Top News

Recovery loses speed as consumers turn cautious (AP)

In this photograph taken July 22, 2010, employees sort garlic cloves at the Christopher Ranch, in Gilroy, Calif. The recovery lost momentum in the second quarter as growth slowed to a 2.4 percent pace, its most sluggish showing in nearly a year and too weak to drive down unemployment. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)AP - The recovery lost momentum in the spring as growth slowed to a 2.4 percent pace, its most sluggish showing in nearly a year and too weak to drive down unemployment.



July the deadliest month of Afghan war for US (AP)

NATO and US soldiers are seen standing guard in Kabul. Three foreign soldiers were killed in two separate Taliban-style bomb attacks in Afghanistan's volatile south, NATO said Friday.(AFP/File/Massoud Hossaini)AP - NATO announced Friday that six more U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan, bringing the death toll for July to at least 66 and surpassing the previous month's record as the deadliest for American forces in the nearly 9-year-old war.



Effort to stop Gulf gusher delayed over sediment (AP)

File - In this June 16, 2010 file photo, BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward, left, and BP Managing Director Bob Dudley arrive with other BP executives at the White House in Washington DC. The appointment of American oilman Robert Dudley to replace luckless Briton Tony Hayward as CEO is the latest milestone in the waning Britishness of the company once known as British Petroleum. (AP Photo / Susan Walsh, file)AP - The government's point man for the Gulf oil spill says there's been a delay in a procedure that will help stop the gusher for good.



Obama hails auto bailout as good news in Michigan (AP)

President Barack Obama delivers remarks during his visit to the Jefferson North Chrysler Plant in Detroit, Friday, July 30, 2010, where the Jeep Grand Cherokee is assembled. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)AP - President Barack Obama on Friday heralded the recent turnaround for U.S. automakers, arguing that thousands of jobs and increased production vindicate his unpopular decision to bailout the industry.



Bill Clinton emerges on Chelsea's NY wedding eve (AP)

Temporary parking regulation signs are posted in front of the Beekman Inn Wednesday, July 28, 2010, in Rhinebeck, N.Y. Chelsea Clinton and her parents have not yet confirmed that the former first daughter's wedding is being held in Rhinebeck Saturday. Still, signs congratulating her hang in shop windows, residents are talking to TV crews and officials are bracing for crowds. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)AP - The secret of Chelsea's wedding is officially over.



White House: Don't post more secret war papers (AP)

AP - The White House is imploring the website WikiLeaks not to post any more classified documents about the Afghanistan war, saying U.S. national security and Afghan lives are at risk.

Calif. wildfire forces hundreds from homes (AP)

A fast moving wildfire burns above Elizabeth Lake Road in Leona Valley near Palmdale, Calif. on Thursday, July 29, 2010. Mandatory evacuations were issued for the community of Leona Valley on Thursday evening, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Matt Levesque said. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)AP - A huge wildfire churned through high desert wilderness north of Los Angeles on Friday, destroying a few buildings and forcing people from about 2,000 homes. Most of the displaced residents were allowed to return as the threat eased.



GOP gets wish: Rangel case in campaign season (AP)

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., puts on his jacket as he leaves his office to go for a vote on the House floor on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday, July 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)AP - Republicans wanted an election-season ethics case against Democratic powerhouse Rep. Charles Rangel of New York. And now, it looks like they have one.



Inmate sues man he's convicted of burglarizing (AP)

AP - A Florida inmate is suing the man he's convicted of burglarizing, claiming the man and two others roughed him up during a citizen's arrest.

Who will be judged fit to be the 'Idol' judges? (AP)

FILE - Jennifer Lopez arrives for the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS benefit at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, during the 63rd Cannes international film festival, in Cap d'Antibes, southern France in this May 20, 2010 file photo. Lopez is close to signing a deal to join Fox TV's 'American Idol' as a judge, a person familiar with the negotiations said late Thursday July 29, 2010. The person, who was not authorized to comment publicly, spoke on condition of anonymity. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)AP - Don't call it "American Idol." Call it "Extreme Makeover: 'Idol' Edition."



China overtakes Japan as No.2 economy: FX chief (Reuters)

Reuters - China has overtaken Japan to become the world's second-largest economy, the fruit of three decades of rapid growth that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.

Imports slow second-quarter growth (Reuters)

Reuters - Economic growth slowed in the second quarter as companies invested heavily in equipment from abroad and the pace of consumer spending eased, raising concerns about the recovery in the rest of 2010.

House begins debating oil spill bill (Reuters)

Drill ships and response vessels work in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast line while attempting to drill relief wells at the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill wellhead July 27, 2010. REUTERS/Sean GardnerReuters - The U.S. House of Representatives began debating legislation on Friday to reform the oil industry's offshore drilling practices in response to the BP oil spill.



U.N. rights body tells Israel to end Gaza blockade (Reuters)

Palestinian children fly kites on the beach of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip during a summer camp organised by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) July 29, 2010. REUTERS/Mohammed SalemReuters - Israel must lift its military blockade of the Gaza Strip and invite an independent, fact-finding mission to investigate its raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, a United Nations rights body said on Friday.



Afghan police fire shots to quell protest after accident (Reuters)

Soldiers with the US Army's 1-320 Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division shield themselves from the dust as a Medivac helicopter lands outside Combat Outpost Nolen in the Arghandab Valley north of Kandahar July 30, 2010. One soldier lost his leg and another was hit by shrapnel after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blew up during a patrol near the base. REUTERS/Bob Strong (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: CONFLICT MILITARY)Reuters - Afghan police fired shots on Friday to disperse hundreds of people protesting the deaths of civilians in an accident involving a U.S. embassy vehicle, police said.



Italy speaker refuses to resign, deepens crisis (Reuters)

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (rear C) votes as he is flanked by his ministers during a debate at Italy's upper house of Parliament in Rome July 29, 2010 REUTERS/Alessandro BianchiReuters - The influential speaker of Italy's lower house refused to step down on Friday after being censured by his own party, and said his supporters could vote against the government of former ally Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.



Mexican army kills kingpin in drug war coup (Reuters)

Mexican soldiers stand guard on a street in Guadalajara City, Mexico July 29, 2010. REUTERS/Alejandro AcostaReuters - Mexican soldiers killed drug boss Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel on Thursday, the first major triumph this year for President Felipe Calderon's war against drug cartels but one that is unlikely to end spiraling violence.



Serial killer Pickton denied new trial (Reuters)

Serial killer Robert Pickton appears in an artist's illustration at BC Supreme Court in New Westminster, British Columbia, January 31, 2006. REUTERS/Felicity DonReuters - Canada's highest court refused on Friday to grant a new trial for serial killer Robert "Willie" Pickton, who was convicted of killing drug addicts and prostitutes and butchering their remains at his pig farm.



Syrian-Saudi leaders urge Lebanese to avoid violence (AFP)

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah (L) shakes hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as Lebanese President Michel Sleiman smiles upon their arrival at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut. Assad and Abdullah urged Lebanese parties to avoid resorting to violence in the face of mounting political tensions in the country.(AFP)AFP - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi King Abdullah on Friday urged Lebanon's rival factions to avoid violence after an unprecedented joint visit to defuse a tense political situation.



Berlusconi in crisis after revolt by key ally (AFP)

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi attends a Parliament session in Rome. Berlusconi faced a parliamentary crisis after splitting with his one-time ally, lower house speaker Gianfranco Fini, citing AFP - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Friday faced a parliamentary crisis after splitting with his one-time ally, lower house speaker Gianfranco Fini, citing "obvious divisions".