A group of robbers holding up local hotels begins the stickup with one man asking about room rates.He pretends to dig through his pockets looking for identification and then pulls out a handgun, according to a Columbia Police Department report. Columbia police and the Lexington County Sheriff's Department said three hotels have been robbed this way in the past week, and they are asking for help in...

A Taliban suicide car bomber struck a NATO convoy in the Afghan capital Tuesday, killing six troops - five Americans and one Canadian, officials said. Twelve Afghan civilians also died - many of them on a public bus in rush-hour traffic.The powerful blast occurred on a major Kabul thoroughfare that runs by the ruins of a one-time royal palace and government ministries. It wrecked nearly 20 vehicle...