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.

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.

Stores fear holiday sales may stick

Shoppers are getting used to those 75 percent off sales, and that's bad news for merchants who worry they will also have to quickly slash prices on spring goods to attract customers.

'God' author faces plagiarism claim

Neale Donald Walsch, best-selling author of "Conversations with God," said that he unwittingly passed off another writer's Christmas anecdote as his own in a recent blog post.

Inauguration-bound? Bring toilet paper

Here are some last-minute tips to help the millions making their way to Washington, D.C., to see Barack Obama sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.

Obama hails 'extraordinary gathering'

President-elect Barack Obama has returned to the White House for a private sit-down with President George W. Bush, less than two weeks before their official transfer of power.

Bad economic news helps stocks end day worse
Bleak outlooks from Time Warner, Intel and Alcoa combined with more evidence of rising unemployment to send stocks to end sharply lower Wednesday.

Bikers strap on fruit to dodge helmet law

Police in Nigeria have arrested scores of motorcycle taxi riders with dried fruit shells, pots or pieces of rubber tire tied to their heads with string to avoid a new law requiring them to wear helmets.