Republican presidential candidate John McCain chided his Democratic rival on Wednesday for getting "a little testy" as Barack Obama sharpened his tone amid a tightening White House race. "I honor his service. I don't...

Democrat Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to create millions of union jobs in alternative energy and end tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas, using tough new populist language to persuade voters that he, not...

Republican presidential candidate John McCain told voters on Wednesday he is not challenging Barack Obama's patriotism in criticizing his call to pull out of Iraq, only the judgment of his Democratic rival. "He's...

U.S. Sen. David Vitter can use campaign funds to pay some legal costs from his involvement in an escort service scandal, according to a draft opinion prepared for the Federal Election Commission. The commission is...

The prospective running mates of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain focused on their day jobs or chores at home Wednesday. Obama, the Democrat, is expected to choose his running mate in the coming days....

The White House is missing as many as 225 days of e-mail dating back to 2003 and there is little if any likelihood a recovery effort will be completed by the time the Bush administration leaves office, according to an...

Energy companies bid hundreds of millions of dollars Wednesday to explore for oil and natural gas beneath 1.8 million acres in the western Gulf of Mexico, while looking forward to the possibility of future drilling in...

San Diego authorities say a man has died after a stretch of rugged oceanside bluff collapsed on him at Torrey Pines State Beach. The section of cliff gave way early Wednesday afternoon, several hundred feet below the...

Iraqi and U.S. negotiators have completed a draft security agreement that would see American troops leave Iraqi cities as soon as June 30, Iraqi and American officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday. In...

A Roman Catholic diocese has tentatively agreed to pay $10 million to settle nearly 50 sexual abuse claims against the diocese and its priests. In a letter sent to priests with the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese late...

Zambians wept on the streets of the capital, Parliament suspended its session and even a doctors' strike was called off as the southern African nation mourned its president Wednesday. The Zambian flag flew at half...

A jetliner heading to the popular Canary Islands vacation resort crashed during takeoff Wednesday, turning a wooded area off the end of a runway into a hellish scene of charred bodies and smoldering wreckage. Some 153...

Top Sunni politicians on Wednesday accused Iraq's Shiite-dominated security forces of carrying out political arrests, and warned that this could push Iraq into another round of sectarian fighting. The outcry came in...

Russia has informed Norway that it plans to suspend all military ties with NATO, Norway's Defense Ministry said Wednesday, a day after the military alliance urged Moscow to withdraw its forces from Georgia. NATO...

The United States and Poland signed a deal Wednesday to place a U.S. missile defense base just 115 miles from Russia _ a move followed swiftly by a new warning from Moscow of a possible military response. For many...

Four national associations of real estate appraisers have asked Congress for major regulatory reforms in the wake of an Associated Press investigation that identified key failings within the existing system. Led by the...

Thousands of troubled home borrowers with loans from IndyMac Federal Bank will be able to switch to fixed-rate mortgages under a new plan from federal regulators, who seized the bank last month after it became the...

The price of oil bounced back near $115 a barrel on Wednesday, as traders shrugged off a massive increase in U.S. crude inventories and a stronger dollar and focused on possible supply threats. It was a volatile day...

Wheat prices jumped above $9 a bushel Wednesday on expectations that warm, dry weather in Argentina and Australia will hurt crops and tighten world supplies. In other commodities trading, crude ended higher for a...

Treasury prices rose Wednesday amid market speculation that the government will have to bail out mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The rise was limited, however, as stocks made a late-day gain. Investors...

Forty seasons after making his unscheduled Metropolitan Opera debut as Maurizio in Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur," Placido Domingo is returning to the role. Originally scheduled to conduct the revival, which opens Feb....

There won't be much "livin' la vida loca" for Ricky Martin these days _ he's now the father of twin boys. The Latin superstar had the children via a surrogate mother, and the babies were born a few weeks ago, according...

EatDrinkOrDie.com is hoping to find the culinary equivalent of Paris Hilton's political campaign ad. The site is the latest expansion of the Or Die Networks Group, whose signature site is Funny Or Die, the comedy Web...

Not only have the Jonas Brothers notched the year's third-biggest debut album, they've managed the rare feat of having two albums in the top 10 at the same time. "A Little Bit Longer," the third album from the trio of...

A citation has been issued to the owner of a car that crashed into a pickup truck driven by Shia LaBeouf. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore on Wednesday said 21-year-old Simon Herbert of...

Chris Henry's return hasn't made much of an impact on his Cincinnati Bengals teammates, who have tried many times already to help the troubled receiver change his life. Now, they say it's entirely up to Henry to make...

NASCAR's latest attempt to reel in the rule-breakers aimed at an unfamiliar target: the normally squeaky-clean Joe Gibbs Racing. NASCAR's decision Wednesday to suspend seven JGR crew members indefinitely for attempting...

Connecticut has officially released Elena Delle Donne from her basketball scholarship, a move that could allow the former top-rated recruit to play at Delaware. Delle Donne announced last week that she would not be...

Former Marshall football coach Bob Pruett has denied allegations he was involved in an academic scandal or made athletes lie about a jobs program that drew NCAA sanctions in 2001. One of the former players who accused...

Arms churning high, face twisted in pain as he sprinted toward the finish line, Usain Bolt kept glancing at the clock. The win in the Olympic 200 meters was a given, his second gold medal of the Beijing Games assured....

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (BP)--Is it financially wiser to buy a home that is a fixer-upper or one that is move-in ready? Well, that depends, because obviously the answer won't be the same for all situations. For example, if you...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Each day during Baptist Press' coverage of the Beijing Olympics, we are publishing a letter from a Southern Baptist missionary who served in China during the years before the People's Republic of China...

BEIJING (BP)--Tamika Catchings, a leading field goal shooter on the U.S. women's basketball team, has been articulate about her faith playing a key role in her development as an athlete at the top of her game.When the...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Tim Ellsworth, who was in Beijing Aug. 6-16, is continuing his coverage of the 2008 Olympics for Baptist Press. Ellsworth, director of news and media relations at Union University, has been assisted with...

BEIJING (BP)--The North American Mission Board's Jeff Wagner has attended Summer and Winter Olympics in the past, but his seventh, the Beijing Games, are beyond compare."We're having fun, we're being blessed, we're...

An expensive vaccine aimed at preventing cervical cancer makes sense for young teens when it comes to cost-effectiveness, but not for women in their 20s, contends a new report. The vaccine against the HPV virus was...

A new analysis of government data is the first to link low-level arsenic exposure, possibly from drinking water, with Type 2 diabetes, researchers say. The study's limitations make more research necessary. And public...

Scientists say they've found an efficient way to make red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells, a possible step toward making transfusion supplies in the laboratory. The promise of a virtually limitless supply is...

The best path to a clogged heart may be through the wrist. About a million artery-clearing angioplasties are performed in the United States each year, and the usual route is to thread a tube to the heart through an...

When it comes to saving lives, God trumps doctors for many Americans. An eye-opening survey reveals widespread belief that divine intervention can revive dying patients. And, researchers said, doctors "need to be...

Negotiators meet in Ghana this week to resume work on a new climate change treaty and discuss ways to prod developing countries to join the fight against global warming. But the latest round of talks comes at an...

For PlayStation 3 fans who want to do more than mash buttons when playing games on the console, Sony Corp. is introducing a wireless keypad that can be attached to the system's controller for typing and Web browsing. ...

China has banned the use of its Olympic gold medalists' names as Internet addresses by anyone but the athletes themselves. However, the Chinese government controls only Web sites with the ".cn" suffix and has no power...

Hoping to plant their flags on the screens of Internet-connected television sets, Intel Corp. and Yahoo Inc. unveiled a new project Wednesday to populate those screens with tiny programs called widgets. Depending on...

Your kids can learn math, how to tell time and other skills needed for school _ and you don't have to pry them away from video games. That was the appeal of two new handheld devices my three boys recently tested: the...

Tropical Storm Fay was expected to move northwest toward northern Florida or the Georgia coast Wednesday evening. Forecasters said it could intensify into a hurricane as it moves over water and were keeping a close eye...

Florida saw heavy rains and high winds coupled with tornado reports as Tropical Storm Fay trekked north Tuesday. Storms in the Northeast brewed strong winds that knocked down trees and dropped hail in southeastern...

Thunderstorms and severe weather were to continue across Florida as Tropical Storm Fay moved further inland Tuesday. The storm was expected to weaken as it continues moving northeastward, though heavy rains and high...

Tropical Storm Fay, expected to gain hurricane strength, was projected to reach the Florida Keys late Monday. Evacuations of the Keys have already begun despite indications that the storm's path would take it to the...

Thunderstorms dropped heavy rain across the Southwest, causing major flooding in some areas. Dry air, thunderstorms and temperatures in the 100s put the Northwest at high risk for wildfires, particularly across most of...