NEW YORK – China’s decision Thursday to drop its currency’s peg to U.S. dollar and allow the yuan to appreciate may spell good news for U.S. stock investors who are in for the long haul. U.S. stock gauges jumped when the yuan news first hit, but they soon gave up …

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The countdown for NASA’s return to space began Sunday amid sky-high anticipation, although Hurricane Dennis (search) threatened to interfere with the liftoff of the first shuttle mission in more than two years. At precisely 6 p.m., the multitude of countdown clocks started ticking down to a …

LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. – Investigators were focusing on excess weight as a possible cause of the boat accident that killed 20 elderly people on a calm, clear day during a sightseeing tour on an Adirondack lake. Just days before the boat overturned, the Coast Guard began rethinking its per-passenger weight …

WASHINGTON – A New York Times reporter’s accounts of her private conversations with Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff capture a behind-the-scenes blame game between the White House and the CIA (search) over the war in Iraq. Cheney’s top aide, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby (search), complained that the CIA …

NALCHIK, Russia – Security forces sealed off parts of this southern Russian city after shooting erupted during their search for suspected militants Tuesday. A suspect in last week’s attacks here by alleged Islamic extremists was reported killed in a clash with police. Residents were advised not to leave their homes …

WASHINGTON – Joe Wilson (search) says it was mutual love at first sight when he and Valerie Plame (search) spotted each other at a crowded diplomatic reception eight years ago. Well, yes and no. For Plame, the stars in her eyes that night were quickly followed by a LexisNexis (search) …

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – The U.S. Forest Service (search) violated federal environmental laws when it used a toxic fire retardant that killed thousands of fish in streams, a judge ruled. In a decision released Tuesday, District Judge Donald W. Molloy (search) said the agency did not comply with the National …

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Two women who once accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct toured his presidential library Wednesday on a trip paid for by the publisher of a book critical of Clinton and his wife Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (search). Kathleen Willey (search) and Juanita Broddrick (search) criticized what …

AUSTIN, Texas – A Texas grand jury asked Thursday for all e-mail sent and received in 2002 by three indicted associates of U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay as part of an investigation into an alleged campaign finance scheme. The latest subpoenas request correspondence to and from e-mail addresses belonging to John …

GUATEMALA CITY – Rescue workers in Guatemala pulled dozens of bodies from a massive mudslide and from a swollen river Thursday, raising to at least 236 the number of people killed from five days of pounding rains in Central America and Mexico. Officials expected the death to toll to climb …