AP - Shoppers won't be picking up ornate lamps from the Bombay Co. in the coming year. Or investing with Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. No flying to Hawaii on Aloha Airlines or buying ultra-cheap tickets on Skybus, either.

AP - U.S. military deaths in Iraq plunged by two-thirds in 2008 from the previous year, a reflection of the improving security following the U.S. military's counterinsurgency campaign and al-Qaida's slow retreat from the battlefield. By comparison, the war in Afghanistan saw American military deaths rise by 35 percent in 2008 as Islamic extremists shift their focus to a new front with the West.

AP - A raid that resulted in the seizure of 189 English shepherds from a crowded kennel also turned up 10 frozen dog carcasses and a dead dog found beside the breeder's bed, authorities said Wednesday.

AP - Scott Brooks figured his Oklahoma City Thunder team had been in enough close games in the fourth quarter to eventually win one. Their time came Wednesday night.

Strong winds, frigid weather and blowing snow will help celebrators from around the world usher in 2009 Wednesday night in New York's Times Square. At least 59 people were killed in a fire that broke out in a nightclub in Bangkok during New Year's Eve celebrations, Thai police said. The fire, at a club called Zantika, started at about 12:35 a.m., police told CNN. Most victims were Thai, but foreigners have been identified from Australia, the Netherlands, Nepal and Japan. Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts renewed his call for higher judicial pay on Wednesday, warning of long-term damage to the fabric of the courts. A national poll suggests that three-quarters of the public thinks President-elect Barack Obama is a strong and decisive leader, the highest marks for a president-elect on that characteristic in nearly three decades. Seventy-six percent of Americans questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey said Obama is a strong and decisive leader. The man appointed by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat says his appointment to the position is legal, despite the charges against the governor. Former Illinois Attorney Gen. Roland Burris also says Blagojevich is innocent until proven guilty, even though his behavior "is reprehensible." Newer Posts »