
'Fiscal cliff' talks vexing official Washington
Five weeks after President Barack Obama won re-election and gained more leverage to make GOP conservatives bend on taxes, the new balance of power is ...

Senate legislation targets cyberstalking software
For around $50, a jealous wife or husband can download software that can continuously track the whereabouts of a spouse better than any private ...

Greece, Cyprus to top agenda at eurozone meeting
Finance ministers from the 17 EU countries that use the euro currency are meeting in Brussels to consider whether to release the latest batch of ...

South Korea: NKorea's satellite orbiting normally
A satellite North Korea launched aboard a long-range rocket is orbiting normally, South Korean officials said Thursday, following a defiant liftoff ...

Chicago vows to fight concealed carry ruling
With parts of the city in the grip of gang warfare and spiking homicide rates, Chicago aldermen are urging state officials to appeal an appellate ...

Crime, Osprey add to Okinawan anger over US bases
For nearly 70 years, Okinawa has gotten more than its share of America's military — more jets rattling homes, more crimes rattling nerves. It's the ...

Aides: Chavez in tough fight, may miss swearing-in
Somber confidants of President Hugo Chavez say he is going through a difficult recovery after cancer surgery in Cuba, and one close ally is warning ...

Official: Syria fires Scud missiles at rebels
Syrian government forces have fired Scud missiles at insurgents in recent days, escalating the 2-year-old conflict against rebels seeking to overthrow ...

NKorea policy in Seoul to soften despite rocket
It is not too early to predict one sure winner of South Korea's presidential election next week: North Korea. President Lee Myung-bak's hardline ...
Bank repossessions hit 9-month high in November
U.S. home repossessions rose to a nine-month high in November, even as the number of homes starting on the path to foreclosure declined to the lowest ...

Asia stocks up as Japan gets boost from weaker yen
Asian stock markets rose Thursday as a weakening yen propelled Japan's benchmark higher. A new bond-buying program by the U.S. Federal Reserve and ...
EPA finds contamination at former rocket test site
Lingering radioactive contamination exists at a former rocket test lab outside of Los Angeles that was the site of a partial nuclear meltdown, federal ...

Feds to probe why alarms failed in W.Va. explosion
Federal investigators are looking into why no alarms sounded as a massive natural gas explosion sent flames as high as hilltops, engulfing homes and ...

NKorea hails launch despite risk of consequences
North Korea, though struggling to feed its people, is now one of the few countries to have successfully launched a satellite into space from its own ...

Prosecutors appeal anti-paparazzi charge dismissal
Prosecutors Wednesday appealed the dismissal of anti-paparazzi driving charges against a photographer accused of recklessly chasing Justin Bieber on ...

Joe Allbritton, 87, DC media, banking giant dies
Joe L. Allbritton, who became one of Washington's most influential men through a media conglomerate of newspapers and television stations and a ...

Government: Chavez may not be well by inauguration
The government warned Venezuelans on Wednesday that ailing President Hugo Chavez may not be well enough after his fourth cancer-related surgery in ...

Court ruling on Ill. gun ban sets stage for fight
Backers of Illinois' ban on concealed weapons vowed Wednesday to fight for continued controls on gun possession, a day after a federal appeals court ...

Goodell: Bounty players should be punished
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he "fundamentally disagrees" with former league boss Paul Tagliabue's decision not to discipline players in the ...

US hesitant in condemning North Korean launch
The Obama administration is drawing no "red line" for North Korea after a successful long-range rocket test, tempering the public condemnation to ...

Calif Gov. Brown being treated for prostate cancer
Gov. Jerry Brown is being treated for early stage prostate cancer but will stay on the job throughout his nearly four-week treatment, his office said ...
10 arrested in international cybercrime ring
Ten people have been arrested as part of an investigation into international cybercrime rings that steal millions of computer users' credit card, bank ...
Mali gets new prime minister after forced ouster
Mali's interim president has named a replacement prime minister after soldiers behind a coup earlier this year forced out his predecessor and placed ...

No budging as fiscal cliff talks appear stalled
Republicans aren't budging on tax rates, and Democrats are resisting steps like raising the eligibility age for Medicare. Negotiations on averting a ...

UN Security Council condemns NKorea rocket launch
The U.N. Security Council condemned North Korea's successful rocket launch on Wednesday and said it will urgently consider "an appropriate response.