AP - Towering flames razed an entire town in southeastern Australia and burned fleeing residents alive in their cars, authorities said Sunday as the death toll from the country's worst fire disaster in a quarter-century reached 49.

AP - President Barack Obama and Senate Republicans bickered Saturday over his historically huge economic recovery plan after states and schools lost tens of billions of dollars in a late-night bargain to save it.

AP - On his first big test, Barack Obama made some rookie mistakes and strategic missteps. But he still appears headed for a win on the centerpiece of his agenda, a huge economic recovery program, with the fresh striking of a bipartisan deal in the Senate.