TORONTO – An inquiry into the U.S. transfer of a Canadian citizen to prison in Syria found Canadian authorities gave misleading information to the Americans that likely led to the deportation, a report released Monday said. After his release in 2003, Syrian-born Maher Arar made detailed allegations about extensive interrogation, …

RALEIGH, N.C. – Searchers found the bodies of two young brothers in the Dan River on Friday, three days after the boys disappeared from their grandparents’ home near the storm-swollen stream. Jacob White, 3, and Jeffrey White Jr., 4, were reported missing Tuesday afternoon from the home near Danbury, about …

SAN FRANCISCO – Revelations that Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) officials used questionable tactics in an internal investigation into media leaks have caught the attention of California’s attorney general, who’s launched his own probe into the computer maker. Attorney General Bill Lockyer subpoenaed some HP officials Wednesday in a probe he characterized …

WASHINGTON – Film director Stephen Spielberg, singers Dolly Parton and Smokey Robinson, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and conductor Zubin Mehta will be honored in December by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. “This year we honor five extraordinary international artists whose abundant contributions to their fields are …

SAN JORGE, Nicaragua – Dusting off a dream that dates back five centuries, Nicaragua wants to build an $18 billion alternative to the increasingly overloaded Panama Canal. Officials are drafting legislation, conducting feasibility studies and lobbying internationally for the project, first considered by Spanish explorers who scanned the Central American …

SAN FRANCISCO – Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Zend, a key supplier of tools used to design open-source software that competes with Microsoft Windows programs, said on Tuesday the two companies have struck a long-term partnership. Bill Hilf, a Microsoft technical strategist, said the Zend deal, a multiyear, multiphase partnership, will …

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Prosecutors filed criminal charges Wednesday against Hewlett-Packard‘s former chairwoman and four others involved in the corporate spying scandal that has shaken the Silicon Valley tech giant long revered for its ethics and professionalism. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer accused two ousted HP insiders — chairwoman Patricia …

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is leading state Treasurer Phil Angelides in the race for California governor, boosted by support from the heavily Democratic San Francisco Bay area, according to a poll released Wednesday. Schwarzenegger had the support of 48 percent of likely voters polled, while 30 percent said they …

WASHINGTON – Administrative costs for a handful of reconstruction projects in Iraq ate up 11 percent to 55 percent of the total costs and were not monitored well by officials there, according to a U.S. government audit. The audit, done by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, looked at …

HAMDEN, Conn. – Sen. Joe Lieberman has built a 17-point lead over Democratic challenger Ned Lamont, according to the first Quinnipiac University poll since the two faced off in a debate this week. Lieberman, running as an independent after losing the Aug. 8 Democratic primary to Lamont, leads the Greenwich …