Mark Memmott

The biggest sports story of the week for millions of football (soccer) fans around the world was the sacking of David Moyes as manager of England's Manchester United, one of the two most valuable sports franchises on the planet.

Moyes lasted less than a season as

The news Friday from the site of South Korea's ferry disaster includes word that:

-- "At least 185 passengers had been confirmed dead, with 117 others still missing." (Yonhap News)

-- Prosecutors have "officially attributed the sinking ... to an improper stowage of cargo and a loss of ...

Pop star Pharrell's video "24 hours of Happy" is really something to marvel at. It's 24 hours long and consists of nothing more than loops of people dancing to his song "Happy."

I was immediately struck by the video's commercialism. Product placements are in your face; and the movie ...

Saying that "the tense geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine" could accelerate the already heavy flow of money coming out of Russia, Standard & Poor's on Friday cut that nation's credit rating to just above "junk" level.

What's more, S&P says it doesn't expect things to ...

This Week's Tracklist

• Porter Robinson, "Sea Of Voices (Rac Mix)" (Astralwerks)
• Gui Boratto, "Beautiful Life (Sascha Funke Remix)" (Kompakt)
• London Grammar, "Hey Now (Arty Remix)" (Columbia)
• Tensnake, "First Song" (Astralwerks)
• Little Dragon, "Paris" (Loma Vista/Republic)
• Blood Orange, "Uncle Ace (Kindness Remix Featuring Robert Owens)" (Domino)
• Blamma Blamma, "Zsa Zsa ...

"My dad's been out of a job for three years," the 10-year-old told Michelle Obama. The youngster's mother says the family didn't know the girl would do that.

Good morning, here are our early stories:

-- Russia Wants To Start World War III, Ukrainian Leader Charges.

-- Fresh Avalanches On Everest Appear To End Climbs In Nepal.

And here are more early headlines:

Officials Investigate South Korean Ferry Cargo In Deadly Accident. (AP)

Investigators ...

High up on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest, fresh ice avalanches on Friday made it "almost certain that no one will summit the world's highest mountain from Nepal during this year's climbing season," Reuters writes.

The ice did not injure anyone. But it came crashing through the ...

The crisis in Ukraine showed no signs of cooling Friday. Harsh rhetoric was flying:

-- "Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk accused Russia on Friday of wanting to start World War III by occupying Ukraine 'militarily and politically,' " Reuters reports.

-- "The West wants — and this is ...

The Vatican on Thursday sought to tamp down speculation that Pope Francis wants to reverse church teachings and allow divorced and remarried Catholics and their spouses to take Communion.

Religion News Service walks through what happened after word surfaced earlier this week that the pope reportedly called a ...

One day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was calling off his side's participation in the next session of peace talks with Palestinian leaders, Israel's Cabinet has endorsed that decision and "unanimously decided to cut off contacts," The Associated Press writes.

The impetus, as ...

Students at Danwon High School in Ansan, South Korea, began the difficult process of resuming classes on Thursday, eight days after a ferry disaster claimed the lives of more than 200 of their classmates.

According to South Korea's Yonhap News, the seniors (or third-year year students):

...

After two straight weeks in which the figures tracked near their lowest levels in seven years, the number of first-time applications for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week.

The Employment and Training Administration says there were 329,000 such claims filed, up by 24,000 from ...

The father of a teen who last weekend survived a 5 1/2-hour flight from California to Hawaii in the wheel well of a passenger jet says:

"When I watched the analysis about the extraordinary and dangerous trip of my son on local TVs and that Allah had saved him, ...

A large piece of metal found earlier this week on the coast of western Australia, which investigators had called an "object of interest" in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and the 239 people who were on board, is apparently not connected to the missing jet.

The ...

Three American citizens were killed Thursday at a Christian organization's hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, when an Afghan security guard opened fire. Another American citizen was reportedly wounded.

One of those killed was an experienced pediatrician from Chicago who had been working at the hospital for seven years, according to media ...

"A Rio de Janeiro slum erupted in violence late Tuesday following the killing of a popular local figure, with angry residents setting fires and showering homemade explosives and glass bottles onto a busy avenue in the city's main tourist zone," The Associated Press writes.

CNN says ...

The news from high up the world's tallest mountain continues to be confusing, with some reports implying that a boycott by Sherpas means there will be no climbs to the summit this year and others indicating that there will still be attempts to reach the top.

Based on what we ...

The already slim hope that anyone might still be alive aboard the South Korean ferry that sunk a week ago was all but extinguished Wednesday with the news that divers have found no air pockets in key areas of the ship.

That word came as the number of ...

Have you seen the devil?

When you've been to Tasmania — or Tassie, as the Aussies call it — that's what everyone wants to know.

Sure, the Tasmanian devil, a squat, foul-smelling animal with a ferocious screech, has helped put the 26,000-square-mile island (roughly the size of West Virginia ...