12 dead in Fort Hood rampage

FORT HOOD, Texas - An Army psychiatrist set to be shipped overseas opened fire at the Fort Hood Army post Thursday, authorities said, a rampage that killed 12 people and left 31 wounded in the worst mass shooting ever at a military base in the United States.

U.N. scales back climate pact ambitions

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - With the U.S. Congress still struggling to agree on sharp cuts in greenhouse gases or how to fund them, European officials said Thursday they were now striving for a political agreement instead of a new treaty to allow the U.S. and other rich nations to make commitments that are not legally binding.

House votes to speed up credit card regulations

WASHINGTON - The House voted on Wednesday to impose immediately tough new rules for credit card companies after voters complained of increased interest rates and steep new fees.

The bill, approved 331-92, would accelerate the enactment date of legislation passed this spring that limits when and how banks can charge borrowers.

Clunkers did little for fuel economy

WASHINGTON - The most common deals under the government's $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program, aimed at putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road, replaced old Ford or Chevrolet pickups with new ones that got only marginally better gas mileage, according to an analysis of new federal data by The Associated Press.

Italian judge convicts 23 in CIA kidnap case

MILAN (AP) - An Italian judge found 23 Americans and two Italians guilty Wednesday in the kidnapping of an Egyptian terror suspect, delivering the first legal convictions anywhere in the world against people involved in the CIA's extraordinary renditions program.

Iranian protesters return to streets

TEHRAN, Iran - The contrasts were vivid: Pro-government supporters chanted "Death to America" and stomped on U.S. flags Wednesday while not far away, hundreds of opposition protesters denounced Iran's leaders and appealed to America's president to choose sides.

GOP sweeps governor races in Virginia, New Jersey

WASHINGTON - Independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for Republicans on Tuesday as the GOP wrested political control from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year.