
VP says Chavez up, walking; doubts persist
Vice President Nicolas Maduro surprised Venezuelans with a Christmas Eve announcement that President Hugo Chavez is up and walking two weeks after ...
Jessica Simpson's Christmas gift: She's pregnant
Jessica Simpson's daughter has the news all spelled out: "Big Sis." Simpson on Tuesday tweeted a photo of her baby daughter Maxwell playing in the ...

Some in Conn. town couple activism with mourning
People sharing in Newtown's mourning have brought handmade snowflakes and cards to the town, as residents prepare to observe Christmas less than two ...

Obama's Christmas vacation in Hawaii: Day 3
How President Barack Obama spent the third day of this Christmas vacation on Monday in Hawaii: — GYM: Obama headed to Marine Corps Base Hawaii in ...
Holiday music stops at Irving Berlin's NY door
A caroling group that for 35 years has performed the Irving Berlin classic "White Christmas" on Christmas Eve outside the New York City home where he ...

Thousands enjoy merry Christmas in Bethlehem
Thousands of Christians from the world over packed Manger Square in Bethlehem Monday to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the ancient West Bank town ...

At Christmas Eve Mass, pope urges space for God
Pope Benedict XVI marked Christmas Eve with Mass in St. Peter's Basilica and a pressing question: Will people find room in their hectic, ...

Shoppers found bigger sales, smaller crowds
Shoppers who waited until the final days before Christmas were rewarded with big bargains and lighter crowds. But their last-minute deal hunting may ...

Stocks dip with budget deal in doubt at year's end
Stocks fell in light trading Monday during a shortened holiday trading session with lawmakers running out of time to reach a budget deal that would ...

Robert Frost's Christmas cards collected in NH
Take heart, holiday procrastinators: Famed poet Robert Frost once waited until July to get his Christmas cards in the mail. Unlike the flimsy, ...

Zimbabweans brace for bleak holidays
Zimbabweans are facing bleak holidays this year amid rising poverty, food and cash shortages and political uncertainty, with some describing it as the ...

Subdued mood on the last holiday shopping weekend
Christmas shoppers thronged malls and pounced on discounts but apparently spent less this year, their spirits dampened by concerns about the economy ...

Dakar mosque lit up for Christmas in Senegal
After prayers at the mosque, Ibrahim Lo is off to do some last-minute Christmas shopping. Soon he is eyeing the rows of dolls wrapped in plastic bags ...

For family that lost home to Sandy, 'a miracle'
The text from Sister Diane at St. Ignatius Martyr church was as odd as it was urgent: "A man is going to call. You must answer the phone." Kerry Ann ...

Obama's Christmas vacation in Hawaii: Day 2
How President Barack Obama spent the second day of his Christmas vacation on Sunday in Hawaii: — INOUYE FUNERAL: Obama and first lady Michelle Obama ...

Richard Adams, early figure in gay marriage, dies
Richard Adams, who used both the altar and the courtroom to help begin the push for gay marriage four decades before it reached the center of the ...

Head-on crash amid holiday travel kills 4 in Ohio
Four people were killed early Sunday when a minivan carrying a family leaving a Christmas party went the wrong way on a southwestern Ohio highway and ...
So. Calif. couple unlawfully wedded for 48 years
After spending nearly a half-century as husband and wife, Bob and Norma Clark are finally married. The couple from Redlands, an inland California city ...

More shoes showing up under Christmas tree
Shoes are coming out of the closet and landing under the Christmas tree. They're a top seller this holiday season — a big feat considering most years ...

Syrian Christians fear bleak future after Assad
With Christmas just days away, 40-year-old Mira begged her parents to flee their hometown of Aleppo, which has become a major battleground in Syria's ...

In joyless season, Newtown faces Christmas
Bells and lights and gifts: These have always shown us it's Christmastime. But this year, in this town, the bells toll in mourning. The brightest ...

Hurting Spaniards celebrate Christmas lottery wins
Winners of Spain's cherished Christmas lottery — the world's richest — celebrated Saturday in more than a dozen locations where the top lucky tickets ...

Christmas comes slowly to austerity-hit Europe
Across Europe, holiday "shoppers" this season are doing more browsing than buying. Retailers remain hopeful for a last-minute burst of Christmas ...

Still time to dodge the cliff, Obama, Boehner say
With Congress in gridlock and stocks taking a fall, President Barack Obama issued a stern summons to lawmakers Friday to pass legislation to prevent ...

New female mayor gears Bethlehem up for Christmas
Bethlehem's first female mayor, Vera Baboun, can't walk through the main square of the biblical town without being stopped by admirers. "This is our ...