Jailed political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko, the Chicago real estate developer who helped launch Barack Obama on his political career, is whispering secrets to federal prosecutors about corruption in Illinois and...

The politically charged investigation into Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is over, and its conclusions are stinging. But the fallout, if any, might not come until Election Day. A legislative investigator found that Palin...

IN THE HEADLINES Report stings Palin over troopergate flap; Raw anger showing up in McCain crowds; candidate taking steps to minimize it; Leading in polls, Obama seeking to play it safe; Voter fraud accusations mar...

The anger is getting raw at Republican rallies and John McCain is acting to tamp it down. McCain was booed by his own supporters Friday when, in an abrupt switch from raising questions about Barack Obama's character, he...

A federal appeals court sided with Ohio's top elections official Friday in her running battle with Republicans over how to verify the eligibility of newly registered voters. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set...

A decade after a gay college student was beaten, tied to a fence and left for dead, many in this small college town are still struggling with the aftermath of a crime that triggered nationwide sympathy and brought a...

National Hurricane Center says Norbert strengthens into Category 3 Hurricane. ...

In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Georgia, Latvia is talking with the United States about expanding joint military exercises and cooperation. The Latvian foreign minister, Maris Riekstins, discussed the issue...

In caustic comments on internal FBI memos, legendary bureau director J. Edgar Hoover referred to prominent columnist Jack Anderson with undisguised contempt, calling him "a jackal" as agents combed his articles for...

The United States is ready to drop North Korea from a terrorism blacklist, the Associated Press has learned, in the latest attempt by the administration to salvage a nuclear deal with Pyongyang before President Bush's...

Zimbabwe's official Herald newspaper says President Robert Mugabe has chosen key ministries for his own party to control in a new government. The opposition says the action jeopardizes a power-sharing agreement. The...

Officials say a strong earthquake has hit Russia's North Caucasus region, an uncommon occurrence for the region. No reports of damage or injuries have been immediately reported. The U.S. Geological Survey says the...

A Kurdish journalist was gunned down in the northern city of Kirkuk, Iraqi police said. A New York-based journalists' group said Saturday it was the 136th killing of a reporter since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq five...

As Norbert bore down on Mexico's southern Baja California peninsula, it gathered strength overnight and was classified as a Category 3 hurricane early Saturday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Norbert...

Afghanistan's intelligence service said Saturday it broke up a Taliban plot to attack the country's most notorious prison with a wave of suicide bombers, while the government named a new interior minister to lead the...

General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have held preliminary talks about a merger or an acquisition of Chrysler by GM, according to published reports. The Wall Street Journal, citing people it described as familiar with...

Qwest Communications International Inc. says it has reached a tentative agreement for a four-year contract with a union representing about 20,000 employees. The company made the announcement early Saturday. Members of...

Financial officials from the world's wealthiest industrial countries are pledging decisive action to deal with the biggest upheavals to hit the global financial system since the Great Depression. The big question is...

Gold and silver plummeted Friday after Wall Street posted another big loss and forced investors to dump holdings in precious metals to raise badly needed cash. Gold for December delivery fell $27.50, or 3.1 percent, to...

The Federal Communications Commission has sided with the National Football League in a long-running programming dispute with Comcast Corp., ruling that Comcast should carry the league's NFL Network on its popular...

Angelina Jolie, an advocate of adoption, credits partner Brad Pitt with her decision to have biological children. In an interview with W magazine, Jolie says: "One of the life-changing things that he did, one of many,...

Late-night TV show hosts found humor in the presidential debate. A sampling from Friday night: ___ "A town in upstate New York is being accused of being biased because they sent out absentee ballots that say 'Barack...

!!-- pobj:ASIANYET707-1008081055 -->He's the kid who taught a world of youngsters how to spell "aardvark" _ and that's not all. He's Arthur, the 8-year-old aardvark with Philip Johnson glasses, who's back for a new...

Tim Robbins is known in Hollywood as an Academy Award-winning actor, director, activist and hockey fanatic. On Friday, he added comedian to his repertoire while getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "I used to...

Cloris Leachman has been chosen as grand marshal for next year's Rose Parade. The actress, who has an Oscar and eight Emmys, will head the 120th Tournament of Roses on Jan. 1 in Pasadena. The parade's theme is "Hats...

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (BP)--"I purchased the Love Dare book for my daughter and her husband. They saw it (Fireproof) Friday night and my son-in-law went to church today for the first time in about 5 years." A fellow church...

ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--"Opinion polls," someone once said, "measure the public's satisfaction with its ignorance." While that assessment might seem somewhat cynical, it is probably not too far from the truth. Which is...

EVANSTON, Ill. (BP)--Today's top Chicago Tribune headline screams, "All signs pointing to panic," and Matt Drudge crowns his webpage with the photo of a snarling bear. These are, indeed, tough bear-market times.But I'm...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--"Fireproof" will open in 59 additional cities -- from Olympia, Wash., and Portland, Ore., to Binghamton, N.Y., and Fairmont, W.Va. -- this weekend thanks to its success during the first two...

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary paused Oct. 7 to celebrate and remember the life, ministry and legacy of President Emeritus Landrum P. Leavell II.Leavell, who led the seminary from 1975-95,...

When drug makers made a surprise announcement this week that they no longer recommend cough and cold remedies for youngsters under 4, they didn't let on that it was the government's idea. And why age 4 rather than the...

One in four teen girls have rolled up their sleeves for the relatively new vaccine against cervical cancer, federal health officials said Thursday. The figures represent the government's first substantial study of...

A German farmer who received the world's first complete double arm transplant said Wednesday that incredulity gave way to joy when he woke from surgery to discover he had arms again. Karl Merk, who lost his arms in a...

Cells taken from men's testicles seem as versatile as the stem cells derived from embryos, researchers reported Wednesday in what may be yet another new approach in a burgeoning scientific field. The new type of stem...

Don't give over-the-counter cold remedies to kids under 4, drug companies said Tuesday. What sniffling little ones need, doctors said, are plenty of fluids and lots of tender, loving care. "The best thing a parent can...

On a bank of the Mohawk River, a windowless industrial building of corrugated steel hides something that could make floor lamps, bedside lamps, wall sconces and nearly every other household lamp obsolete. It's a...

NASA said Friday it will press ahead with plans to launch a supersized rover to Mars next year despite spiraling costs and schedule pressures. The decision to maintain the status quo _ at least for now _ came after the...

Now that Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG have broken off their troubled relationship, known as Sony BMG, the Japanese company hopes to harmonize its consumer electronics and its music, a duo that was badly out of sync. ...

When Yahoo Inc. co-founder and CEO Jerry Yang spurned Microsoft Corp.'s rich buyout offer this spring, he promised brighter days in Sunnyvale were just over the horizon. Now the market collapse has helped drive Yahoo's...

!!-- pobj:NYMG201-0813081216 -->!!-- pobj:NYMG204-0813081316 -->!!-- pobj:NYMG205-0813081309 -->On a bank of the Mohawk River, a windowless industrial building of corrugated steel hides something that could make floor...

Light snow fell in high elevations of the northern Rockies on Friday, with overnight accumulations of about 4 inches expected in some areas. High elevations of Nevada also got 1 to 2 inches of snow, while scattered...

A mixture of snow and rain was expected to continue falling over regions of the West on Friday as a strong trough of low pressure dips across the Central Great Basin and the Central Rockies. Measurable amounts of snow...

Strong storms buffeted the Southeast on Thursday, downing power lines and trees, pelting towns in Georgia and Florida with quarter-sized hail and spawning a tornado near Fargo, Georgia. Up north, cold fronts settled...

Gusty winds, rain and early season snow were forecast Thursday for parts of Washington, Oregon and Northern California as a strong storm system moves into the Northwest. Snow was expected only in the higher elevations...

A cold front was to trek across the Mississippi Valley Wednesday morning before making its way across the Ohio Valley, the Northeast and the Southeast by the afternoon. The Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley were to see...