U.S. weighs action on mortgage rates

Department considers plans to intervene directly to force down rates and stimulate the moribund housing market, according to sources.

Star-studded Web video protests Prop 8

Since Proposition 8 passed in California, much of Hollywood has been up in arms. Now, they are singing and dancing, too, in a new Web video called "Prop 8: The Musical."

India airports on alert amid warning, shooting scare

A Pakistani militant group apparently used an Indian operative as far back as 2007 to scout targets for the elaborate plot against India's financial capital, authorities said Thursday.

Solar car completes first round-the-world trip

The first solar-powered car to travel around the world ended its journey at the U.N. climate talks Thursday, arriving with the message that clean technologies are available now to stop global warming.

Ship carrying 122 adrift in Antarctic
A cruise ship carrying 122 people is taking on water after running aground in the Antarctic on Thursday but is in no danger of sinking, the Argentine Navy said.

Landmark West Hollywood strip club burns

A fire has erupted at the Body Shop, a landmark strip club in West Hollywood, Calif., included in the Motley Crue song "Girls, Girls, Girls."

Retailers saw sales drop in November
Retailers limped through a miserable November that even a surge of shopping after Thanksgiving couldn't save, new data show.

Long-term risk in troop brain injuries
Many of the thousands of troops who suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan are at risk of long-term health problems including depression and Alzheimer's-like symptoms, researchers say.

Pierce to talk with Burress investigators Friday

Antonio Pierce and the doctor who treated his New York Giants teammate Plaxico Burress after he accidentally shot himself at a Manhattan nightclub will talk to investigators Friday.