Ryan Villarreal

TransCanada recently announced its plan to construct the southernmost portion of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, following the project's rejection by President Barack Obama earlier in January.

Faced with deep budget cuts, NASA is restructuring its Mars exploration program in order to scrap up funds for a possible robotic mission to the red planet between 2018 and 2020.

Iranian director Asghar Farhadi accepted the best foreign language film award for A Separation, at the 2012 Academy Awards Sunday, winning Iran's first Oscar amidst an era of heightened tensions surrounding the Middle Eastern nation.

WikiLeaks released over 5 million emails hacked from U.S.-based global intelligence firm Strategy Forecasting, Inc. (Stratfor), revealing an alleged plan between the firm's CEO and a Goldman Sachs executive to set up an investment fund that would rely on inside information gathered by the company.

At least nine people are dead after a car bomb was detonated at a NATO airbase in Jalalabad, according to Afghan police. The Taliban has claimed the suicide attack was revenge for the recent burning of several copies of the Koran by U.S. soldiers, which have incited virulent protests beginning Feb. 22 across Afghanistan.

Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown and his Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren both published op-eds in the Boston Globe Friday, contrasting each other's views on the Obama administration's federal mandate regarding health care coverage for contraception and a bill designed to circumvent it.

Former New York City Mayor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said in a television interview Thursday that the Republican Party's stances on some social issues, gay rights in particular, make it look like it isn't a modern party.

Comedian and political commentator Bill Maher publicly donated $1 million dollars to a super PAC supporting President Obama's re-election Thursday during a live web broadcast of his comedy special, CrazyStupidPolitics: Live from Silicon Valley.

The Mitt Romney-supporting super PAC Restoring Our Future released an ad that highlights the Republican presidential primary candidate's role in helping a former Bain Capital colleague search for his missing teenage daughter in 1996.

Former NBA star Michael Jordan filed a lawsuit against a Chinese sportswear company, claiming the brand was built off of unauthorized use of his name.

The U.S. Postal Service, facing an annual loss of $18.2 billion by 2015, plans to close nearly half of its mail-processing facilities, resulting in 35,000 layoffs in an effort to reduce operating costs.

President Barack Obama has issued a letter of apology to Afghan President Hamid Karzai in response to the burning of copies of Koran at NATO's Bagram airbase, which provoked violent protests beginning Wednesday that have resulted in several deaths, including two coalition soldiers, believed to be Americans, shot dead by a man in an Afghan Army uniform.

Stephen Colbert pitched his idea for a children's book about an animated flagpole's identity crisis to Where the Wild Things author Maurice Sendak in a Jan. 25 Colbert Report segment, and now it is slated to be published in late spring.

In recent weeks, Apple has received increasing scrutiny over the working conditions within the factories that produce its highly profitable products like the iPad and MacBook. In an ABC exclusive that aired Feb. 21, Nightline was permitted to tour Apple's largest manufacturer, Foxconn, at its facilities in Shenzhen, China.

The New York Knicks' new star point guard Jeremy Lin recently applied to trademark Linsanity several days after two California men each filed separate ones, attempting to cash in on the fervor surrounding Lin and his vernacularly adaptable name.

Pinal County, Ariz. Sheriff Paul Babeu resigned his post as Mitt Romney's state campaign co-chair, following the revelation on Saturday that he was involved in a homosexual relationship with a Mexican immigrant who claims he was threatened with deportation if he spoke out about their involvement.

Argentine soccer phenom Lionel Messi stormed into second behind Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo in the running for the European Golden Shoe award, following a stunning performance in Barcelona's 5-1 dominating victory over Valencia, where he racked up four goals in a row.

The price of gasoline in the U.S. is expected to hit $4.00 by summer, and could potentially spike even further. Much of this has to do to with events in other parts of the world.

China will launch the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft between June and August this year, carrying three astronauts to the Tiangong-1 space module, Xinhua reported Friday.

Acclaimed Japanese animator Hayao Miayzaki's 2010 film The Secret World of Arrietty opened in U.S. theaters Friday, Feb. 17.

Country music singer and activist Willie Nelson recently teamed up with Chipotle Mexican Grill in a commercial that highlight's the company's support for sustainable and organic farming practices.

Chinese dissident Web site Boxun has reported that Wang uncovered a plot by his former boss, Bo Xilai, and a senior government official, Zhou Yongkang, to seize power from Xi Jinping, heir-apparent to the reigns of Communist Party leadership.

Madeleine Stowe plays the icy matriarch Victoria Grayson in the ABC television series Revenge, for which she was recently nominated for a Golden Globe award. The 53-year-old actress has starred in films such as The Last of the Mohicans and Twelve Monkeys. Here are 10 things you probably didn't know about her:

Republican presidential candidate has consistently denied the existence of anthropogenic climate change.

After reported glitches with the IRS' Where's My Refund web tool resulted in some tax filers being told that there was no information regarding their tax refunds, the IRS deactivated it.

For gamers who pre-ordered Sony's PS Vita, some will be getting their hands on the new portable gaming console on Wednesday.

Michigan-based Energy Conversion Devices filed for bankruptcy Tuesday and intends to sell off its solar power subsidiary United Solar Ovonic (USO), which presents another setback for America's solar energy industry as manufacturers continue to go under amidst growing competition from Chinese companies.

A 2009 memo published by progressive think tank and media watchdog Media Matters for America recently surfaced on the Internet, detailing its strategy to discredit conservative media outlet Fox News.

Xi is expected to succeed Hu Jintao as both Chinese President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The 58-year-old communist leader's rise to power had uncertain beginnings, but ultimately followed the formulaic path of political grooming and steady ladder-climbing known to produce China's recent and future leaders. Here are nine things to know about how he rose to power: