Renault's former chief engineer Pat Symonds has spoken of his "eternal regret" at his involvement in the race-fixing conspiracy in last year's Singapore Grand Prix. But Symonds. who has been banned from Formula One for five years, claims driver Nelson Piquet Jr. first hatched the plan to deliberately crash to help teammate Fernando Alonso win the race. Symonds' admission comes in documents released by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) after the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) special hearing in ...

President Obama mixed policy discussion with personal reflections on his daughters and, yes, a few jokes in an appearance on CBS's "Late Show With David Letterman," taped Monday afternoon. It was the first time a sitting president has been a guest on the popular late-night entertainment show, according to the CBS Web site. After taking the stage to a huge ovation, Obama teased Letterman about being surprised to see the event on his daily schedule, saying: "That's one of those ...

Fights over the economy and health care may be dominating the headlines at home, but President Obama is turning his sights abroad this week. Starting Tuesday, the president is set to tackle a range of thorny international problems with his counterparts at the United Nations, including nuclear non-proliferation, climate change, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the escalating U.S. war in Afghanistan. On Thursday, he'll be at a Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he will host a two-day meeting ...

Kate Winslet has one more reason to call 2009 a great year. Not only did "The Reader" and "Revolutionary Road" actress dominate this year's awards circuit, she looked great doing it, earning the title of "best red carpet" on People magazine's 10 Best Dressed List. People's annual list was revealed Wednesday, giving kudos to the ladies who know how to take the best of fashion and consistently spin it to fit their style. (The magazine is part of Time ...

Jody Powell, who served as press secretary for President Jimmy Carter, has died, a spokesman for the Carter Center said. He was 65. Powell, who served in the Carter administration from 1977 to 1981, died Monday of an apparent heart attack, Carter Center spokesman Tony Clark told CNN. Carter said he and former first lady Rosalynn Carter "share a great personal loss today in the passing of Jody Powell." "From the time he began, as a young graduate student, as ...

Carrie Prejean will file a lawsuit against Miss California USA officials for stripping her of the title earlier this year, her attorney announced Monday. "We will make the case that her title was taken from her solely because of her support of traditional marriage," her attorney, Charles LiMandri, said in a news release. The complaint will be filed in Superior Court of California against Miss California USA officials Keith Lewis and Shanna Moakler, as well as publicist Roger Neal. ...

Former world number one, Rafael Nadal, has exclusively told CNN his levels of fitness ahead of the U.S. Open are "better than expected," boosting his chances of becoming only the seventh man in history to win a career grand slam with victory at Flushing Meadows. The Spaniard, who dropped to third-best in the world after being sidelined for over two months with a knee injury, said he was pleased with his physical preparation for the major that starts on ...

Facebook has announced it is to overhaul its privacy settings to make it clearer for users to know who has access to their personal data. The news follows an investigation into the privacy policy of the social networking site by Canada's Privacy Commissioner. The social networking site has agreed to make changes that it believes will provide its users with greater transparency and control over their personal information and how it is used. "These changes mean that ...

There was a poignant footnote to President Obama's historic July 10 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Behind closed doors in the papal library, Obama handed Benedict a letter that Senator Edward Kennedy had asked him to personally deliver to the pontiff. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs later told reporters that nobody — not even the President — knew the contents of the sealed missive. Obama himself asked Benedict to pray for Kennedy, and called the ailing ...

Pop singer Chris Brown was sentenced Tuesday to serve five years probation and more than 1,400 hours in "labor-oriented service" for assaulting his pop star girlfriend, Rihanna. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg said in the sentencing she wants to see Brown conduct "actual physical labor, as opposed to some type of community service." The sentencing was delayed earlier this month because documents detailing Brown's proposed community service plan in Virginia, where he maintains a legal residence and ...