Weekly Jobless Claims Drop Below 500,000 The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week to the lowest level in over a year. Martin Crutsinger, AP NEWS - 6 minutes ago
Pakistan Charges 7 Suspects in Mumbai Attacks Pakistan charged seven men on Wednesday in last year’s Mumbai terror attacks, its first indictments in a case watched closely by India and the United States to see if Islamabad makes good on promises to punish those responsible. Asif Shahzad, AP NEWS - 10 minutes ago
Deere Reports 4Q Loss on Charges, Lower Sales Deere and Co. reported a $223 million loss for the fourth quarter on Wednesday as big charges and a 28 percent decline in sales of farm and construction equipment as demand slumped amid the global economic downturn. David Mercer, AP NEWS - 11 minutes ago
Wyo Enviros Oppose Drilling in 1st National Forest Environmentalists are questioning the legal justification offered for what would be the only active oil well inside the nation’s first national forest. Mead Gruver, AP NEWS - 13 minutes ago
Stock Futures Point to Higher Open Stock futures pointed to a higher open Wednesday as investors prepared to examine fresh data on consumer spending and sentiment, new home sales and the job market a day after the Federal Reserve provided a more upbeat view of U.S. economic prospects. Ieva M. Augstums, AP NEWS - 14 minutes ago
Lambert Says He Got Carried Away, But Not Sorry Adam Lambert admits he got carried away with his sexually charged American Music Awards performance, but he’s offering no apology. David Bauder, AP NEWS - 14 minutes ago
Hutchison Wants More Technology in Texas Schools U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Tuesday that if elected governor, her education plan would focus on bringing more technology to the classroom, recruiting and retaining teachers, lowering the high school dropout rate and helping school districts find ways to save money. Jamie Stengle, AP NEWS - 14 minutes ago
Suit Seeks to Stop Grazing Along Upper Missouri A push to end grazing along a 150-mile stretch of the Missouri River would bar about 10,000 cattle from federal lands in central Montana so that the river valley can be restored to more natural conditions. Matthew Brown, AP NEWS - 19 minutes ago
Lawmakers Aim to Thwart Ohio Casino Development A group of central Ohio lawmakers is advancing a plan to beef up cities' rights against four casinos that Ohio voters authorized in November. Staff, AP NEWS - 20 minutes ago
Taliban Leader Issues Muslim Holiday Message The Taliban’s reclusive leader issued a Muslim holiday message on Wednesday calling on Afghans to break off relations with the government, which he described as a ‘stooge’ administration. Staff, AP NEWS - 21 minutes ago
Ga. Task Force: 2012 Too Soon to Find New Water There are plenty of ways that Georgia can quench metro Atlanta’s thirst if the city is cut off from its main reservoir. But most options are costly and, according to a Georgia water task force, none would provide enough water for the city to meet a federal judge’s 2012 deadline. Shannon McCaffrey, AP NEWS - 23 minutes ago
Farm Runoff in 41 Watersheds Feeding Mississippi The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it aims to stop agricultural runoff in 41 watersheds in 12 states from ending up in the Mississippi River. Staff, AP NEWS - 25 minutes ago
FCC Chairman: Broadband Access Should Be Universal Making broadband Internet access universally available is this century’s version of building highways or extending railroads coast-to-coast, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday. Jill Zeman Bleed, AP NEWS - 25 minutes ago
Americans Search for Cheaper Thanksgiving Trips The Miles family is changing it up this year in the annual American race to make it to the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of booking plane tickets, they opted to take the 1,100-mile trip by train. Michael Tarm, AP FEATURES - 26 minutes ago
Iran Clerics Start Taking Control of Schools An Iranian cleric says religious authorities have started taking control of schools, part of a wider ideological drive by hard-liners to wage what authorities call a “soft war” against Western influence. Staff, AP NEWS - 26 minutes ago
No Signs of Putin’s Rare Siberian Tiger A Russian environmentalist says a rare Siberian tiger fitted with a radio-tracking collar by Vladimir Putin has vanished. Staff, AP NEWS - 26 minutes ago
Toyota to Replace 3.8M Gas Pedals Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it will replace accelerator pedals on 3.8 million recalled vehicles in the United States to address problems with the pedals becoming jammed in the floor mat. Ken Thomas, AP NEWS - 30 minutes ago
Action on Climate Change ‘Also Averts Health Crisis’ Climate change will imperil health through malaria, cholera, heatwaves and hunger, but many problems can be eased or avoided if countries make wise policy choices, doctors said on Wednesday. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 30 minutes ago
Shuttle Atlantis Leaves Space Station, Headed Home Shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station early Wednesday, headed home with one astronaut eager to hold his newborn daughter for the first time and another who’s been away from her young son since the summer. Marcia Dunn, AP NEWS - 38 minutes ago
Mass Animal Sacrifice in Nepal Thousands of Hindu devotees gather in Nepal for what is considered to be the world’s largest animal sacrifice festival. Reuters Video, REUTERS NEWS VIDEO - 39 minutes ago
Tiffany Raises Outlook as 3Q Profit Comes in Ahead Curbed discretionary spending pushed Tiffany & Co.’s U.S. sales lower in the third quarter, contributing to a 1 percent profit decline. But results, which topped its own expectations, led Tiffany to raise its full-year forecasts. Staff, AP NEWS - 39 minutes ago
Gay Marriage Momentum Stalls in Liberal NY, NJ The state-to-state march to legalize gay marriage across the left-leaning Northeast lost some of its momentum this month. Geoff Mulvihill, AP NEWS - 41 minutes ago
Palestinians Cool to Expected Israeli Offer Palestinian officials are rejecting an expected offer from Israel’s prime minister to partially freeze West Bank settlement construction, even before it is made public. Staff, AP NEWS - 43 minutes ago
Clearwire Escrow Prices $920M Senior Notes Offer Wireless broadband service provider Clearwire Corp. said Clearwire Escrow Corp. has priced an offering of $920 million senior secured notes at 97.9 percent. Staff, AP NEWS - 45 minutes ago
Khmer Rouge Prison Chief Could Get 40 Years Prosecutors in the genocide trial of a former Khmer Rouge prison chief demanded a 40-year jail sentence Wednesday for a man they described as responsible for snuffing out innocent lives and spreading terror across Cambodia. Sopheng Cheang and Luke Hunt, AP NEWS - 46 minutes ago
Ericsson to Buy Nortel Business for $70M LM Ericsson of Sweden said Wednesday it plans to buy Nortel Networks Corp.’s North American GSM business for $70 million in cash. Staff, AP NEWS - 47 minutes ago
Lambert Says He Got Carried Away, But Not Sorry Adam Lambert admits he got carried away with his American Music Awards performance on Sunday. But he’s not apologizing. Staff, AP NEWS - 50 minutes ago
Report: Congo Massacre Witnesses Were Threatened Witnesses testifying against two Congolese warlords at the International Criminal Court have been threatened and the court does not have the resources to fully protect them, a senior investigator testified Wednesday. Mike Corder, AP NEWS - 50 minutes ago
Kandahar Is Key City in Afghan War A wedding was called off because international troops killed the groom. A suicide bomber blew himself up in front of a police patrol. An old woman was beaten by the Taliban after she tried to stop them from taking her son. Kathy Gannon, AP NEWS - 53 minutes ago
Rare, Heavy Rains Soak Pilgrims in Islam’s Hajj Rare rainstorms are soaking pilgrims as millions of Muslims from around the world gather for Islam’s annual hajj pilgrimage. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, AP NEWS - 53 minutes ago
Serb Nationalist’s War Crimes Trial to Resume Judges at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal have ordered the resumption of a Serb nationalist’s trial almost a year after it was suspended amid claims of witness intimidation. Staff, AP NEWS - 58 minutes ago
Deere Reports 4Q Loss on Charges, Lower Sales Deere and Co. says big charges and lower sales of farm and construction equipment amid the economic downturn left it with a $223 million loss for the fourth quarter. Staff, AP NEWS - 61 minutes ago
Pakistan Charges 7 Suspects in Mumbai Attacks Pakistan charged seven men on Wednesday in last year’s Mumbai terror attacks, its first indictment in a case being watched closely by India and the United States to see if Islamabad makes good on promises to bring those responsible to justice. Asif Shahzad, AP NEWS - 63 minutes ago
Tiffany & Co. 3Q Profit Dips; Domestic Sales Fall Tiffany & Co.’s third-quarter profit dipped 1 percent, partly on weaker U.S. sales as shoppers continued to curb their discretionary spending, the company said Wednesday. Staff, AP NEWS - 65 minutes ago
Taliban Leader Issues Muslim Holiday Message The Taliban’s reclusive leader has issued a Muslim holiday message calling on Afghans to break off relations with the government, which he calls a “stooge” administration. Staff, AP NEWS - 65 minutes ago
Studies: Fighting Global Warming Reduces Diseases Cutting global warming pollution would not only make the planet healthier, it would make people healthier too, newly released studies say. Seth Borenstein, AP NEWS - 67 minutes ago
China Reports 8 Cases of Swine Flu Mutation China has detected eight cases of swine flu mutation, a health official said Wednesday, amid longstanding concerns among scientists that the virus could change into a more dangerous form. Gillian Wong, AP NEWS - 69 minutes ago
AP NewsAlert Taliban leader urges Afghans to break off relations with “stooge” Kabul government. Staff, AP NEWS - 73 minutes ago
Hamas: Prisoner Swap Snagged on Top Militants Prisoner swap talks between Hamas and Israel have hit a snag over some of the top militants the Islamic group wants freed and a deal is unlikely in the coming days, Hamas officials said Wednesday. Diaa Hadid, AP NEWS - 80 minutes ago
Students Get Schooled on Hip-Hop at Minn. College DJ Freddy Fresh slaps a vinyl record on the turntable, cues it up and tells a student, “Remember, the top of the note was there, right? Grab it.” Jeff Baenen, AP NEWS - 86 minutes ago
Book Outlines Intertwined History of Cotton, Race Gene Dattel grew up in the segregated South and was one of the few Mississippians enrolled at Yale University in 1962 when his home state became ensnared in a bloody confrontation over integration. Emily Wagster Pettus, AP NEWS - 88 minutes ago
AP NewsBreak: Toyota to Replace 3.8M Gas Pedals Toyota Motor Corp. will replace gas pedals on 3.8 million recalled vehicles in the United States to address problems with sudden acceleration or the pedal becoming stuck in the floor mat, The Associated Press has learned. Ken Thomas, AP NEWS - 89 minutes ago
Five Killed in South Yemen Clashes: Official Five people were killed in clashes on Wednesday between Yemeni security forces and protesters demanding southern secession, as demonstrations marking the withdrawal of Britain from the country 42 years ago gather pace. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 90 minutes ago
Land Pressures ‘Turning a Quarter of India to Desert’ Nearly a quarter of India’s land mass is desert or is turning into desert, according to a study published Wednesday, with deforestation and overgrazing among the main factors spurring the process. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 90 minutes ago
Pakistan Court ‘Indicts Seven Over Mumbai Attacks’ A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Wednesday indicted seven suspects over last year’s Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people and all those in the dock pleaded not guilty, a defence lawyer said. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 90 minutes ago
Five Killed in South Yemen Clashes: Official Five people, including two soldiers, were killed on Wednesday in clashes between security forces and demonstrators in Ataq in southern Yemen, a local official told AFP. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 90 minutes ago
Pakistan Court ‘Indicts Seven Over Mumbai Attacks’ A Pakistani court on Wednesday charged seven suspects in connection with the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people one year ago, a defence lawyer said. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 90 minutes ago
European Stocks Rise, FTSE Shrugs off Recession Data European equities rose on Wednesday following gains in Asia and as investors in London shrugged off data showing Britain stuck in a record recession. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 90 minutes ago
King Kong Figurine Sells for £120,000 in London A figurine used to make King Kong come to life in the 1933 film sold for more than 120,000 pounds Tuesday in London, Christie’s auction house said. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 90 minutes ago
Britain Is Last Major Nation in Recession Britain remains stuck in a record recession, official data showed on Wednesday, but economists forecast a return to growth before the end of the year ahead of a general election. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 90 minutes ago
GM to Keep All Opel Plants in Germany Open General Motors' interim Europe chief completed a tour of Opel’s four German plants on Wednesday pledging none would be shut down as the US giant slashes capacity at its loss-making unit. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 90 minutes ago
British Banks Win Overdraft Charges Appeal British retail banks won a landmark legal case on Wednesday when the newly-created Supreme Court ruled in favour of unauthorised overdraft charges. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 90 minutes ago
Maddie McCann ‘Conman’ Arrested in Oxford: Reports A private detective, who disappeared after being paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to search for Madeleine McCann, has been arrested in Oxford, media reports said on Wednesday. Afp, AFP EUROPEAN EDITION - 90 minutes ago
British Economy Shrinks, But Edges Towards Recovery Britain’s recession-hit economy shrank officially by 0.3 percent in the third quarter but this was better than initial data had shown and was welcomed by economists. Afp, AFP EUROPEAN EDITION - 90 minutes ago
FTSE Gains, Shrugging off Recession Data The FTSE 100 rose on Wednesday as investors shrugged off data showing the economy is stuck in a record recession. Afp, AFP EUROPEAN EDITION - 90 minutes ago
Banks Win High Court Appeal Over Charges High Street banks on Wednesday won a landmark High Court appeal saving them from paying out more than a billion pounds in compensation for fees charged for unauthorised overdrafts. Afp, AFP EUROPEAN EDITION - 90 minutes ago
Banks Win Supreme Court Appeal Over Charges High Street banks on Wednesday won a landmark Supreme Court appeal saving them from paying out more than a billion pounds in compensation for fees charged for unauthorised overdrafts, prompting a furious reaction from consumer groups. Afp, AFP EUROPEAN EDITION - 90 minutes ago
Israel Readying New Arms to Meet Iran Challenge With cutting-edge anti-missile systems and two new submarines that can carry nuclear weapons, Israel is readying a new generation of armaments designed to defend itself against distant Iran as well as Tehran’s proxy armies on its borders. Josef Federman and Steven Gutkin, AP NEWS - 93 minutes ago
Oil Rises Above $76 Amid Dollar’s Decline Oil prices rose above $76 a barrel Wednesday as the dollar weakened and investors awaited data on the U.S. economy and crude inventories. Barry Hatton, AP NEWS - 94 minutes ago
Bombs in Iraqi Shiite Holy City Injure 25 A double bombing on Wednesday injured 25 civilians in the Iraqi city of Karbala ahead of an Islamic holiday, officials said. Sinan Salaheddin, AP NEWS - 98 minutes ago
Philippine Massacre Probe Focuses on Arroyo Ally Philippine authorities, under intense public pressure to make arrests in the country’s worst election massacre, said Wednesday they are investigating a member of a powerful clan allied with the government along with four police commanders. Aaron Favila, AP NEWS - 98 minutes ago