Israel welcomes cease-fire proposal

Israel tentatively welcomed a proposal for a Gaza cease-fire and briefly halted its offensive to allow aid to reach civilians, but also gave the military a green light to press ahead with its assault on Hamas.

'Sno-maggedon' has Spokane on edge

More than 6 feet of snow in the past three weeks has left Spokane residents frustrated. Tempers are so frayed that a man was arrested for shooting at a snow plow operator.

Ice storm in Northeast, floods in South

Storms had people on edge across the U.S. Wednesday, with ice and freezing rain  in the Northeast, flooding and power outages in the South and the Pacific Northwest watching for avalanches.

Europe shivers as Russia cuts gas shipments

Russia shut off all gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine on Wednesday — leaving more than a dozen countries scrambling to cope during a winter cold snap.

Mississippi now has highest teen birth rate
Mississippi now has the nation's highest teen birth rate, displacing Texas and New Mexico for that lamentable title, according to a new federal report.

5 reasons to be cautious about stocks
With the stock market up 25 percent from November lows, a lot of individual investors are asking: Is this rally for real?

CBO sees record $1.2 trillion '09 deficit
The federal budget deficit will hit an unprecedented $1.2 trillion for the 2009 budget year, according to grim new Congressional Budget Office figures.

French motorcyclist found dead at Dakar Rally

49-year-old Terry had gone missing Sunday during second stage of race

Obama pledges to curb spending

President-elect Obama says he'll have to juggle the competing interests of economic stimulus and deficit control, but that restoring general business health must come first.