If you think about it, so much of life is about chance and what if. Like this past weekend, what if that SUV had exploded in New York’s Times Square? What if that cop wasn’t so alert or maybe the driver not so inept? What if the “shoe bomber” had …

During this health care reform debate, how many times have you heard that health care is a right? That’s been one of the main selling points — that we’re the greatest country in the world, and the only one where every citizen isn’t entitled to health care? How can that …

OK, boyfriends of the world, repeat after us: Routine is the enemy. Routine is the No. 1 cause of relationship death. Once boyfriends get comfortable, it’s not long before they get lazy; and as soon as they get lazy, they get dumped. If you have a girlfriend and you want …

Is the Astroturf always greener on the other side? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has characterized outspoken protests at town hall meetings on health care as “astroturf” — or disingenuous grassroots organization by conservative opponents of the legislation. But President Obama is now calling on his online network of supporters, Organizing …

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevinee: Drop in the Bucket? Some top environmental experts are saying the “cash for clunkers” program is an ineffective way to target climate change. An Associated Press analysis of Transportation Department figures indicates the program will have the same effect on the environment …

Jacko’s Items|Steinberg Book|Moore, Julia, et al. PoliceConfiscated Porn and Pills From Neverland It’s good news and bad news for Michael Jackson, according to my sources, when it comes to items taken from his bedroom by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office. This week, Jackson’s lawyers lobbied judge Rodney S. …

The latest from the Political Grapevine: Upon Further Review A front-page Washington Post story on the Senate testimony of chief Weapons InspectorCharles Duelfer (search)this week has a headline saying, “U.S. ‘Almost All Wrong’ on Weapons.” And the story, by Post reporters Dana Priest and Walter Pincus, quoted Duelfer as telling …

TUNIS, Tunisia – Tunisian officials have sought to dampen down on worries that the sets from the iconic Star Wars movies are under threat from Islamic State militants. CNN recently suggested that the sets were vulnerable after arrests and discoveries of weapons caches near the town of Tatouine, which lent …

The South Korea-born pastor of a suburban Toronto church has failed to return from a humanitarian trip to North Korea, causing the Canadian government to try to ascertain his whereabouts. Officials at the Light Korean Presbyterian Church, based in Mississauga, Ontario, told Reuters that they had not heard from 60-year-old …

BRUSSELS – The European Union has extended for a year an asset freeze on former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and others in his administration linked to the misuse of state funds. The EU said in a statement Thursday that its measures target “persons subject to initial investigations on the embezzlement …