National / International News

Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are sentenced to jail in Italy for tax evasion but have appealed against the verdict.

The National Potato Council wants potatoes to be allowed in a supplemental food program for low-income women and children at nutritional risk. But advocates for the program say the industry just wants to circumvent the scientific process that sets policy on nutrition.

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England cruise into the final of the Champions Trophy with a convincing seven-wicket victory over South Africa at The Oval.

Hearts' administrators say they are aware of the need to find a resolution to the club's problems so close to the new season.

Nine drug companies are fined for delaying cheaper generic drugs coming to market.

A hunger-striking Guantanamo Bay detainee tells of the 'ordeal' of force-feeding, as doctors call for inmates to get independent medical care.

Some small communities hit 96 degrees, punctuating the strongest heat wave since 1969.

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The White House says the United States will arm Syrian rebels, but a new poll shows most Americans don't like the idea. Guest host Celeste Headlee speaks with Shadi Hamid of The Brookings Institution, about America's current and future involvement in Syria.

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The National Archives' upcoming exhibit, 'The Record of Rights,' is about the human rights struggles faced by women, African-Americans, and immigrants in the U.S. Guest host Celeste Headlee talks with one of the exhibit's curators about some of the more unique items on display.

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At least 15 people, including four foreigners, are killed in an assault by militant Islamists on a UN office in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Chief Constable Matt Baggott has said the G8 summit in Fermanagh was "the most peaceful and secure" in history.

BT boss bats for Britain

David Cameron has told MPs that the government must reserve the right to arm rebels in Syria without having to hold a Commons vote.

The first cycling tour of the Democratic Republic of Congo starts, but cyclists will not be riding to the volatile east of the vast country.

Slim Whitman, the American country singer known for his yodelling abilities has died at the age of 90.

The martini has been called "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet." But is this cocktail perfectly American? Maybe not entirely. In honor of National Martini Day, we decided to dig into the drink's muddled past.

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As of 2011, about 34 million Americans worked from their home in some capacity, and that number is increasing. The rise in more people working from home means more time they're able to spend with family, right?

In actual fact, it means remote workers are getting creative about how to avoid the folks they share space with.

It's a Friday afternoon in Los Angeles. Author and screenwriter Jessica Koosed Etting is sitting in her home office, emailing with her publishing company about a new young adult novel. It's an unusually quiet moment. Etting has two sons, ages 3 and 1. Right now they're on a walk with the babysitter.

"I kind of know they're about to walk in and I'm trying to do things that are less concentration-heavy, because I know I'm going to be jolted in a few minutes," she says.

Etting's office is in a nook in her bedroom. She has a bathroom in here, and she stocks a full supply of water, coffee and snacks.

"Because if I am thirsty and I have to leave my office for a glass of water in the kitchen, that could inevitably mean I run into the kids and the nanny, and then it's 'Mommy, sit with me for lunch,'" she says.

But all this hiding and dealing with interruptions can take its toll. Etting has plans to build a more detached office. She says it could cost upwards of $25,000. It's enough to make you doubt the joys of spending the day in pajamas.

"Working from home can be wonderful," says Stew Friedman, who directs the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School's WorkLife Integration project. "It often isn't because people don't think through well enough what they need to do to make it work."

Friedman says people switch back-and-forth frequently between a work role and family role when they have a home office. That can be confusing for younger kids or even a spouse. Friedman's tip is to come up with a signal, something as simple as putting signs on the door.

"Red means 'Do not enter, Mommy is doing something that cannot be disturbed.' Yellow means you can knock, and green means you can come on in," he suggests.

More and more people are dealing with the challenges of living and working at home. Friedman thinks that houses of the future may be built to suit both uses. For now, there's a niche industry altering the houses of yesterday.

John Granahan's construction company specializes in high-end soundproofing. Companies like his have seen an increase in demand for soundproofing home offices -- 50 percent between last year and the year before.

More details have been released about plans for the birth of the royal baby.

Four in 10 indigenous Canadian children live in poverty, more than twice the national rate, finds a study that urges an increase in social services.

After the housing crash, companies accused of shady financial dealings would be investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Punishment usually consisted of a fine and did not include any admission of wrongdoing. It's known as a "no admit, no deny" settlement.

Many lawmakers and other political figures have complained about the practice, and now the new head of the SEC, Mary Jo White, is responding. Yesterday, White said the SEC will seek guilty confessions in some cases. But beyond moral satisfaction, just what does a mea culpa really get you? 

Donald Langevoort, a professor of law at Georgetown University, says the reason it matters is something called Collateral Estoppel. "Once you’ve been found liable in one case, you cannot deny it in the next," he explains.

Langevoort says it means that admitting guilt comes with the promise of more lawsuits. "Anybody who considers themselves a victim, whether it be a shareholder, a competitor, a state regulator, can say, it’s not a question of whether you did anything wrong anymore. It’s, ‘What do you owe us?’"

That means it is cheaper for most companies to go to court says Joe Grundfest, professor of law and business at Stanford University. That’s bad news for the SEC, which has limited resources, hundreds of cases to try and simply can't afford to fight huge companies in court.

"If the SEC wants to settle these matters quickly and get money back to investors quickly, it often has to agree to settle on a neither admit nor deny basis," says Grundfest.

Still, the threat of having to admit guilt is important says John Coffee, director of the Center on Corporate Governance at Columbia University Law School. Coffee says companies should not be able to count on a slap-on-the wrist fine when they break the law. Coffee says the SEC may simply have to reshuffle resources.

"We may have less SEC actions, but the settlements will be more meaningful, and I think that’s the right direction to move in," he says.

Coffee expects we will still see a lot of “no admit, no deny” settlements from the SEC.