Simon Cowell breaks his silence about a Paula Abdul-less "American Idol" next season in an exclusive interview with the television show "Extra." In the interview, set to air Friday night, Cowell said he doesn't want to "get in the middle" between Abdul and of the "American Idol" executives but told "Extra's" Terri Seymour, his former girlfriend, that the chemistry between the judges is different now. "It's like comparing a carrot to a banana," he told the show. "They are ...

Fiji has been suspended from the Commonwealth after its military rulers failed to respond to a demand to restore democracy in the Pacific island nation, the organization said Tuesday. "This is an announcement I make with deep regret -- it is a step the Commonwealth is now obliged to take, and one that it takes in sorrow," Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, said in a statement. The 53-nation group gave Fiji's leadership a September 1 deadline to announce democratic elections for ...

"No individual protected by Blackwater has ever been killed or seriously injured." So says Erik Prince, the 38-year-old former Navy Seal whose security company finds itself at the center of a growing debate over the use of private contractors in Iraq. Blackwater USA Chairman Prince is scheduled on Tuesday to make his first-ever appearance before Congress, along with three other witnesses who will line up before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. A ...

Television pioneer and longtime CBS executive Don Hewitt, the creator of "60 Minutes," has died, CBSNews.com reported Wednesday. He was 86. The winner of eight Emmy and two Peabody awards, Hewitt began working for CBS News as an associate director in 1948. He was executive producer of "60 Minutes" when it premiered on CBS on September 24, 1968. Hewitt stepped down in June 2004, but the program remains on the air and is the No. 1 news program, according ...

Over the past few months, Kelly Clarkson's weight has been a hot topic for critical bloggers. But the outspoken singer -- who has said "Of course celebrities have cellulite!" -- doesn't let the body bullies get her down. "When people talk about my weight, I'm like, 'You seem to have a problem with it; I don't. I'm fine!'," Clarkson, 27, told the September issue of Self. She also noted, "My happy weight changes. Sometimes I eat more; sometimes I play ...

At least 441 people have died in floods in India from this season's monsoon rains, federal authorities said in their latest report. Flooding has affected more than 1.5 million people in parts of India, said the disaster management division of the federal home ministry. The country's main weather office has warned of more heavy rain in western and central parts of India. Monsoon rains sweep across the subcontinent from June till September. Though they bring much-needed relief to often-parched farmlands, ...

Japan dissolved its lower house of parliament Tuesday ahead of general elections in August. The move was not unexpected. On July 13, Prime Minister Taro Aso said he would dissolve the lower house of the Diet some time this week. Elections for new lawmakers will be held on August 30, said Jun Matsumoto, the chief Cabinet spokesman, at the time. The beleaguered prime minister has faced increasing pressure from within his party, the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), ...

Families of September 11 victims visiting Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Thursday urged the Obama administration to drop plans to close the facility and to restart terror trials there. "I am opposed to the closing of this facility because of political reasons," said Gordon Haberman whose daughter, Andrea, was killed when terrorist planes struck the World Trade Center. "I believe that the current administration spoke too quickly on this." Haberman said he thinks President Obama should not insist on carrying out ...

Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso will dissolve the lower house of parliament this month and call for a general election in August, the government said Monday. The lower house of the Diet will be dissolved the week of July 21; elections for new lawmakers will be held on August 30, said Jun Matsumoto, the chief Cabinet spokesman. The beleaguered prime minister has faced increasing pressure from within his party, the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), to step down as his ...

The highly controversial no-warrant surveillance program initiated after the September 11 terrorist attacks relied on a "factually flawed" legal analysis inappropriately provided by a single Justice Department official, according to a report to Congress on Friday. The report was compiled by the inspectors general of the nation's top intelligence agencies, the Pentagon and the Justice Department. The report, mandated by Congress, provides fresh context to information previously leaked in press accounts and buttressed by both congressional testimony and books written ...