Treasury urged to cut mortgage rates
Financial industry lobbyists are urging the Treasury Department to take steps to lower mortgage rates in an effort to stabilize the housing market.

Experts offer ideas to fix Detroit
Auto industry experts have a wide range of ideas on how to fix the problems facing the Big Three, ranging from higher gas taxes to bankruptcy. Here is a sampling of their views.

Dealers desperate for auto bailout

Local dealers say that in the auto crisis, they are where the rubber meets the road. While a bailout of the auto industry won't solve longstanding problems, they say, it could buy them time to ride out the credit crisis that has sent sales plummeting.

Texas ripped on mentally disabled care

Texas has more mentally disabled patients in institutions than any other state, and the federal government has concluded that the state's care system is stubbornly out of step.

Alert over Web sites touting stem cell therapies
Consumers should be wary of Web sites from clinics that offer stem cell treatments, says a study that found a lack of firm medical evidence to back up their claims.

World's oldest pot stash totally busted

Nearly two pounds of still-green plant material found in a 2,700-year-old grave in the Gobi Desert has just been identified as the world's oldest marijuana stash, according to a paper in the latest issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany.

Wall Street ends volatile day strong
Wall Street absorbed more bad economic news, closing higher as investors shuttled between pessimism about the recession and hopes that the nation might start to see some relief soon.

I'll drink to that: Prohibition repeal turns 75

With wraiths of the 1930s seemingly lurking around every corner — Stock panic! Bank failures! Cloche hats! — the appeal of repeal is particularly strong this year, with a number of bars and restaurants planning to mark the milestone.

Attacks in Iraq at lowest since '03

Attacks fell in November to their lowest monthly level since the Iraq war began in 2003, despite recent high-profile bombings aimed at shaking public confidence, a U.S. commander said Wednesday.

Reid: Automaker aid plan lacks votes

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the Democrats' plan to tap the Wall Street rescue fund to save U.S. automakers doesn't have the votes to pass.