"American Idol" viewers had a clear choice when it came down to the final decision: the low-key but sincere Kris Allen or the flamboyant and powerful Adam Lambert. The vote went for Allen, and Lambert told Ryan Seacrest on CNN's "Larry King Live" that the outcome didn't surprise him. There are no hard feelings, though. Allen, Lambert, Danny Gokey and the other seven finalists spoke of their friendship and camaraderie on "Larry King Live." Here is an edited transcript of ...

South Korea midfielder Ji-Sung Park has told CNN he dreams of making history by becoming the first player from his homeland to figure in the Champions League final, Europe's premier club match. The showpiece event will take place in Rome on May 27, with defending champions Manchester United from England taking on Spanish title-holders and two-times winners Barcelona. Park has been a key player for United throughout their European campaign this season, even scoring in his ...

In the summer of 2007 you appeared on TV screaming that Ben Bernanke had no idea how bad things were on Wall Street. After what has happened, weren't you too calm? —Gonzalo Soto Campero, Mexico City A lot of people criticized me for being off the deep end when I shouted from the rooftops that things were falling apart. Then a lot of people criticized me for not shouting it from the rooftops. For the most part, I've been trashed for ...

Millions danced in the streets and a national holiday was announced by Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to mark the latest victory of the island nation's great 21st century hero: boxing great Manny Pacquiao. The fighter also known as "Pac-Man" won in a knockout, beating British boxer Ricky "the Hitman" Hatton on May 2 and becoming the International Boxing Organization and Ring Magazine World Light Welterweight champion. It was a world record–tying sixth division title and fourth ...

Edwin van der Sar claimed the all-time British record for minutes without conceding a goal during Manchester United's 1-0 win over West Ham on Sunday. The Dutch veteran also took the 30-year-old English record from Steve Death last week. Death's name, with all due respect to the former Reading custodian, is not up there with the game's greats. So who is in Van der Sar's league as football's finest shot-stoppers, the men who rarely get the credit but often cop ...

Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink insists he will leave the London club at the end of the season --- but says winning the Champions League would be the perfect ending to his short spell at Stamford Bridge. In an exclusive interview with CNN's Pedro Pinto, the Dutchman insisted he remained committed to leading Russia to next year's World Cup finals in South Africa and would return to the post of full-time national manager when his Chelsea contract ends next month. "Although ...

It is a good thing the CIA is now out of the overseas prison business. Black sites, waterboarding and renditions were never really the CIA's strong suit. Classical espionage, the CIA's bread and butter, has nothing to do with coercion. And that is not to mention that the prisons have stigmatized the CIA with the worst abuses of the Bush White House. In any case, it is the military that should be holding and handling prisoners of war, not the ...

There was not much in Jenny McCarthy's early career as a Playboy model and MTV star to suggest that she would become a passionate advocate for family issues, children's health and autism awareness. But the birth of her now almost 7-year-old son Evan, who developed autism early in life, changed all of that. McCarthy has become a best-selling author, first of lighter stuff like Baby Laughs and Life Laughs; then of more serious fare, like Louder than Words: A Mother's ...

Budget-conscious celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been hired to cook for G-20 leaders in London next week, nearly a year after they provoked outrage by eating an eight-course meal while discussing the global food crisis. Oliver's company will feed the leader's at Prime Minister Gordon Brown's residence, 10 Downing Street. Leaders at last July's G-8 meeting drew heavy criticism for enjoying an eight-course meal featuring 19 dishes while they were meant to be discussing how to ease global food shortages. ...

A triple-digit rally on Wall Street pushed Asian and Pacific markets solidly into positive territory on Tuesday. Tokyo's Nikkei average was up 2.1 percent at the midday break and Australia's All Ordinaries index surged 1.3 percent. In Seoul, the KOSPI pushed 0.9 percent higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index picked up 1.6 percent. Wall Street bounded upward Monday, energized by the U.S. Treasury's plan to buy billions of dollars in bad bank assets and a better-than-expected existing home sales ...