Congress, Obama gird to fight slump

The House and Senate have convened for a new Congress that will immediately confront the country's struggling economy.

Jews in Europe targeted over Gaza

Signs are mounting that the conflict in Gaza is starting to spill over into violence in Europe's towns and cities, with Jews suffering assaults and arson attacks in France, Sweden and Britain.

Prayer for laid-off workers: 'Calm my soul'
The Church of England published a prayer Tuesday to help comfort Britons who lose their jobs in the financial crisis.

Diet, not exercise, plays key role in weight loss
Though better nutrition coupled with exercise has long been the favored prescription for losing weight and avoiding obesity, a new study suggests diet actually plays the key role.

Phillies reliever suspended 50 games for drug

Phillies reliever J.C. Romero and Yankees minor league pitcher Sergio Mitre were suspended for the first 50 games of next season after testing positive for a banned substance.

Baby's corpse thrown out with hospital's trash
Police are searching garbage dumps in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for the body of a baby that was apparently thrown out with the trash at a Jersey City hospital.

Billionaire kills himself over financial crisis

The family of Adolf Merckle says the German billionaire committed suicide after his business empire got into trouble because of the global financial crisis.

Apple cutting some iTunes prices

Apple is cutting the price of some songs in its market-leading iTunes online music store to 69 cents and plans to begin selling all tracks without copy protection.

Reports: Gupta approached for surgeon general
CNN says President-elect Barack Obama has approached its medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, to be the country's next surgeon general.

Toyota to suspend car production in Japan

Toyota is suspending production at all 12 of its Japan plants for 11 days over February and March as it grapples with shrinking global demand.