Obama picks Panetta for CIA chief

President-elect Barack Obama on Friday announced his unusual choices for CIA director and a national intelligence director. The pair are likely to face tough Senate questioning.

Bacon, butter fuel South Pole trek

A trio of adventurers said Friday they have set a new record for fastest trek across Antarctica to the South Pole, after suffering through whiteout conditions and temperatures as low as minus 40.

Boeing plane division to cut 4,500 jobs
Airplane maker Boeing Co. says it plans to cut about 4,500 jobs this year due to the global economic slowdown.

Obama team preparing bailout overhaul

Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy F. Geithner and President-elect Barack Obama's economic team are overhauling the embattled bailout and broadening its scope well beyond Wall Street.

Gaza aid held as U.N. truce plan rejected

Israeli jets and helicopters bombarded Gaza Friday and Hamas responded with a barrage of rockets on at least two cities as both sides defied a U.N. call for an immediate cease-fire.

At CES, progress a step at a time

The big debuts at the International Consumer Electronics Show aren't whiz-bang hardware systems. They're ideas designed to protect the environment and improve the technology consumers already use.

Microsoft's Ballmer raises pressure on Yahoo
Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer has told the Financial Times newspaper that the current period of transition for Yahoo is a good time for a search deal between the two companies.

Opinion: AP poll voters snub Utah

Opinion: Florida earned BCS title, but AP writers dropped ball with snub of perfect Utes.

Ex-‘Sopranos' actor gets 10 years in prison

A former actor on "The Sopranos" was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for a botched burglary in the Bronx in which an accomplice shot and killed an off-duty police officer.

14 killed after quake rocks Costa Rica

The death toll from a strong earthquake that rocked Costa Rica has risen to 14 with at least 22 people still missing, the Red Cross said Friday.