It would have meant more in February or March, but John Edwards' endorsement of Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination was welcomed nonetheless by a politician eager to turn the page. Edwards' surprise...

John McCain, looking through a crystal ball to 2013 and the end of a prospective first term, sees "spasmodic" but reduced violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden dead or captured and government spending curbed...

Oregon is fertile ground for Barack Obama, the self-described "change" candidate. The state that has led the way in everything from bike trails to assisted suicide is also the first to vote entirely by mail. Oregon's 2...

IN THE HEADLINES McCain outlines vision that achieves Iraq victory, curbed spending and bipartisanship ... Edwards gives long-awaited endorsement to Obama at timely moment ... Political portends positive for Obama in...

While the nation watches who's ahead in the Democratic race, Marc Cowlin is keeping an eye on which candidate is ahead in online sales of boxer shorts and T-shirts. Cowlin is a spokesman for CafePress.com, one of the...

Marking the 60th anniversary of Israel's founding, President Bush on Thursday criticized the deadly tactics of extremist groups and denounced anti-Semitism, especially by those who want to wipe the nation "off the map."...

!!-- pobj:MIDTF501-0205081527 -->A Girl Scout sold 17,328 boxes of the group's signature cookies this year by setting up shop on a street corner, shattering her troop's old mark and probably setting a national record. ...

Put at risk by global warming, the polar bear is getting a life line: The government has declared it a threatened species in need of increased protection. But another round of legal battles surrounding the majestic...

Firefighters made major gains against a wildfire that has charred thousands of acres along the Atlantic coast as police questioned a man seen tossing a Molotov cocktail into nearby woods. Schools that had been closed...

The fault line that caused this week's devastating earthquake in China probably buckled in two stages, and the hardness of the terrain contributed to the wide reach of the damage, Japanese scientists said Thursday. The...

China warned the death toll from this week's earthquake could soar to some 50,000, while the government issued a rare public appeal Thursday for rescue equipment as it struggled to cope with the disaster. Rescue workers...

A Jewish-American billionaire questioned by police as part of a corruption investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday he has never given money to the Israeli leader and called suggestions of any...

Children in Myanmar may be forced to attend school in relief camps and tents because 85 percent of the educational buildings have been destroyed or damaged in a cyclone-ravaged region, the U.N. said Wednesday. With the...

State TV reports China's Cabinet says earthquake death toll could rise to 50,000 ...

A U.N. rights official alleged Thursday that foreign intelligence agents were acting with impunity in Afghanistan and have taken part in secret raids that have killed civilians. U.N. envoy Philip Alston said he was...

Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan's second biggest banking group, reported Thursday a 50 percent drop in profit for the fiscal year, taking a beating from U.S. subprime credit problems. Expectations had been high that...

Wall Street looked to extend its advance Thursday ahead of government data on industrial production, housing and jobless claims that might deliver more insight about the economy's direction. The Labor Department is due...

General Motors Corp. says it has agreed with a union local on a contract deal that could end a monthlong strike at a plant near Lansing. GM spokesman Dan Flores said the automaker and UAW Local 602 agreed on contract...

Department store retailer J.C. Penney says a pullback in consumer spending has cut its first-quarter profit in half, and predicts "difficult" conditions for the entire year. Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney Co. says net...

Toyota's Prius started out a decade ago as a risky experiment in green technology. Today, it's the world's first mass-produced gas-electric hybrid vehicle to hit the one million mark in sales. The Prius, which went on...

Michael Moore is taking America's temperature again. Moore, who won the top honor at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival with "Fahrenheit 9/11," plans a followup to resume his examination of the nation's status in the world...

Sean Penn may be president of the Cannes Film Festival jury _ but don't expect any buttoned-up presidential behavior from the Hollywood rebel. During a news conference on opening day Wednesday, the actor-director lit...

Classical music enthusiasts long have sought to drum up support for the musical genre among young people, and now they have a secret weapon: the 4-foot-3, childlike robot ASIMO. On Wednesday, the day after the Honda...

It'll be David vs. David. Syesha Mercado has been voted off "American Idol," paving the way for the expected showdown between David Archuleta and David Cook. Mercado, a 21-year-old actress from Sarasota, Fla., was the...

Bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman's TV show will return to the air this summer, months after it was pulled when the reality star used a racial slur in a profanity-laced tirade. Filming has begun on the fifth season,...

One of five suspects charged in the slaying of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor has pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder and burglary. Defense attorney Michael Hornung says that according to the plea...

!!-- hobj:353 -->Detroit's goal with a guy barely in the crease, if at all, didn't count. Dallas' goal with a guy clearly in the crease did count. Apparently, that's what it takes to slow the mighty Red Wings. Loui...

Milwaukee's beleaguered bullpen blew another game, this time without the help of Eric Gagne. Juan Pierre hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the ninth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers overcame a three-run deficit to...

Tampa Bay left-hander Scott Kazmir agreed Wednesday to a $28.5 million, three-year extension through 2011, a deal with a club option that could raise the contract's value to $39.5 million over four seasons. The 2007 AL...

Hold on, NFL. Spygate isn't over. Not if the "incensed" Pittsburgh Steelers fan in Congress has anything to do with it. Sen. Arlen Specter on Wednesday called for an independent investigation of the New England...

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary celebrated its centennial-year spring graduation as hundreds of students, faculty members and guests gathered on the lawn in front of the B.H. Carroll...

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--"Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons," Isaiah...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (BP)--Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama handily among the party's weekly churchgoers in West Virginia May 13 according to exit polls, but also won in most other...

DENVER (BP)--Colorado, the first state that decriminalized abortion, could strike at the heart of Roe v. Wade this fall if voters adopt a proposed constitutional amendment that gives protections to people from the...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A team of Southern Baptists is on the ground in Bangkok, Thailand, to help national believers from Myanmar deal with the mounting crisis in their country after a May 3 cyclone left 62,000 people...

A 9-year-old girl who went to hospital in central Greece suffering from stomach pains was found to be carrying her embryonic twin, doctors said Thursday. Doctors at Larissa General Hospital examined the girl and...

Indonesia's health minister says she will give all genetic information about her country's bird flu virus to a new global database. Experts say that will go a long way toward monitoring the disease, which is...

An anti-bleeding drug probably will stay off the market, experts say, after a rigorous study found patients getting the medication during heart surgery were much more likely to die than patients given other drugs. ...

Get your daughters off the couch: New research shows exercise during the teen years _ starting as young as age 12 _ can help protect girls from breast cancer when they're grown. Middle-aged women have long been advised...

If you didn't get a Presidential Physical Fitness Award in school, the government is giving you another chance to prove you're in shape. An adult fitness test is being introduced Wednesday by the President's Council on...

CBS Corp. says it has agreed to buy online technology news and entertainment company CNet Networks Inc. for about $1.75 billion. The owner of the CBS television network and TV stations said Thursday the deal will boost...

Ask.com has bought a stable of Internet reference sites that includes Dictionary.com in its latest effort to distinguish itself from online search leader Google Inc. and other much larger rivals. Besides...

BT Group PLC, Britain's biggest telecommunications company, reported a 6.2 percent decline Thursday in its fourth quarter profit, as costs rose and it lost some wholesale customers to broadband services. Net profit...

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn reportedly has decided to lead a mutiny against Yahoo Inc.'s board in an attempt to pressure the directors into reviving negotiations to sell Yahoo to Microsoft Corp. To turn up the heat...

Nintendo of America Inc. was ordered to pay a small East Texas gaming company $21 million Wednesday for infringing on a patent while designing controllers for its popular Wii and GameCube systems. A federal jury found...

A line of storms stretched from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi Valley early Wednesday, while both coasts warmed up beneath clear skies. A large portion of the Southern Plains eastward into the Lower Mississippi...

An arc of stormy weather stretched from the upper Midwest to portions of the Four Corners early Tuesday, with thunderstorms possible in the South and rain for the Pacific Northwest. The storm system in the upper...

Rain was forecast for much of the Northeast. Storms were expected to cause significant and extended flooding along the Delaware river. Coastal flooding also was likely from Delaware through Long Island, with the worst...

Thunderstorms and heavy rain were forecast Sunday for the Upper Mississippi Valley and Ohio Valley as strong low pressure systems move through the region. Severe storms were possible east of the Appalachians and along...

A major storm was to move out of the Northern Rockies and into the Plains before heading even farther east toward the Upper Mississippi Valley on Saturday. Morning rain and high elevation snow were likely in the...