Orlando: What first comes to mind? Walt Disney World or Universal resorts, perhaps? The two parks are the nation's biggest tourist draws. ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- Orlando: What first comes to mind Walt Disney World or Universal resorts, perhaps The two parks are the nation's biggest tourist draws. As a new resident of Orlando, I find that the tourist areas are more removed from the city than I thought. Still, some people in the area where I currently live either ...

The mother of an American humanitarian worker kidnapped in Pakistan has pleaded for him to be freed in an audio recording released by the United Nations. Rose Solecki, whose son John was abducted three weeks ago, describes how the "happy memory" of visiting him in the province of Balochistan "turned into a nightmare." "I simply do not understand why this is happening to our dear John," Rose Solecki, 83, says in the recording. "I cannot begin to explain the sorrows ...

Bleak. That's always been the rap against American novelist Richard Yates. Though he has been celebrated as a writer's writer and a consummate craftsman since his death in 1992, even his admirers found his work depressing. Fellow novelist Carolyn See explained it in 1981: "He's not going to get the recognition he truly deserves because to read Yates is as painful as getting all your teeth filed down to the gum with no anesthetic." Joyce Carol Oates agreed, writing in ...

Greg Cannom. Remember that name. It's not a household name, for sure. But this two-time Academy Award winner (for "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and "Mrs. Doubtfire") is the red-hot favorite to win the Oscar in the best makeup category, for his work taking Brad Pitt from decrepitude to infancy in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." His colleagues in the visual effects department are likely to join him, along with the art direction team and possibly costume designer Jacqueline West, taking ...

Annie Lennox has incredible eyes. They're a translucent blue-green, both kind and inviting in one glance, then piercing and all-knowing in another. At 54, Lennox's orbs are as captivating today as they were when they stared at us from under that fiery orange crew cut in the music video for the Eurythmics hit "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)." That was 1983. Yes, Lennox's Eurythmics days seem like a lifetime ago for the Scotland-born singer-songwriter, especially when you consider the ...

President Obama signed the $787 economic stimulus bill Tuesday in Denver, Colorado. Here is a full transcript of his remarks. President Obama: It is great to be in Denver. I was here last summer to accept the nomination of my party and to make a promise to people of all parties that I would do all I could to give every American the chance to make of their lives what they will and see their children climb higher than they ...

Besides his glowing complexion, Shigeo Tokuda looks like any other 74-year-old man in Japan. Despite suffering a heart attack three years ago, the lifelong salaryman now feels healthier, and lives happily with his wife and a daughter in downtown Tokyo. He is, of course, more physically active than most retirees, but that's because he's kept his part-time job — as a porn star. Shigeo Tokuda is, in fact, his screen name. He prefers not to disclose his real ...

Moving at lightning speed and, even more unexpectedly, ahead of their President's Day deadline, House and Senate negotiators agreed on the details of a $789 billion stimulus package barely 30 hours after Senate passed their version. In the process, they handed President Barack Obama his first major legislative victory, though the deliberations that led up to its passage highlighted the enormous challenges Obama will face in more complicated endeavors like healthcare, entitlement and energy reform. The Senate Democratic leadership was ...

The shotgun blast rips into the stray dog's midsection, sending it tumbling over and over. Agonizing yelps echo through the streets as it tries to reach and bite at the gaping wound. Minutes later, the dog is dead. A few miles away, a puppy eats a piece of poisoned meat. Its body starts to twitch and spasm as the toxins kick in. It dies within 15 minutes. The two strays were among the thousands that roam the streets of Baghdad. ...

Last year my 26-year-old assistant asked me to write her a recommendation for business school. I was happy to help. For two years, Megan had worked around the clock, or so it surely felt to her, bringing insight to my work and order to my life. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Microsoft is getting ready to launch an online marketplace akin to Apple's App Store. Microsoft is also readying a more sophisticated version of its mobile operating ...