WASHINGTON - A lawyer who represented White House intern Monica Lewinsky has been appointed to represent the woman involved in Washington's latest sex scandal. A judge named Preston Burton to represent Deborah Jeane Palfrey -- nicknamed the "D.C. Madam" -- after Palfrey said she and her current lawyer, a public defender, disagreed on strategy. Palfrey says she is indigent because most of her assets had been seized by the government, The Washington Post reported. Burton's ... [full story]

COLDWATER, Mich. - Assisted-suicide advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian Friday walked out of a Michigan prison after serving more than eight years in the death of an ALS victim. Kevorkian, who earned the moniker "Dr. Death," characterized his release as "one of the high points of my life" as he exited the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Mich., WWJ-AM, Detroit, reported. Kevorkian was sentenced to 10- to 25-years in prison for second-degree murder in the death ... [full story]

DETROIT - The former U.S. pathologist known as "Dr. Death," Jack Kevorkian will become a highly paid public speaker on assisted suicide when he leaves prison in June. Kevorkian's lawyer, Mayer Morganroth told the Detroit News there have been several offers made by groups willing to pay between $50,000 and $100,000 per engagement, but he refused to say who made them. Kevorkian will be released from a Detroit-area prison on June 1, six days after ... [full story]

As­tro­no­mers have de­tected the bright­est stel­lar ex­plo­sion, or su­per­no­va, on rec­ord. They say it may be a new type of su­per­no­va that may also oc­cur be­fore long in our own ga­l­axy—what one re­search­er said would be his­to­ry’s most awe­some star show. The find­ing comes from ob­ser­va­tions by NASA’s Chan­dra X ray Ob­serv­a­to­ry and ground-based tele­scopes. It in­di­cates vi­o­lent ex­plo­sions of ex­treme­ly mas­sive stars were fair­ly com­mon in the ear­ly uni­verse, sci­en­tists said.“This was a tru­ly mon­strous ... [full story]

CHICAGO - Even billionaires have to drum up sales once in a while. Mega-developer Donald Trump came to Chicago Thursday to hype his new residential high-rise amid what he said is a sluggish housing market. At a news conference, he also took swipes at a competing skyscraper project, the Chicago Spire, and at his celebrity nemesis, talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell. The Trump International Hotel & Tower will rise 92 stories along the Chicago River, about ... [full story]

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles firefighters made progress against the fire that burned in Griffith Park, reporting it was 75 percent contained Wednesday afternoon. Many residents who had been evacuated were permitted to return to their homes, and officials began to evaluate damage to the city's largest park, The Los Angeles Times reported. Half of the 600 firefighters who had been working the fire were allowed to go off duty Wednesday. "The tide is turning ... [full story]

WARSAW, Poland - Poland plans to sent 1,000 more troops to Afghanistan to join NATO forces fighting Taliban and al-Qaida rebels, Poland Radio reported Thursday. Polish troops already in Afghanistan number about 500, of whom 100 were deployed last year and 400 earlier this year. Abdul Haider, Afghan ambassador to Poland, said Warsaw's efforts to beef up its contigent symbolize the strength of strong links between the two countries. Krzysztof Bobinski of the Polish Institute ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department announced Tuesday that 10 Army brigades are to be deployed to Iraq to replace soldiers rotating back to the United States. About 35,000 soldiers face deployment between August and the end of December. The movements are not related to the increase in troops in Baghdad. "Let me be real clear about this," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Williams. "This deployment ... is not a decision with respect to the surge." He ... [full story]

MOSCOW - An explosion and fire in a crowded cafe in Orsk on the Russia-Kazakhstan border left 10 people dead Sunday night. A preliminary investigation showed the blast was deliberately set, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. "Following the explosion, an intense fire began, destroying the building completely," said Viktor Beltsov, a spokesman for the local emergencies service office. "Following the blaze, firefighters pulled 10 people from beneath the ruins." The blast occurred in the ... [full story]

BAGHDAD - CNN reports the apparent kidnapping of U.S. troops during the weekend in Baghdad was a well-orchestrated operation involving at least 10 insurgents. Quoting a senior U.S. military official, CNN said the kidnapping was part of a "complex attack," involving numerous types of weapons, on a "stationary observation post" in the so-called Triangle of Death. The kidnapping of three U.S. troops occurred Saturday. Four others were killed. All were from Fort Drum, N.Y. A ... [full story]