GULFPORT, Miss. — The White House says BP appears willing to establish a multibillion-dollar compensation fund for people and companies damaged by the Gulf oil spill.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. geologists have discovered vast mineral wealth in Afghanistan, possibly amounting to $1 trillion, President Hamid Karzai's spokesman said Monday.

The Democratic nomination for Georgia governor is Roy Barnes' to lose.
With about five weeks left until the state's July 20 primary, the former governor is the prohibitive favorite for his party's nod. So, can anyone else in the seven-man race catch him?
The most likely spoiler is Attorney General Thurbert Baker. Baker has been the state's top lawyer for 13 years and won recent praise among party loyalists for refusing Gov. Sonny Perdue's order to sue the Obama administration over a new federal health care law. Baker is also the state's most prominent black politician heading into a primary where about half the electorate is expected to be African American.

WASHINGTON — Americans are pulling back on their spending, a trend that could slow the economic recovery if it continues.
A sharp drop in retail sales points to still-wary shoppers and could lead economists to curtail their expectations for growth.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Thursday consoled relatives of the 11 workers killed in the Gulf oil spill disaster, acknowledging their "unimaginable grief" and personally assuring the families that he will stand with them

JOHANNESBURG (AP)—The first World Cup ever held in Africa opened Friday in a dazzling burst of joy, color and noise—and just a tinge of sadness.

A series of internal investigations over the past decade warned senior BP managers that the company repeatedly disregarded safety and environmental rules and risked a serious accident if it did not change its ways. And even before the Deepwater spill the company faced possible sanctions including the possibility of a ban on drilling in the United States.

The FBI recorded a meeting in Aruba, where Joran Van der Sloot asked for $250,000 in exchange for providing information about the disappearance of student Natalee Holloway in 2005, reports the Associated Press.
Van der Sloot is currently in jail in Lima Peru, where he stands accused of murdering another young woman, Stephany Flores on May 30. Authorities say he has confessed to killing her in a rage after she went onto his computer and discovered he was a suspect in Holloway's disappearance.

In an election year filled with female candidates, Tuesday turned out to be a big night.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices moved higher Tuesday as traders tried to get a handle on whether weak, short-term demand for crude could eventually push prices down. In contrast, BP share prices took a dive Wednesday, amid possible criminal probes into the company's conduct.