With dark shadows of uncertainty descending upon the hearts of so many at the conclusion of 2012, one can only hope 2013 will be a year of promise. But even in these dark days, miracles do still happen, especially when people are willing to roll up their sleeves for the cause of freedom.

ROME - An Italian parliamentary commission concluded "beyond any reasonable doubt" that the Soviet Union was behind the 1981 attempt to kill Pope John Paul II - a theory long alleged but never proved, according to a draft report made available Thursday.

May 25, 2005

Mesa's once politically powerful Mormon voting base may be edged out on March 11 by the city's fast-growing and diverse population and the phenomenon of early voting, political experts and church leaders say.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Dozens of heavily armed attackers raided an open air market Monday in a tense town south of Baghdad, killing at least 41 people and wounding about 90, Iraqi and U.S. officials said. Some reports put the death toll far higher. Most of the victims were believed to be Shiites.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Shiite politicians suggested a formula Saturday for replacing their nominee for prime minister to break the deadlock over Iraq's new unity government, officials said. At least 12 Iraqis died in a car bombing near a Baghdad restaurant and other attacks.

BEIJING - Some 2,600 birds have been found dead of bird flu in northern China's grasslands, the government said Wednesday, amid reports of new outbreaks in Europe and Russia.

 BAGHDAD - Anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr urged Iraq's parliament to reject a pact that would extend U.S. presence in Iraq for three years as tens of thousands of his followers marched through Baghdad's streets Saturday to reinforce that demand.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The largest Sunni Arab bloc in parliament said Sunday it was suspending its participation in the legislature until a kidnapped colleague was released, dealing a blow to efforts to involve the disaffected minority in the political process.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A video posted on the Internet Wednesday in the name of an extremist group claimed to show Iraqi insurgents dragging the burning body of a U.S. pilot on the ground after the crash of an Apache helicopter.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A string of explosions in Baghdad and north of the capital Monday killed at least 11 Iraqis and injured 47. An American soldier was reported killed in insurgency-plagued western Iraq.

BEIJING - Before the start of his last bout at the Olympics — and likely his last bout for a U.S. boxing team — light flyweight Luis Yanez held one gloved hand near his ear.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Police found the bodies of 65 men who had been tortured, shot and dumped, most around Baghdad, while car bombs, mortar attacks and shootings killed at least 30 people around Iraq and injured dozens more.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen seized two Sunni coaches from a youth club Wednesday in Baghdad, while authorities searched for dozens of Shiites abducted along a dangerous highway north of the capital in another outbreak of Iraq's relentless tit-for-tat sectarian violence.

April 25, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Bombs ripped through a Baghdad market and a bakery on Sunday as shoppers were stocking up on sweets and other delicacies to celebrate a major Muslim holiday, and at least five people were killed, police said.

COPENHAGEN -- Wealthy nations would commit to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade, and the world should strive to nearly eliminate them - or at least cut them in half - by 2050 under a draft agreement circulated Friday at the U.N. climate talks.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military on Sunday reported six more American troops killed in fighting the day before, raising the toll to 25 in the deadliest day for U.S. forces in Iraq in two years.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Fighting between suspected insurgents and Iraqi police killed at least six civilians in Baghdad on Tuesday, and roadside bombs killed three U.S. soldiers, officials said.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Police in the past 24 hours have found the bodies of at least 87 people killed by execution-style shootings - a gruesome wave of apparent sectarian reprisal slayings, officials said Tuesday.

BAD AROLSEN, Germany - In the locked attic of a German archive is a dusty file that harks back to a long forgotten chapter of the Cold War — a humanitarian endeavor that, it now emerges, also had a covert side.

BAGHDAD - Tens of thousands marched through the streets of two Shiite holy cities Monday to mark the fourth anniversary of Baghdad's fall.

Two weeks ago I spent a few hours sniffing around the grand opening of the new Beverages & More in Chandler, seeking the latest trends in vodka.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Five roadside bombs killed at least three people in Iraq on Sunday - the three-year anniversary of the Baghdad's fall to U.S. forces. Iraq police and soldiers bolstered security in the capital to prevent attacks on "Freedom Day."