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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of Montgomery, Ala.-based Colonial, with about $25 billion in assets, and Dwelling House Savings and Loan Association, located in Pittsburgh. The agency approved the sale of Colonial's $20 billion in deposits and about $22 billion of its assets to BB&T Corp., which is based in Winston-Salem, N.C.

WILLIAMSBURG—If one becomes a British knight by rendering extraordinary service to the crown, it's hard to imagine anyone more deserving of a knighthood than Capt. John Smith. Yet Smith, a soldier, explorer and diplomat of the first order, a man some consider largely responsible for the success of the first permanent English settlement in the New World, was never knighted. That's because the importance of Smith's accomplishments was not recognized until after his death. But a group of local residents doesn't think little things like death or 400 years should keep Britain from recognizing the man who opened the New...

Bush adopts British colonial model for Iraq By Alec Russell in Washington (Filed: 03/12/2005) The success of British colonial forces against the Malay rebellion in the 1950s is being commended in the United States as a template for victory in Iraq. Col Andrew Krepinevich, a Vietnam veteran, has been touring congressional offices, the Pentagon and newspapers since autumn espousing an "oil spot strategy". An American soldier hands out colouring books to Iraqi children This week President George W Bush all but formally endorsed a modified version of that approach as official policy. Rather than focus on hunting down the enemy,...

Bill Van Keuren shouldn't have had any trouble selling his family's house. It's a three-story colonial with a formal dining room, thick mahogany doors, leaded-glass windows and an enclosed porch. A spring-fed lake is just steps away, past two tennis courts and a hot tub. The house sits on 145 acres of pristine Sussex County woodlands in a naturist resort. It is priced very attractively at $395,000. Still, it has languished on the market for more than a year, even as its price has been reduced from $450,000. How can such a home defy the roaring real estate market in...

Nearly 10 years after leading the pioneering dig that unearthed the lost remains of Jamestown, archaeologist William M. Kelso was named 2005 Virginian of the Year by the VPA. With the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement just two years away, the former Williamsburg high school history teacher, who lives on the island, says the full impact of the celebrated excavation has yet to be felt. Q: You first came to Jamestown Island at 21, intent on standing on the exact spot where America began. You returned repeatedly over the next three decades. What's behind this lifelong interest?...

Cypriots angry at UK London undermining a policy banning links to island’s north, Nicosia says AFPCypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos (r) and Foreign Minister George Iacovou at the launch of NATO’s summit in Brussels earlier this week. Papadopoulos used the opportunity to stress the ‘bitterness’ he claimed the UK has created in Cyprus.By Michele Kambas - ReutersNICOSIA - The love-hate relationship between Cyprus and its former colonial master Britain appears to be headed for stormy waters over trade and travel links to the breakaway Turkish statelet on the island’s northern tip.The row burst into the open at this week’s EU-US...

Remains of Colonial teen pose a 'history mystery'Basement burial find near Annapolis may give new New World clues Originally published July 12, 2004 Archaeologists digging in one of their favorite kinds of pits -- a trash cellar -- figured its mix of coins, pottery shards and pipestems would tell them about one of the earliest European settlements along the Chesapeake Bay. But a unique and mysterious discovery along a cellar wall promises to be the most telling of all, offering insights into the difficulty of forging a new life in the New World settlement of Providence in the 1600s. "We...

Skull Fragment Suggests Evidence of Surgery From Colonial Days Associated Press Jun 17, 2004 JAMESTOWN, Va. (AP) - Archaeologists combing through a dig at historic Jamestown said they have unearthed a human skull fragment that shows markings that could bear evidence of the earliest known attempts at surgery in Colonial North America. Two marks from a saw run along the curved top edge of the 4-by-6 inch fragment, which appears to be from bone at the back and base of the skull. Three small circular markings also seem to suggest attempts were made to drill through the bone. "It's definitely...

Click here to read part one of this article. India has missed a grand opportunity by refusing to join countries like Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, and Poland in sending troops to Iraq. However, the decision was made through the Indian political process, and we must respect that decision. As the "the world's largest democracy," with 846 million people and a parliamentary-style government, India counts. It seems only natural that the U.S. and India build stronger ties. Why would India decline the U.S. request? Perhaps a bit of history is in order here (see condensed timeline). It was only 56 years...

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Welcome to Annika's Alley. Tradition-rich Colonial, where a bronze of five-time winner Ben Hogan greets everyone who passes through the front gates, turned into a massive cheering session Wednesday for Annika Sorenstam on the eve of her PGA Tour debut. Despite a steady, sloppy rain that cut short a pro-am round, Sorenstam had to walk through a wall of spectators just to get to the first tee. From there, the view was unlike anything she has ever seen. The 565-yard hole was a colorful outline of umbrellas from tee to green, and thousands of fans --...

Sorenstam becomes the first woman in nearly 60 years to play a PGA Tour Event at the Bank of America Colonial.But then of course you knew that already, 'Annika has already won before she tees off,' says Patty Sheehan, the ex-LPGA star that cable channel USA Network will add as an analyist for its Colonial coverage Thursday and Friday.It's only begun, and Annika will definitely outshine at least two famous males Thursday-Nash Bridges and Walker Texas Ranger.They will be pre-empted as USA Networks, whose Colonial coverage will be CBS produced, shifts its Thursday coverage from starting at the scheduled 4PM...

<p>Welcome to the Annika Sorenstam show.</p> <p>After months of anticipation, it's finally Colonial week, and the golf world is focused on the Swedish superstar's showdown with the fellas in Fort Worth.</p> <p>"This is a big challenge for sure," Sorenstam said recently. "It is probably the biggest that I will ever experience."</p>