The Commercial Appeal (2007-Current)

Turnaround Strategy -- State Hopes Charters' Own Success Can Be Converted to Underperforming City Schools

Time is of such essence at Cornerstone Prep, one of two Memphis nonprofit organizations approved to turn city schools into charter schools, that first-grade teacher Ali Hill wears a stopwatch to count seconds in the most mundane times. "Let's see if you can turn these spelling tests in 20 seconds," says Hill, a 20-something drill sergeant in Oxford blouse and pencil skirt, punching down the stem on the stopwatch. Papers immediately begin flowing forward.

Debt Panel Near Failure -- Lawmakers Take to Talk Shows to Deflect Blame Over Lack of Deficit Deal From 'Supercommittee'

WASHINGTON - Conceding that talks on a grand budget deal are near failure, congressional leaders pointed fingers at each other Sunday as they tried to deflect blame for their inability to figure out a way to lower the federal deficit without having to rely on automated cuts. The testy exchanges - which dominated the Sunday talk shows - made clear that leaders in both parties now see the automatic spending cut, or "sequester," as the most likely solution to reduce the federal deficit by $1.2 t...

Black Influence Slipping in South -- Minority Issues Shelved in Gop- Led Statehouses

ATLANTA - Black lawmakers have lost clout in Southern state capitols as their overwhelming allegiance to the Democratic Party has left them without power in increasingly GOP-controlled state legislatures. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies says in a report that despite Barack Obama's election as president, black voters and elected officials in the South have less influence now than at any time since the civil rights era.

Khmer Rouge Tribunal to Begin

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Survivors of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime held a remembrance ceremony in an infamous "killing field" Sunday, a day before a U.N.-backed tribunal begins a trial for three of the accused architects of some of the 20th century's worst atrocities. Relatives of the victims wept as they chanted and burned incense near a glass case filled with skulls at the Choeung Ek Genocide Center on Sunday. The memorial is in a field where the Khmer Rouge executed people during their 1975...

Spotlight: Republican Presidential Nomination / Gop Iowa Caucus Still Up for Grabs -- Candidates Continue to Push Ahead of Jan. Vote

ANAMOSA, Iowa - The race for the Republican presidential nomination is deeply unsettled with an anything-can-happen feel six weeks before Iowans start the state-by-state process of choosing a GOP challenger for President Barack Obama. 'Decision time'

Salute to Kabaddi

Japan May Never Quantify Cancers -- Effects of Disaster Too Tough to Call

FUKUSHIMA, Japan - Even if the worst nuclear accident in 25 years leads to many people developing cancer, we may never find out. Looking back on those early days of radiation horror, that may sound implausible. But the ordinary rate of cancer is so high, and our understanding of the effects of radiation exposure so limited, that any increase in cases from the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster may be undetectable.

Libya to Try Gadhafi's Son -- Leaders Balk at Turning Case Over to International Court

ZINTAN, Libya - Libya's new leaders said Sunday that they will try Moammar Gadhafi's son at home and not hand him over to the International Criminal Court, where he's charged with crimes against humanity. The government also announced the capture of the toppled regime's intelligence minister, who is also wanted by the court.

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California Swift picks up top AMA honor

Uncovering History -- Graves, Ghost Towns Bared by Depleted Texas Lakes

BLUFFTON, Texas - Johnny C. Parks died two days before his first birthday more than a century ago. His grave slipped from sight along with the rest of the tiny town of Bluffton when Lake Buchanan was filled 55 years later. Now, the cracked marble tombstone engraved with the date Oct. 15, 1882, which is normally covered by 20 to 30 feet of water, has been eerily exposed as a yearlong drought shrinks one of Texas' largest lakes.

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Syria New explosions hit Damascus