A nude photograph of pop singer Madonna was sold for $37,500 Thursday afternoon at a Christie's Art House auction. The photo, originally expected to go for between $10,000 and $15,000, was purchased for more than double its original estimated selling price, a Christie's spokesperson confirmed. The 13-inch by 8 5/8-inch framed photograph was purchased by an anonymous bidder over the phone. The full frontal photograph was one of several taken by American photographer Lee Friedlander in 1979. Madonna, then a ...

House Democratic leaders were forced to put off until Friday a vote on the $789 billion economic stimulus bill after many rank-and-file Democrats who were unhappy with some spending cuts demanded time to read the compromise measure. As of Thursday afternoon, the text of legislation spelling out the details of the House-Senate deal had not been completed. Despite the delay, sources said the bill was not in jeopardy. The decision to put off the House vote was made ...

More than one-third of all weapons the United States has procured for Afghanistan's government are missing, according to a government report released Thursday. The U.S. military failed to "maintain complete inventory records for an estimated 87,000 weapons -- or about 36 percent -- of the 242,000 weapons that the United States procured and shipped to Afghanistan from December 2004 through June 2008," a U.S. Government Accountability Office report states. "Accountability lapses occurred throughout the supply chain," it says. The Defense ...

A Dutch lawmaker who made a controversial film about Islam is attempting to beat a ban on entry to Britain where he has been invited to speak in the House of Lords. The UK Home Office said the ban on Geert Wilders, who made the 15-minute film 'Fitna' -- which paints Islam as a threat to Western society -- was in line with its policy to "stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred and violent messages." We asked what ...

In today's carefully stage-managed Washington, the last thing anyone expects from members of Congress is candor or spontaneity. So perhaps it's not all that surprising that Representative Pete Hoekstra unwittingly triggered a maelstrom of criticism last weekend when he Twittered about his trip to Iraq. "Just landed in Baghdad," the Michigan Republican typed on his BlackBerry, alerting the nearly 3,000 people who have signed up to follow him on the social-networking service of the trip that he and five others, ...

The raging infernos that have left more than 160 people dead in southern Australia burned with such speed that they resembled less a wildfire than a massive aerial bombing. Many victims caught in the blazes had no time to escape; their houses disintegrated around them, and they burned to death. As firefighters battle the flames and police begin to investigate possible cases of arson around some of the fires, there will surely be debates over the wisdom of Australia's standard ...

It's that time of year again. Started in 1964 as a way to fill a winter lull in sports coverage, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue has become one of the most eagerly anticipated magazine issues of the year. Sports Illustrated estimates that the franchise reaches some 66 million people, including 4 in 10 adult American men. As befits such a massive enterprise, the cover is a closely guarded secret; even the model featured on it isn't informed until the ...

Negotiators have resolved the differences between the House and Senate versions of the stimulus bill, Sen. Harry Reid said Wednesday. "The bills were really quite similar, and I'm please to announce that we've been able to bridge those differences," said Reid, the Senate majority leader. "Like any negotiation, this involved give and take, and if you don't mind my saying so, that's an understatement," he said. Negotiators worked late into the night to iron out differences between the two versions ...

Luis Caplan served the poor of the South Bronx for decades out of a small medical office. His leg was amputated after a bout with cancer in 1990, yet he continued to work for another five years. Now, his savings has nearly been wiped out because of the economic crisis. At the age of 71, he faces losing his apartment if things don't change soon. The government bailed out the big institutions, but "what happens to the little people," ...

A scene of devastation emerged Wednesday as circling helicopters broadcast images of housing developments smashed by tornadoes and severe storms that killed at least eight people in south-central Oklahoma Tuesday. Storms ripped roofs off several homes and left twisted metal and other debris scattered across the area. Firefighters and emergency personnel were working with distressed residents. "It just happened really quickly. The sky darkened up and turned really, really green," truck driver Bruce Mundy told CNN from a ...