Similar stories:

• Iranian boats shadow US aircraft carrier in Gulf

  Iranian boats shadow US aircraft carrier in Gulf

  Iranian patrol boats and aircraft shadowed a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group as it transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.

• Celebrity birthdays on Dec. 27

  Celebrity birthdays on Dec. 27

  Acto r John Amos is 72. Guitarist Mick Jones of Foreigner is 67. Actor Gerard Depardieu is 63. Guitarist David Knopfler of Dire Straits is 59. Drummer Jeff Bryant (Ricochet) is 49. Actor Ian Gomez is 47. Eva LaRue is 45. Actor Wilson Cruz (“My So-Called Life’’) is 38. Actor Masi Oka is 37. Actress Emilie de Ravin is 30. Singer Hayley Williams of Paramore is 23.

• DHS adding public advocate for immigration agency

  DHS adding public advocate for immigration agency

  The Homeland Security Department has appointed a public advocate to handle complaints and questions about its immigration enforcement policies.

• Iranian oil threat is mostly bluster, say observers

  Iranian oil threat is mostly bluster, say observers

  Amid an escalating war of words between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. and European officials expressed confidence that there was no imminent threat to the passageway through which some 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil travels daily.

• Cash for Iran

  Cash for Iran

  The recent chest-thumping by Iran has nothing to do with any potential military confrontation with the United States. The real issue is money.