Global markets extend rout

European and Asian stock markets tumbled Thursday after recession fears sent Wall Street plunging the day before.

NYT: Daschle poses conflict-of-interest test

The choice of Tom Daschle for secretary of health and human services poses questions about how broadly Barack Obama will apply campaign promises to limit conflicts of interest among appointees.

U.S.: Raid kills militant blamed in GI death

An al-Qaida in Iraq leader blamed in the 2004 abduction and murder of an Army reservist and other deadly attacks was killed in an American raid in Baghdad, the U.S. military said Thursday.

Oil dives below $50 to near a two-year low

Oil prices fell below $50 to near a two-year low Thursday as investors worried about plummeting stock markets and the global economy.

McDonald's courts moms as emissaries

McDonald's has recruited mothers to go behind the scenes of the company's operations, meet senior executives and then communicate what they see via the Web in a bid to brighten its image.

U.S. shifts its approach in Iraq

With violence down sharply this year, the U.S. military is broadening its efforts to reconcile Sunnis and Shiites.

Over 1,000 melamine babies still in hospitals
Over a thousand Chinese infants are still in hospital receiving treatment for kidney damage caused by tainted milk, China's Health Ministry said on Thursday, more than two months after the scandal broke.

Bush to sign legislation to extend jobless aid
Because of the tight job market, the White House says President George W. Bush would sign legislation pending in Congress to further extend unemployment benefits.

Scoop: Jennifer Aniston gets a kick out of ‘Friends'

The "Marley & Me" star tells New York Times magazine, "This is horrible to say, but there are times when I laugh my rear end off."

Napolitano eyed for Homeland Security

An early Barack Obama supporter from the southwestern part of the country, the former Arizona attorney general is a leading contender for the job of secretary of homeland security.