WASHINGTON – President Bush said Monday the federal government’s reaction to Hurricane Katrina was appalling, but was not the result of racial indifference to blacks hard-hit by the storm. “You can call me anything you want, but do not call me a racist,” Bush said. In an interview with “NBC …

BEIJING – China on Thursday reported its sixth human case of bird flu and a new outbreak in a flock of ducks. The latest human infection is a 35-year-old man in Suichuan County in the eastern province of Jiangxi, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing a Health Ministry statement. …

NEW YORK – Kevin Federline, aspiring rapper and husband of Britney Spears, has unveiled his own Web site. Federline, whose new hip-hop album, “The Truth,” is due out in 2006, appears to expect big things in the coming year. The Web site begins with an introduction of Federline rapping, “Keep …

LOS ANGELES – Pioneer Electronics Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a high-definition Blu-ray DVD disc drive for personal computers in the latest twist in a multibillion dollar battle over next-generation DVD standards. Pioneer is part of the Blu-ray consortium, led by Sony Corp., which is vying against a rival high-definition format …

WASHINGTON – The Boeing Co. is facing its last chance to win back a major slice of work on a constellation of costly spy satellites that is late, over-budget and tinged by parochial politics. Satellite programs take years to develop and cost at least several billion dollars each, making them …

SEOUL, South Korea – The United States refused Wednesday to withdraw financial sanctions on what it called North Korea‘s “criminal regime,” accusing the government of arms-dealing, drug sales, money-laundering and counterfeiting. “It’s up to North Korea to end the behavior that led to those sanctions,” U.S. Ambassador to South Korea …

NEW YORK – Once again, DMC is in the place to be. The 41-year-old rapper and former Run-DMC member is preparing to release his first solo album, “Checks, Thugs & Rock and Roll,” which features a wide array of musicians from Kid Rock to Doug E. Fresh to Fieldy from …

NORWALK, Ohio – A boy whose parents are accused of making their special-needs adopted children sleep in cages testified Thursday that the couple forced him to live in the bathroom as punishment for urinating in his enclosed bed. On another occasion, Sharen and Michael Gravelle forced him to stay in …

NEW YORK – Every evening rush hour, hustlers lugging bags full of bootlegged movies walk the aisles of New York’s subway trains, calling “two for five dollars!” as brazenly as if they were selling hot dogs at Yankee Stadium. At those prices, the DVDs, often of current Hollywood blockbusters, sell …

NEW YORK – Here’s what it could look like: Bicyclists darting through never-ending traffic jams. Swarms of commuters trudging over the Brooklyn Bridge in their sneakers in the freezing cold. Tourists stranded during the height of the Christmas season. Broadway shows with half-empty theaters. New York could be hit on …