The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan said Wednesday that he needs more troops and other aid “as quickly as possible” in a counterinsurgency battle that could get worse before it gets better.

The attack is a possible indication that Washington was moving ahead with cross-border raids despite protests from the new government.

Several homes have been evacuated in northwest
Washington, D.C., after a grenade was found at a park.

The National Hurricane Center says Laura has weakened over the cold waters of the north Atlantic and is no longer a tropical storm

Dunkin’ Donuts is giving the economy an afternoon jolt of caffeine. The company is offering small lattes for 99 cents, as part of a new push to get cash-strapped customers to take a late-day coffee break.

The government is searching for a new way to sell its financial rescue plan after acknowledging some blunders and missteps in presenting it the first time around. One big key: Insist it’s not a Wall Street “bailout.”

The government’s plan to spend $700 billion to bail out - or rescue - the financial industry is the latest in which politicians believe controlling the word used to describe an issue is to control the issue.

One idea gathering support: raise the federal deposit insurance limit to reassure nervous savers and help small businesses.

Six Army brigades, a National Guard unit and three military headquarters have been ordered to Iraq next summer in a move that would allow the U.S. to keep the number of troops largely steady there through much of next year.

Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass had previously refused to release the questionnaires, saying she had promised prospective jurors that their answers would be “kept in confidence, under seal.”

The figures are a sign that U.S. military is increasingly relying on the Iraqis, including U.S.-allied Sunni fighters, to take the lead in operations so they can assume responsibility for their own security and let the Americans eventually withdraw.

Before he took over the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke told Congress he wanted to steer clear of politics.  More than two years later, he’s knee deep in political mud as the Bush administration scrambles to breathe new life into a multibillion financial bailout package on Capitol Hill.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. asks for temporary hike in $100,000 cap on insured deposits

Federal investigators say they’ve recovered more than 9,000 pieces of mail

Bad news for American writers hoping for a Nobel Prize next week: the top member of the award jury believes the United States is too insular and ignorant to compete with Europe when it comes to great writing.

The government says a proposed nuclear waste dump in Nevada must be designed to ensure against excessive radiation exposure to nearby residents for up to a million years

With Washington trying to finagle a $700 billion rescue for the nation’s financial system, the federal money sought by other projects is starting to look like chump change

Zondervan is kicking off a 90-city, 15,000-mile cross-country tour Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary of its popular New International Version translation of the book

The five-foot shark suddenly surfaced and grabbed nearly the entire dog in its mouth

Jose Silva of White Plains told police that “he did what he was told” by his global positioning system

President Bush says the economic damage to the nation will be “painful and lasting” if Congress fails to pass a $700 billion bailout bill.

Members of Congress are still blaming one another for the House vote rejecting a financial system bailout, which sent stocks down by record levels on Wall Street.

U.S. stocks headed for a partial rebound Tuesday, a day after stocks logged their steepest losses in years when the House voted down a proposed $700 billion rescue plan for the financial sector.

Stocks plummet 700+ points on Wall Street.  President Bush “very disappointed” by House vote.

Defense attorneys tried to cast doubt on the testimony of a man who said he brandished a gun during a hotel room confrontation after being told by Simpson to “look menacing.”

Scientists reported Monday that the minerals - calcium carbonate and sheet silicate - don’t usually form without the presence of liquid water

Across a section of the South, a hurricane-induced gasoline shortage that was expected to last only a few days is dragging into its third week, and experts say it could persist into mid-October. The Atlanta area has been hit particularly hard, along with Nashville and western North Carolina.

“We’ve put forth a plan that was big because we’ve got a big problem,” the president said as he vowed to keep pressing on in search of a way to help the U.S. economy.

Laura’s maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph. Some strengthening is forecast during the next day or two

The FDIC says Wachovia didn’t fail, and that all depositors are protected