Vegans make up only a sliver of the thousands of competitive bodybuilders in the United States, but they have been a steady presence since the 2000s.

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Vegans Muscle Their Way Into Bodybuilding

Christian pilgrims and tourists have gathered in their thousands in the West Bank town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas.

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VIDEO: Christmas marked in Bethlehem

It has been a pre-Thanksgiving ritual for many in the Washington area, an opportunity to reflect on personal good fortune, get some fresh air and spend a few hours walking for a humanitarian cause. But on Saturday, the thousands of marchers in the 24th annual Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon gathered on the Mall for one last time. Read full article > >

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Fannie Mae’s walk for the homeless takes its final lap

OAKLAND, Calif. — Thousands of Wall Street protesters marched in the streets of Oakland on Wednesday as they geared up with labor unions to picket banks, take over foreclosed homes and vacant buildings and disrupt operations at the nation’s fifth-busiest port. The protests marked an escalation from previous demonstrations as they went beyond boisterous rallies at park encampments and took aim at a major hub of commerce — the Port of Oakland. Organizers say they want to halt “the flow of capital” at the port. Read full article > >

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Occupy protesters target downtown Oakland banks; branches close for the day

We aren’t even 20 feet down my street when Hank Shaw stops to pick up one of the thousands of little brown nuts a neighbor’s tree dropped earlier that week. “Oh, those dang things are so annoying,” I say. “They make this loud popping noise when cars drive over them, and it sounds like gunfire.” To Shaw, they’re not annoying in the least. For someone in survival mode, he says, they’re a good — and rare — source of fat and starch: butternuts. “Meat and vegetables are easy,” he says. “Plants and fish are everywhere. But starches are really hard to come by.” Read full article > >

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Hank Shaw takes a stroll through Sligo Creek Park and rustles up dinner

The Band Perry, no longer inhibited as being best-known for a song about untimely death, took the stage at Sunday in the Country this weekend as a much more electrifying group than the one that appeared at the same concert last year. Buoyed by an aggressively upbeat set list, video screens and an Americana medley (“American Pie,” “Jack & Diane,” etc.) that had the thousands at Merriweather Post Pavilion on their feet, the sibling trio rocked the sold-out, day-long music festival like headliners — even though they weren’t actually headlining. Read full article > >

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Sunday in the Country at Merriweather Post Pavilion

Washington area nonprofit organizations, hit hard by the economic recession and its lingering aftermath, are planning a 24-hour online fundraising event Nov. 9, in which they hope to attract 10,000 donors and raise at least $3 million. The effort, called Give to the Max Day , is an effort to raise awareness of the thousands of charitable organizations in the area and to attract new, younger and digitally inclined donors. Read full article > >

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Nonprofits to try to raise millions in one day

Washington area nonprofit organizations, hit hard by the economic recession and its lingering aftermath, are planning a 24-hour online fundraising event Nov. 9, in which they hope to attract 10,000 donors and raise at least $3 million. The effort, called Give to the Max Day , is an effort to raise awareness of the thousands of charitable organizations in the area and to attract new, younger and digitally inclined donors. Read full article > >

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Nonprofits to try to raise millions in one day

The nation marked a decade since the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history with official ceremonies and private tributes Sunday to the thousands who perished inside — or protecting — the symbols of American power on Sept. 11, 2001. The anniversary of the attacks — the first since the killing in May of Osama bin Laden — unfolded through tearful storytelling and still-vivid memories. Read full article > >

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At 9/11 ceremonies, tearful storytelling and still-vivid memories

KIEV, Ukraine — Thousands of opposition activists on Wednesday protested the arrest of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, clouding official celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence declaration. Over 5,000 demonstrators, many of them clad in traditional Ukrainian white embroidered shirts, attempted to march on the president’s office in Kiev, but were held back by police in riot gear who flooded the city’s center. Smaller groups of protesters were later allowed onto the capital’s main avenue. Read full article > >

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Over 5,000 opposition activists protest former PM Tymoshenko’s arrest on Independence Day

BEIRUT — Protesters surged onto the streets of Syrian cities by the thousands Friday to stage anti-government demonstrations in continued defiance of a harsh military crackdown that has left hundreds dead and drawn international condemnation. Human rights groups said at least eight demonstrators were killed by security forces as President Bashar al-Assad’s government also continued to defy escalating international pressure to halt the violence and enact reforms. Among the towns and cities where residents turned out to stage protests after noon prayers were Hama and Deir al-Zour, the two main targets of the crackdown. The turnout suggested that the government’s attempt to use overwhelming force to suppress the five-month-old uprising is not working to scare people into staying home. Read full article > >

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Syrian protesters defy crackdown; Assad resists world pressure

The highlight of Sunday night’s Sugarland concert didn’t arrive until the last few minutes of the show. “We’re sure everybody heard it was supposed to be the Rapture. Well, we’re all still here…so we thought maybe we should have a gigantic party,” lead singer Jennifer Nettles announced before the concert’s final song to the thousands crammed into Merriweather Post Pavillion. Suddenly, opening acts Little Big Town and Matt Nathanson appeared on stage for a rousing rendition of REM’s “It’s the End of the World (As We Know It),” complete with tambourines. Read full article > >

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In concert: Sugarland at Merriweather Post Pavillion

Opponents of legislation designed to give college tuition breaks to illegal immigrants in Maryland say they are on track to collect the thousands of signatures needed to try to overturn the measure that passed the General Assembly last month. Del. Neil C. Parrott (R-Washington) and Del. Pat McDonough (R-Baltimore County) are leading the effort to give voters a say in whether to uphold the bill. Parrott said volunteers in most of Maryland’s counties are gathering signatures and spreading the word at grocery stores and community events that “our tax dollars are going to fund illegal aliens,” he said. “Now is not the time to be spending money on what is an unlawful program.” Read full article > >

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Opponents of Maryland immigrant tuition bill say referendum plan is on track

The estimated number of victims has been re-evaluated at 30,000. There is growing concern for the 600,000 refugees faced with icy temperatures and deprivation. The cost in human life of the earthquake and sunami, which ravaged the north-east coast of Japan last Friday, keeps on growing. According to recent evaluations by local authorities, there will certainly be about 30,000 victims, taking into account the thousands of persons still reported missing in the coastal regions, the regions most severely damaged. read more

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The Cost in Human Lives Grows

The estimated number of victims has been re-evaluated at 30,000. There is growing concern for the 600,000 refugees faced with icy temperatures and deprivation. The cost in human life of the earthquake and sunami, which ravaged the north-east coast of Japan last Friday, keeps on growing. According to recent evaluations by local authorities, there will certainly be about 30,000 victims, taking into account the thousands of persons still reported missing in the coastal regions, the regions most severely damaged. read more

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The Cost in Human Lives Grows