a man ...

Saudi Arabian officials beheaded and then publicly displayed the body of a convicted killer in Riyadh on Friday, an act that prompted a stiff denunciation by a leading human rights monitor.

Novak Djokovic's hopes of matching Rafael Nadal on clay were dashed by unheralded German Philipp Kohlschreiber at the French Open on Saturday. The fourth-ranked Serbian became the highest-profile casualty of the men's draw so far as he crashed out in straight sets in the third-round match on Court One at Roland Garros. Djokovic reached the semi-finals in Paris for the past two years, and had high hopes of again testing Nadal after going close to besting the world No. 1 ...

Iraq's former trade minister, who resigned this month amid accusations of corruption, was arrested by security forces as he was trying to leave the country, officials confirmed to CNN. Abdul Falah al-Sudani was aboard a flight to Dubai from Baghdad International Airport when police contacted the pilot and told him to fly back to the airport, Sabah al-Saedi, chairman of Iraq's parliamentary integrity committee told CNN. Al-Sudani -- arrested on a warrant issued in Samawa on Saturday -- was seized ...

Chelsea recovered from falling behind to the fastest goal in FA Cup final history to beat Everton 2-1 at Wembley on Saturday in coach Guus Hiddink's final game in charge of the English club. England midfielder Frank Lampard scored their winner in the 72nd minute after Didier Drogba had equalized Louis Saha's opening goal for Everton, which came after just 25 seconds. Lampard cut inside to fire an emphatic left foot strike past Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard who ...

"Welcome to the Bill and George Show" That was how former President George W. Bush greeted a crowd of 5,000 Friday evening in Toronto who had paid a few hundred dollars to hear Bush and fellow former leader of the free world Bill Clinton share their experiences — and perhaps their differences — as commander-in-chief. But if they paid that money in the hopes of witnessing a partisan, post-presidential throwdown, they would be sorely disappointed. "You think this is the ...