Dem convention boosts Denver merchants

Denver merchants are smiling this week as they enjoy a big boost from the business of some 50,000 people attending the Democratic National Convention.

Toyota lowers global sales target for 2009
Toyota lowered its global sales target for 2009 by 700,000 vehicles to 9.7 million Thursday, hurt by rising material costs, a slowing U.S. market and soaring gas prices.

Fannie Mae unveils management shakeup

Mortgage-finance company Fannie Mae  on Wednesday announced a management shake-up in an effort to come to grips with mounting credit losses and a shrinking capital base.

Japanese women shy from dual mommy role
As Japan's birthrate keeps dropping, experts worry about women's growing willingness to do without children - or childish husbands.

Earthquake hits off Vancouver Island
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck near Canada's Vancouver Island early Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Woman saves baby's life — by e-mail

It wasn't easy for Madeleine Robb to send an e-mail to another mom telling her that her baby might have a deadly eye cancer — but her warning may have saved the life of 1-year-old Rowan Santos. "I really had no option," Robb said.

NYT: New hope 45 years after King's dream

Many veterans of the March on Washington will gather at televisions Thursday night and watch an event they would have considered impossible not just in 1963, but perhaps in 1983, or 1993.

Raft made of plastic bottles crosses Pacific

Tanned, dirty and hungry, two men who spent three months crossing the Pacific on a raft made of plastic bottles to raise awareness of ocean debris finally stepped onto dry land.

Dalai Lama admitted to hospital

The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, has been admitted to a hospital in India with "abdominal discomfort" but there was no cause for concern, doctors said on Thursday.