WASHINGTON — The White House and Republican lawmakers set the terms for a looming tax debate yesterday, coalescing around a possible temporary extension of existing income tax rates that would protect middle-class and wealthy Americans from sharp tax increases next year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Retail sales, helped by strong demand for autos, increased in October by the largest amount in seven months.

(Nov. 15) -- A California man got thrown out of San Diego's airport when he refused a revealing full-body scan and then an alternative pat-down, telling a Transportation Security Agent, "If you touch my junk, I'll have you arrested."

Walk the campuses of many black colleges, and you are bound to notice young female students strolling and talking, clusters of women having lunch together, classrooms filled mostly with women. It's impossible to miss the dearth of male students and not worry about that.

States across the country are passing laws intended to make ex-offenders more likely to find jobs and, as a result, less prone to commit crime again. Behind the legislative trend is an unusual combination of budget-conscious officials seeking to trim prison populations and activists opposing "structural discrimination" against applicants with criminal records.

The federal trial of five police officers in the grisly post-Katrina murder of Henry Glover is underway in New Orleans, and a parade of witnesses is slowly winding through the court.

Russia's president suggested Friday changes to the country's spy agency are coming in the wake of this summer's arrest of agents in the United States and a report that a top Russian intelligence officer helped capture them.
At a news conference in Seoul, South Korea, Dmitry Medvedev was asked about the report in the newspaper Kommersant.
"There has to be an examination of this ... The relevant lessons will be studied," Medvedev said.

President Barack Obama said Friday he is open to a compromise with Republicans on extending tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans although he argued it would be fiscally irresponsible.

NEW YORK – Amazon is no longer selling a self-published guide for pedophiles.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A strong sense of pessimism shrouded the start of an economic summit of rich and emerging economies Thursday