Early results show President Yudhoyono is heading for a decisive victory. He must manage a slowing economy and a fractured Parliament that will challenge reform.
President Hugo Chávez, an avowed socialist and critic of the United States, has emerged in the unlikely role as the leading champion of democracy for Honduras.
A New York Times analysis found that transportation stimulus funds went disproportionately to rural areas, which advocates say could stall economic progress.
AP - U.S. authorities on Wednesday eyed North Korea as the origin of the widespread cyber attack that overwhelmed government Web sites in the United States and South Korea, although they warned it would be difficult to definitively identify the attackers quickly.
AP - Security forces kept a firm grip on the tense Xinjiang capital Thursday after days of ethnic violence that killed 156 people, and alarmed Chinese leaders vowed to deal firmly with those behind the attacks.
AP - An income tax surcharge on highly paid Americans emerged as the leading option Wednesday night as House Democrats sought ways to pay for health care legislation that President Barack Obama favors, several officials said.
After weeks of silence, the sister of one of the two American journalists imprisoned in North Korea finally got a phone call. "It was only the first time I had heard her voice in weeks. ... I was so relieved but I feel so helpless," Lisa Ling, a CNN contributor, told affiliate KOVR in an interview Wednesday.
The memorial service for singer Michael Jackson cost the city of Los Angeles $1.4 million, the mayor's office said. Costs included putting extra police on the streets, trash pickup, sanitation, traffic control and more for the Tuesday event, a spokeswoman said. The city, which is $530 million in debt, set up a Web page seeking donations to help with the expenses.
Massachusetts sued the U.S. government on Wednesday, challenging the constitutionality of a federal law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
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