President Obama and the Senate appear to be on the same page in debt-ceiling talks. But House Republicans are so far holding firm on their no-new-taxes demands.
The secrecy around Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s selection of Cathleen P. Black to run the city’s schools highlighted his faith in business leaders and dislike of public debate.
Starting Thursday, Wal-Mart plans to offer free shipping on its Web site, a move that may create an expectation among consumers and a threat to smaller retailers.
AP - In secretive endgame negotiations, President Barack Obama and House Republican leaders reached anew on Thursday for an elusive "grand bargain" deal to cut deficits by $4 trillion or more and prevent a government default, officials said.
AP - Pentagon chief Leon Panetta has decided to end the ban on gays serving openly in the armed services and certify that repealing the 17-year-old prohibition will not hurt the military's ability to fight, officials said Thursday.
AP - James Murdoch's former legal adviser and a former editor contested the testimony he gave to British lawmakers, saying Thursday he was told years ago about an email that suggested the rot at his Sunday tabloid was far more widespread than previously claimed.
The Pentagon is set to certify that the military will accept openly gay and lesbian service members, and that doing so will not harm readiness, a U.S. official said.
The president is meeting with Democratic leaders as sources say talks are focusing on a deal to cut $3 trillion in federal deficits over the next 10 years.
In a case that drew national attention because it was to be videotaped, convicted murderer Andrew Grant DeYoung was executed by lethal injection, a spokesperson said.
![[logo]](http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/section/NytSectionHeader.gif "NYT > Home Page")
![[logo]](http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/nws/th/main_142c.gif "Yahoo! News")
![[logo]](http://a.abcnews.com/images/site/abcnews_google_rss_logo.png "ABC News: International"){kind=logo}
![[logo]](http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/1.0/logo/cnn.logo.rss.gif "CNN.com"){kind=logo}
