World/Nation
<p>In this photo made by combining 264 20 second exposures, stars leave rings of light behind as they wheel around Polaris, the North Star, over Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013. At an elevation of 5,046 feet, Newfound Gap offers prime stargazing on clear, moonless nights. Polaris is not the brightest star in the sky, but it stays glued north, while its neighbors rise and set.</p>
• North Korea deports elderly U.S. tourist
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Saturday it has deported an elderly U.S. tourist who was detained for more than a month, apparently ending the saga of Merrill Newman's return to the North six decades after he advised South Korean guerrillas still loathed by Pyongyang.
North Korea made the decision because the 85-year-old Newman had apologized for his alleged crimes during the Korean War and because of his age and medical condition, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who is traveling in Seoul, welcomed the release and said Newman was in Beijing. Aside from an awkwardly worded alleged confession last month, Newman has yet to speak publicly since being taken off a plane Oct. 26 by North Korean authorities while preparing to leave the country after a 10-day tour.
A state department spokeswoman urged Pyongyang to pardon "as a humanitarian gesture" another American, Kenneth Bae, who has been held in the North for more than a year.
• Freezing rain, winds shut down North Texas
DALLAS - Freezing rain and stinging winds slammed the Southwest Friday and made a strangely blank landscape out of normally sun-drenched North Texas: mostly empty highways covered in a sometimes impassable frost, closed schools and businesses, and millions of residents hunkered down for icy conditions expected to last through the weekend.
Earlier this week, many in Texas were basking in spring-like temperatures that hit the 80s. But by Thursday, Texas was facing the same wintry blast that has slammed much of the U.S., bringing frigid temperatures, ice and snow.
The weather forced the cancellation of Sunday's Dallas Marathon, which was expected to draw 25,000 runners, some of whom had trained for months. About 250,000 in North Texas were left without power, and many businesses told employees to stay home to avoid the slick roads.
• Macklemore, Lamar muscle into Grammys
Jay Z easily led Grammy Award nominations announced Friday with nine, but left-of-center rappers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Kendrick Lamar were among a group of new stars who took many of the major nominations.
Macklemore and Lewis' gay marriage anthem "Same Love" was among song of the year nominees and the Seattle rap crew joined Los Angeles rapper Lamar with seven nominations apiece, including best album and best new artist of the year. Pharrell Williams had four major nominations among his seven and Justin Timberlake also had seven.
Macklemore and Lewis dominated a nominations TV special from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles that also included performances by nominees Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Lorde and Robin Thicke.
Macklemore and Lewis opened the show with a colorful, high-energy version of their hit "Thrift Shop," featuring Wanz, and immediately picked up a song of the year nomination for "Same Love," featuring Mary Lambert.
Two nominations later, Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, was noting it was a "very surreal moment" during an on-air interview with host LL Cool J. "It's like we're not supposed to be here, but we're here with LL Cool J." Lewis added after the show: "There is no greater award than the Grammy. To be here tonight and to be nominated is truly mind-blowing."
- The Associated Press