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.

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.

Burris rejected in bid for Senate seat

Roland Burris failed in his bid to take President-elect Barack Obama's Illinois Senate seat on Tuesday in a scripted piece of political theater staged just before the opening of the 111th Congress.

War tactics used against Rio gangs
Police are using counterinsurgency tactics in battle against gangs in Brazil's favelas, or slums.

U.N.: 30 die in strike near Gaza school

Red Cross warns 500,000 civilians in danger; Israel rejects calls for truce.

Gladiators to ‘fight' again at Rome's Colosseum

Gladiators are to return to Rome's most famous fight arena almost 2,000 years after their bloody sport last entertained Roman crowds, local authorities announced.

Europe hit with natural gas shortage

The Russia-Ukraine natural gas dispute hit Europe with the force of a winter storm Tuesday, cutting or limiting supplies to nearly a dozen nations.

Mortgages: What you need to know in 2009
Mortgage rates are at historic lows and may be poised to go even lower next year. It's a great time to buy a home — if you can.

Texas stuns Ohio State with 16 seconds left

Colt McCoy hit Quan Cosby for a 26-yard touchdown with 16 seconds to play, lifting third-ranked Texas to a 24-21 Fiesta Bowl victory over No. 10 Ohio State on Monday night.

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.