Let's dispense with the mythology right up front. A driver's license has never been just about driving. When the first ones were issued in the early 1900s, the idea was to collect fees, not to test driving skills. More recently, revoking licenses became a way to punish people who didn't pay child support or, in Wisconsin, shovel snow off their walks. In its most coveted form, the license is proof of age--or of fraud, as the case may be. In ...

There is a well-known saying in Afghanistan: "You can rent an Afghan, but you can't buy him.""There's been an amnesty program for low-level Taliban in place for many years now and thousands of people have taken advantage of it," he said. "So this is not entirely a new idea. The idea of bribing people, local guys, to come over. ... It's one of the most cost-effective ways to get people to lay down their arms, either to negotiate a peace ...

Legendary wrestling figure Captain Lou Albano, perhaps best known for his association with pop singer Cyndi Lauper, died Wednesday, according to World Wrestling Entertainment. Albano, 76, was "one of the company's most popular and charismatic legends," the company said in a statement. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed. "Albano began his storied career with Vincent J. McMahon in the 1960s as one half of 'The Sicilians' tag team with his partner Tony Altimore," the WWE said. ...

Poet and punk rocker Jim Carroll has died at age 60. Funeral arrangements are pending. A respected poet and musician, Carroll also was the author of "The Basketball Diaries," which was adapted into a 1995 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Carroll died Friday at his home in Manhattan after suffering a heart attack, said his former wife, Rosemary Carroll. In 1980, he released the popular album "Catholic Boy," which, according to his fan Web site, expressed the "[b]omb-fear anticipation, the ...

Manchester City could become the second English club to receive a transfer ban after being reported to football's world governing body FIFA by French side Stade Rennes over an alleged illegal approach for a youth player. FIFA confirmed on Tuesday that it would be investigating City's acquisition of 17-year-old defender Jeremy Helan in February. "We can confirm that there is a case pending with FIFA's Player Status Department involving Jeremy Helan, Stade Rennes FC and Manchester City," it said in ...

The Canadian government hopes to overturn a decision granting refugee status to a white South African who says he would face persecution at home, a spokesman for Canada's immigration minister said Friday.

For many people, the manner in which they present themselves on Facebook has come to mirror how they see themselves in real life. Photos broadcast the fun they're having, status updates say what's on their mind and a change in relationship status announces their availability, commitment or something in between. Of these mini-declarations, relationship status is the only one that directly involves another person. That puts two people in the social-networking mirror, and that, to borrow a Facebook phrase, ...

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe pleaded Thursday for aid to help revive the country's battered economy, which analysts say he is responsible for wrecking. "Please come to our aid," said Mugabe while launching The Short Term Emergency Recovery Plan Thursday. STERP is the first economic plan formulated by the new inclusive government as it steps up efforts to resuscitate the ailing economy. Finance Minister Tendai Biti said at the launch that STERP would attempt to convince businesses to gear up, increasing ...

Facebook wants to know what's on my mind. Actually, that's not true; so far, it wants to know only what's on some of my friends' minds. Facebook doesn't care about me yet, although it promises that will soon change. Facebook is in the process of rolling out a new home page — one that combines photos, links, videos and status updates and puts them in one big stream of information. I don't have the new layout yet, but ...

It should come as no surprise that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been quick to endorse emerging plans to hasten the departure of U.S. forces from his country. Maliki, after all, had opposed the Bush Administration's decision to increase U.S. troop levels in the surge of 2007, and he had forced a reluctant Washington to accept a hard deadline for withdrawal in the Status of Forces Agreement adopted late last year. The growing abilities of the Iraqi ...