The Commercial Appeal (2007-Current)

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Most Read 1.) Pride in Obama makes his trip to Memphis all the sweeter

Presidential Visit / Proof Positive -- Booker T. Valedictorian to Give Voice to Often Unheard Underdogs

Alexis Wilson, valedictorian at Booker T. Washington High School, faces the most daunting of tasks today - a speech to her classmates on the same occasion that President Barack Obama, well-known for his moving oratory, delivers their commencement speech. Wilson said that when she steps to the podium, at Memphis Cook Convention Center,

- Griz Give Memphis Something to Believe In

OKLAHOMA CITY - I believe that was an absolute blast. I believe you will remember this Memphis Grizzlies team for the rest of your days.

Bachmann Finds Ways to Fight -- Run for President

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Michele Bachmann was a self-styled "education researcher" making a run for a Minnesota school board seat in 1999 when the question came up at a candidate forum: If elected, would she serve all four years? Maybe not, she said.

Al-Qaida Stays Logged On

ISLAMABAD - Osama bin Laden cut himself off from direct access to the Internet during his final years in Pakistan as he attempted to elude the CIA. But the terror group he founded has been able to seize the power of the Web to spawn an army of online followers who will prolong al-Qaida's war against the West long after his demise. Al-Qaida's technological evolution illustrates how much the group has changed since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and why it has flourished despite America's decadelo...

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Florida Endeavour again all ready to go

Emanuel Jazzes Up Scene in Chicago -- Side

CHICAGO - The mayor-elect strolled into the historic Chicago Theatre for a Neil Young concert wearing sneakers, jeans and a sweater over a blue T-shirt. At his side was actress Jennifer Beals, the star of "Flashdance," and her husband. Rahm Emanuel was out on the town, and Mayor Richard Daley he's not.

Gop Field Vies for Huckabee Backers -- Scramble

WASHINGTON - Mike Huckabee's decision to forgo a shot at the presidency further muddies the field for a worthy Republican challenger to President Barack Obama and leaves America's social conservatives without a clear candidate to throw their support behind. Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, joins Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota and Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana on the sidelines. His decision underscores that for all of Obama's vulnerabilities on the economy,...

'Great Seducer' Faces Sex Charges -- Boss; Charges Filed

NEW YORK - Dominique Strauss-Kahn's reputation with women earned him the nickname "the great seducer," and not even an affair with a subordinate could knock the International Monetary Fund leader off a political path pointed in the direction of the French presidency. But all that changed with charges that he sexually assaulted a maid in his hotel room, a case that generated shock and revulsion, especially in his home country.

Anti-Aircraft Threat Grows in Libya

WASHINGTON - The fierce combat in Libya has unleashed a once- hidden arsenal of portable anti-aircraft missiles that the U.S. government fears could easily be siphoned off to terror groups, giving rise to a potential threat to commercial aviation that the U.S. is only beginning to confront, government officials and arms experts said. The fears are compounded by suspicions that Libyan government and opposition forces are both deploying fighters with ties to terrorists and mercenaries.

Paraguay Marks Independence

Junk Donations a Challenge -- Becomes Difficult

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Relief officials inundated with donations after the flurry of twisters that killed more than 300 people across the South are sorting through the broken toys and used underwear they don't need while hunting for places to store mountains of vital supplies like canned food. Across Alabama, agencies are still encouraging people to send items like cleaning supplies for people clearing debris from tornado- damaged homes, or cash donations that can be used to cover operating expen...

Arrest Will Not Affect Bailout Talk

BERLIN - The arrest of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn complicates a key European meeting on whether to give Greece billions more in aid - but experts insisted one man's troubles won't keep the 17 eurozone nations from trying to contain a debt crisis that threatens them all. Eurozone financial leaders are to discuss Greece's deteriorating economy today at a Brussels meeting where experts will brief them on the situation in Athens. Key questions include what conditions to put on more help to ...

France's Presidential Race in Upheaval After Incident

PARIS - Allegations of sexual assault in a New York hotel have torn France's presidential race asunder and savaged the reputation of the suave and self-assured Dominique Strauss-Kahn, chief of the International Monetary Fund. The 62-year-old Strauss-Kahn has topped French opinion polls for months as the man most likely to become this nation's next president, consistently outshining the little-loved conservative incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy.