By HOPE YEN / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — A few weeks after the Soviets launched the first manmade satellite in 1957, shattering America’s sense of security, CBS President Frank Stanton was summoned to the White House to see President Eisenhower. Stanton knew his friend was agonizing over how to respond to Sputnik and…

Auto racing legend Mario Andretti will be on hand to help kick off the expanded version of JazzFest, historic downtown Murfreesboro’s annual music festival, set for April 30 and May 1.Andretti, who will be at JazzFest as the guest of event sponsor Bridgestone/Firestone, will be on the Public Square signing autographs and posing for photos…

NASHVILLE — The country’s best-loved women’s show returns to Nashville on April 1-4 at the Nashville Convention Center. The Southern Women’s Show is a spectacular annual event that brings together the things women love: cooking demonstrations, fashion shows, makeovers, facials, entertainment, motivational speakers, health and fitness advice, and lots of unique shopping. Here are just…

NASHVILLE — Spring will be a gardener’s delight when Cheekwood Botanical Gardens opens the season of color with three major flower shows, The Wildflower Fair, The Rose Show and The Daffodil Show, and a show on bonsai trees.First on tap is the renowned Cheekwood Wildflower Fair from March 26-28, which will offer more than 100…

By LIZ SIDOTI / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Coming soon to a computer near you: John Kerry as … Austin Powers? A new GOP Web video pokes fun at the Democratic presidential nominee-to-be, dubbing him “the international man of mystery” for declining to identify foreign leaders he has claimed support him over President…

By SHARON THEIMER / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush and Democratic nominee-to-be John Kerry are on track to spend nearly a half-billion dollars vying for the White House this year, making it the most expensive presidential race in history. Bush has already reached his goal of raising a record $170 million, with…

By ANICK JESDANUN / AP Internet Writer NEW YORK (AP) — It costs you nothing to discover how much your neighbors are contributing to candidates for president. Just visit the Web site fundrace.org and type your address and ZIP code into the “Neighbor Search” tool. You will get a list of what those who live…

By MICHAEL MELLO / Associated Press Writer BRISTOL, R.I. (AP) — On the sleepy coastal campus of Roger Williams University, a small liberal arts school unaccustomed to student activism, the College Republicans are reveling in the debate they’ve kicked up by offering a scholarship for whites only. The $250 award — which required an essay…

By ELLIOTT MINOR / Associated Press Writer Jimmy Bass, manager of the central library in Albany, Ga., sits in front of a computer display featuring the library’s new online book club on Monday, Feb. 8, 2004. (AP Photo/Elliott Minor) ALBANY, Ga. (AP) — Patrons of the Dougherty County Library get an e-mail each day featuring…

By MIELIKKI ORG / Associated Press Writer BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Competitive pressures and a fear of appearing unpatriotic discouraged journalists from doing more critical reporting during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, according to reporters and others at a conference on media coverage of the war. The journalists on the panels at the…