As the possibility decreases that investigators will learn what happened to Air France Flight 447 on Monday over the Atlantic Ocean, the chances of it entering the folklore of mystery crashes grows. Brazilian air force officials still have not identified debris from the Airbus A330, and a former U.S. National Transportation Safety Board official said currents would be scattering any debris from the flight over an increasing area, reducing the probability of finding the jetliner's voice and flight data recorders. ...

President Obama said Wednesday the United States must take the lead on energy, citing the "enormous job creation potential that exists." Obama's remarks came at the end of his first quarterly meeting with the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which was created in February to provide the administration with independent, nonpartisan advice on how to promote economic growth and stability. The focus of Wednesday's meeting, which was streamed live on the White House Web site, was job creation and green energy. ...

A 21-year-old up-and-coming rapper was fatally shot Monday afternoon at a popular mall in Los Angeles. Dolla, whose real name is Roderick Anthony Burton II, was shot in the head about 3:10 p.m. at the Beverly Center, his publicist said. Police later detained a person at the Los Angeles International Airport, said city police spokeswoman Karen Raynar. Further details were not immediately available about the shooting. Dolla, who was based in Atlanta, Georgia, was in Los Angeles ...

In a gallery at the Art Institute of Chicago, there's a painting from 1913 by the German Expressionist Franz Marc called The Bewitched Mill. A waterfall spills down the center of the canvas between a scene of machines and houses on one side and trees and animals on the other. It's a fantasy of magical reconciliation between the natural and man-made worlds — always a nice trick if you can do it. Somebody who can do it and then ...

Blind photography: the very concept sounds like an oxymoron. But an intriguing and often striking exhibition of photographs in Riverside, California, argues that it emanates from the core of contemporary art. The show "Sight Unseen," at the California Museum of Photography until Aug. 29, features everything from underwater scenes off Catalina Island, transvestites in New Orleans and Braille-enhanced black-and-whites as well as portraits, nudes, landscapes, travel shots, abstracts, collages, and everything else you might expect from a "sighted" photographer. ...

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox has joined three other ex-leaders of Latin American nations calling for the decriminalization of marijuana. Fox, who was Mexico's president from 2000 to 2006, said the current policy is clearly not working. "I believe it's time to open the debate over legalizing drugs," he told CNN on Tuesday. "It must be done in conjunction with the United States, but it is time to open the debate." He pointed to how the end of Prohibition in ...

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, speaking via satellite to a bank conference sponsored by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, said on Thursday morning that the stress tests 'will allow, I hope, for greater confidence in the banks.' But even though the stress tests are over, the banks and their investors are not out of the woods. The biggest issue left unresolved by the stress tests, which concluded that 10 of the 19 top U.S. banks need an additional $75 billion in capital, is how ...

Asian markets were buoyed on Monday as a report showed manufacturing output in China on the rise, while Asian governments agreed to create a $120 billion foreign currency reserve fund. The notice would allow The New York Times Co., which owns the Massachusetts newspaper, to close it in 60 days, the Globe reported. The Times Co. is seeking $10 million from the Boston Newspaper Guild, $5 million from the mailers, $2.5 million from the delivery truck drivers and $2.2 million ...

The death-toll from sunstroke has risen to at least 22 in eastern India although the grueling heat wave sweeping across many parts of the country is abating, authorities said. The notice would allow The New York Times Co., which owns the Massachusetts newspaper, to close it in 60 days, the Globe reported. The Times Co. is seeking $10 million from the Boston Newspaper Guild, $5 million from the mailers, $2.5 million from the delivery truck drivers and $2.2 million from ...

It's early April, and President Obama is on his way to France with the nation's top diplomat at his side. As he and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton converse in a private room aboard Air Force One, a photographer peers through the half-open door and snaps a candid picture of the formerly bitter campaign rivals. Photographing two of the most powerful people in the country up-close and personal may seem like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to most Americans. But for photographer ...