Bush effigy burned at Iraq protest

Followers of a Shiite cleric on Friday stomped on and burned an effigy of President Bush in Baghdad as they protested a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security pact on Friday.

Disputed Senate ballots hold key to Minn. win

The pile of disputed ballots in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race is growing at a pace sure to dwarf the 215-vote margin prior to the recount, making it tough to tell who is gaining an edge as the recount progresses.

Bush signs bill providing extra jobless benefits
President George W. Bush on Friday ensured that millions of laid-off workers will keep getting their unemployment checks as the year-end holidays approach.

Obama team springs leaks

Barack Obama was famously able to impose discipline and control over his presidential campaign, but it didn't take long for him to discover that running a transition is something quite different.

Madonna, Ritchie granted divorce

The show-business marriage that began in a Scottish castle came to an end in a drab London courtroom Friday as Madonna and Guy Ritchie were granted a preliminary decree of divorce.

Bush to promote action plan to deal with crisis

Struggling to get ahead of a global financial crisis, the president hopes to win more converts at a summit in Peru for a plan aimed at showing governments have the will and means to halt the turmoil.

WaMu, BNY Mellon latest banks to shed jobs
The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and Washington Mutual on Friday became the latest in a string of banks to announce layoffs.

Spiders get their space legs — all eight of them

Two plucky spiders on the international space station have bounced back from a tangled false start to weave amazing new webs in zero gravity, astronauts said Friday.

Hundreds wait at stores for BlackBerry Storm

Hundreds of people lined up at Verizon Wireless stores on Friday to buy the BlackBerry Storm, the first touch-screen phone from Research In Motion that aims to compete with Apple's iPhone.