NEW YORK – Oil prices slid Thursday, a day after the U.S. government reported that the nation’s crude stocks swelled last week to their highest level in eight years. Gasoline prices also fell as traders took profits from a run-up a day earlier. But the drop was small, and analysts …

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – A professor and six students at Northern Kentucky University were charged with uprooting 400 crosses meant to represent fetuses in an anti-abortion display, prosecutors said. Professor Sally Jacobsen and six students face misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief and theft by unlawful taking, prosecutor Justin Verst said. …

NEW YORK – A healthy but not overheated reading of the U.S. employment scene this week should be all that’s needed to keep the current stock market rally alive. If, however, Friday’s U.S. payroll report is strong enough to suggest the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate-raising campaign has further to go, the …

WASHINGTON – Signaling a possible shake-up among President Bush’s senior advisers, the new White House chief of staff told top presidential aides Monday to expect changes that “refresh and re-energize the team.” He invited anyone who is thinking of leaving before year’s end to do so now. Joshua Bolten, who …

NEW YORK – I’m a stickler for getting the best price. And while the Internet has made it quick and easy to compare and shop online for many purchases — especially travel, music and books — most of us still walk into stores, browse what’s for sale and, occasionally, shell …

NEW YORK – A closely watched gauge of future economic activity edged higher in December, pointing to continued but, perhaps, uneven growth in the year ahead, a private research group said Monday. The Conference Board said its Index of Leading Economic Indicators, designed to take the pulse of the economy …

NEW YORK – VeriSign Inc. must meet certain conditions in order to fully raise fees for “.com” domain names under a new tentative settlement reached with the Internet’s main oversight agency. The new deal also would prevent VeriSign from ultimately passing on to domain name holders separate surcharges that help …

See you weeknights in the No Spin Zone at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET! Tonight… “The O’Reilly Factor” is on! We’ve got a brand-new update on Vermont Judge Edward Cashman. We’ll hear from family members involved in saga of the 10-year-old girl who was raped for four years. On …

WASHINGTON – As Israelis responded to a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv Thursday, the White House said Palestinians should to everything they can to dismantle terrorist networks. The suicide bomber blew himself up inside a restaurant at a crowded pedestrian mall near Tel Aviv’s old central bus station Thursday, and …

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island on Tuesday became the 11th state to legalize medical marijuana and the first since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that patients who use the drug can still be prosecuted under federal law. House lawmakers voted 59-13, with one abstention, to override a veto …