SHOKAN, N.Y. (AP) — Allaire Studios sit at the end of a slithering mountain road. Airy rooms offer skytop views of the Catskill Mountains. Norah Jones, Tim McGraw and David Bowie are among those who recorded here, bypassing studios a couple of hours south in Manhattan. At a time when even big-name recording studios are…

By RACHEL ZOLL / AP Religion Writer On the recruitment poster, a young Roman Catholic priest in full cassock stands before a black backdrop gripping a cross in one hand and a rosary in the other. A halo of light surrounds him, but his expression is far from angelic. He stares grimly at the ground,…

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — They arrive with their game faces on: Teenagers keyed up about a game of dodgeball. But before the balls begin flying, youth pastor Allen Sasser-Goehner gathers the more than 40 players in the shade of a city park to lay down rules. He grabs a well-thumbed Bible, turns to Romans and…

GENEVA (AP) — A senior U.S. official rejected calls on Thursday for a U.N. body to take over control of the main computers that direct traffic on the Internet, reiterating U.S. intentions to keep its historical role as the medium’s principal overseer. “We will not agree to the U.N. taking over the management of the…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Indicted Texas Rep. Tom DeLay will serve as a “very powerful adviser” to the Republican leadership while he battles the conspiracy charge that forced him to step aside as House majority leader, a GOP spokesman said Thursday. “His experience and insight for over a decade of the Republican majority is invaluable to…

By DAVID GERMAIN / AP Movie Writer A filmmaker’s already teed off into the rough when he tries to deliver on a title like “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” Was the 1913 matchup of young American amateur Francis Ouimet against veteran British champ Harry Vardon in the U.S. Open the greatest ever? Maybe, but the…

By CHRISTY LEMIRE / AP Movie Critic You can see how “Firefly,” the short-lived TV show that provided the basis for “Serenity,” could have gotten addictive if given the chance. The movie is a spirited mix of the familiar and the futuristic, of fast-paced chase scenes and butt-kicking brawls, of witty banter and well-drawn characters.…

By DAVID GERMAIN / AP Movie Writer Director John Stockwell is lost at sea with “Into the Blue,” a diving adventure with a severe case of the dramatic bends. Like Stockwell’s passable beach romance “Blue Crush,” “Into the Blue” is a treasure trove for images of beautiful, bland people looking impossibly tanned and perfect against…

WASHINGTON (AP) — When a grieving mother started a grass-roots organization in 1980, alcohol mixed with driving was killing more than 70 people a day but receiving little national attention. Mothers Against Drunk Driving made it personal. Focusing on the stories of victims and their families, MADD quickly spread into more than 300 communities, helped…

By JOSEPH B. VERRENGIA / AP Science Writer For the first time, biologists have documented gorillas in the wild using simple tools, such as poking a stick in a swampy pool of water to check its depth. Until now, scientists had seen gorillas use tools only in captivity. Among the great apes, tool use in…