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AP NEWS BY CATEGORY
Beyond today's headlines
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
View all the latest photos in the news from around the nation and across the globe, updated daily by the Associated Press. See today's gallery.
| STATE OF THE ECONOMY |
UNEMPLOYMENT
Unemployment rose in most cities and counties in December, signaling that companies remain reluctant to hire even as the economy recovers. Interactive.
TOP BUSINESS STORIES OF 2009
In 2009, the economy was near collapse before pulling back from the brink of depression. Unemployment topped 10 percent, but layoffs eased. General Motors and Chrysler toppled into bankruptcy and emerged smaller and leaner. The Dow Jones industrial average swooned to a 12-year low, then came part of the way back. It was a year of payback for having lived beyond our means from Wall Street bankers who devoured risk they couldnt manage to ordinary Americans living in homes they couldnt afford with mortgages they didnt understand. Interactive.
HOME SALES AND FORECLOSURES
Home resales in September clocked the largest monthly increase in 26 years as buyers scrambled to complete their purchases before a tax credit for first-time owners expires. Interactive map on sales | Foreclosures map.
MELTDOWN TIMELINE
For most of 2007 and 2008, the collapse of Americas housing bubble produced a quickening drumbeat of bad news. Foreclosures rose. Banks were forced to write down the value of mortgages and securities based on them. Investment bank Bear Stearns nearly collapsed. Still, it all seemed contained. That changed last September. Interactive timeline.
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SUPER BOWL XLIV: SAINTS DEFEAT COLTS
The New Orleans Saints, in their Super Bowl debut, defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 Sunday, sending Who Dat Nation into fits of euphoria and lighting up the French Quarter and all of Louisiana. Interactive.
CENTRALIA FIRE
Standing before the wreckage of his bulldozed home, John Lokitis Jr. felt sick to his stomach, certain that a terrible mistake had been made. Hed fought for years to stay in the house. It was one of the few left standing in the moonscape of Centralia, Pa., a once-proud coal town whose population fled an underground mine fire that began in 1962 and continues to burn. Interactive.
HIGH TECH AUTO SAFETY
Your most expensive piece of electronics probably is not your flat panel TV or your computer. More likely, it's your car, which can pack 50 microprocessors to control everything from the fuel mix to the rearview mirrors. Interactive.
TOYOTA RECALL
Toyotas president apologized Friday for the massive global recalls over sticking gas pedals as the automaker scrambles to repair a damaged reputation and sliding sales. But Akio Toyoda, appointed to the top job at Toyota Motor Corp. last June, said the company is still deciding what steps to take to fix brake problems in the popular Prius gas-electric hybrid. About the recalled cars | Locating the faulty parts.
DEFICIT-INCREASING BUDGET
President Barack Obama unveiled a multitrillion-dollar spending plan Monday, pledging an intensified effort to combat high unemployment and asking Congress to quickly approve new job-creation efforts that would boost the deficit to a record-breaking $1.56 trillion. Interactive.
OSCAR NOMINATIONS
The science-fiction eco-sensation Avatar and the war-on-terror thriller The Hurt Locker lead the Academy Awards with nine nominations each, including best picture and director for former spouses James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow.
For the first time since 1943 the Oscars feature 10 best-picture contenders instead of the usual five. Interactive.
LEAKING NUKES
Radioactive tritium, a carcinogen discovered in potentially dangerous levels in groundwater at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, now taints at least 27 of the nations 104 nuclear reactors raising concerns about how it is escaping from the aging nuclear plants. Interactive map, and info on tritium.
STATE OF THE UNION
Declaring "I don't quit," President Barack Obama fought to recharge his embattled presidency with a State of the Union vow to get jobless millions back to work and stand on the side of Americans angry at Wall Street greed and Washington bickering. Defiant despite stinging setbacks, he said he would fight on for ambitious overhauls of health care, energy and education. Interactive.
ROEDER TRIAL
A man who says he killed prominent Kansas abortion provider Dr. George Tiller to protect unborn children has been convicted of murdering the doctor. A jury deliberated for 37 minutes before finding Scott Roeder guilty of premeditated, first-degree murder. Timeline.
HEALTH CARE
After insisting for a year that failure was not an option, President Barack Obama is now acknowledging his health care overhaul may die in Congress. His tone at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser Thursday night verged at times on defeatist. Even while saying he still wanted to get the job done, Obama bowed to new political realities.
Health costs by state | Health insurers by state.
SWINE FLU The World Health Organization has rejected as irresponsible allegations that swine flu is a fake pandemic. WHO also dismissed claims it colluded with drug companies to bring economic benefit to the industry by playing up the danger of the new H1N1 influenza strain.
The Web site of the Calcasieu Parish School Board, where daily tallies of the number of affected students are kept.
An interactive timeline showing the history of the current outbreak, where cases have been confirmed in the U.S. and more.
A slideshow of the types of swine flu-related surgical masks.
A PDF copy of a CDC notice to travelers about swine flu.
A full-page PDF of questions and answers regarding the swine flu.
SPORTS
AMERICA'S CUP
Defending champion Alinghi will race USA for the America's Cup. The competition will mark the 33rd time the race has taken place, since its beginning in 1851. These two boats represent the state of the art in sailing technology. The US lost the Cup in 1995. Interactive.
WOODS NAMED ATHLETE OF THE DECADE
Even after a shocking sex scandal that tarnished Tiger Woods, it was tough to ignore what he achieved on the golf course. He won 64 times around the world, including 12 majors, and hoisted a trophy on every continent golf is played. He lost only one time with the lead going into the final round. His 56 PGA Tour victories in one incomparable decade were more than anyone except four of golfs greatest players won in their careers. Woods was selected Wednesday as the Athlete of the Decade by members of The Associated Press in a vote that was more about 10 years of performance than nearly three weeks of salacious headlines. A look at all 10 finalists.
CONCUSSION SURVEY
Here is an audio slideshow featuring two NFL players describing their experiences with and concerns about concussions. Audio slideshow.
COLLEGE DOMINOES
Rusty LaRue owes his new job as an assistant coach at Wake Forest to Lute Olsens decision to retire at Arizona. No, there isnt a direct link between the Demon Deacons and Wildcats. But when the Hall of Fame coach abruptly departed the desert last fall, he started an unlikely chain of events that was mirrored at four other big-time programs across the country: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia. Its such a visible profession, and you see when openings come available that there is a lot of movement, said LaRue, one of the best all-around athletes in Wake Forest history. Interactive.
OTHER RECENT UPDATES
EDWARDS' DAUGHTER
Confirming what practically everyone already suspected, John Edwards confessed Thursday he fathered the baby born to his ex-mistress an admission that came just ahead of a bombshell book by a top aide to the former Democratic presidential candidate. Interactive timeline.
ABORTION-RELATED VIOLENCE
Jurors hearing the case of a man charged with killing prominent abortion provider Dr. George Tiller heard the word abortion used in the trial for the first time Monday, when an usher testified about seeing protesters at the church the doctor had attended. Interactive timeline of abortion-related violence.
CONAN O'BRIAN LEAVES NBC
On his final Tonight show, Conan OBrien said walking away instead of accepting a demotion is the hardest thing hes ever had to do. Despite the rancor that led to his $45 million buyout, the comic urged fans not to be cynical and said their support made a sad situation joyous and inspirational. Interactive timeline.
APPOMATTOX SHOOTINGS
The first deputy to arrive at a rural Virginia homestead where eight people were slain found two females dead on the porch and a males body next to a car in the driveway, according to search warrants released Friday. Another man was found barely alive on a nearby unpaved road with a gunshot wound to the torso. He later died at a local hospital. The deputy heard shots and called for backup. Interactive.
OBAMA ONE YEAR LATER
Forget can, change and, above all, hope. The new word as Obama enters Year Two: disappointment. The polls have shown a wide decline in Americans approval of Obama since he first took office last Jan. 20. In fact, according to the latest Gallup Poll, he entered his second year with one of the lowest approval ratings of any president in the last half-century. Interactive.
DUTCH ELM DISEASE
American elms are as old as the nation itself. American elms became the nation's most popular shade tree, their seeds carried westward by settlers. The trees lined streets in towns from coast to coast. But all that changed with startling speed because of the Dutch elm fungus, spread by bark beetles, beginning in Ohio in the 1930s. Once afflicted, elms faced a swift and an all-but-certain death. Diseased trees were quickly eliminated to save surrounding trees. Interactive.
WINTER WEATHER
Steadily falling snow blankets the Midwest, part of a vicious cold snap engulfing much of the nation. Gallery.
TALLEST BUILDINGS
The world's tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates, rises more than a half mile into the sky. It is more than 50 percent taller than the next tallest building. Interactive.
SIMPSONS' 450TH EPISODE
"The Simpsons" is now TV's longest-running scripted nighttime series. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie - those those never-aging, yellow-skinned inhabitants of Springfield - celebrate their 450th episode on Sunday, Jan. 10. Interactive quiz.
NEWARK EVACUATION
Call it the tortured airport goodbye felt around the world. A man struggling to say goodbye to a female companion took advantage of a guards absence to sneak past a Newark Liberty International Airport security checkpoint Sunday evening, causing a terminal shutdown the delayed flights across the globe and calling into question just how secure the nations airports really are. Gallery.
JIMMY CARTER
Here is an interactive timeline with key dates, photos and videos exploring the lives former President Jimmy Carter and wife Rosalynn since they left the White House in 1981. Interactive.
DRUG RESISTANCE
Once-curable diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria are coming back, as germs rapidly mutate to form aggressive strains that resist drugs. The reason: The misuse of the very drugs that were supposed to save us has built up drug resistance worldwide. Interactive.
ACTRESS BRITTANY MURPHY DIES
Brittany Murphy was ill with flu-like symptoms in the days before her death, and prescription medications were taken from her home, the Los Angeles coroners office said Monday. The 32-year-old star of films such as Clueless and 8 Mile died Sunday morning after collapsing at her Hollywood Hills home. Paramedics tried to revive her, but she was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Police said there was no evidence of foul play. Slideshow.
HISPANIC APPOINTMENTS
President Barack Obama is on track to name more Hispanics to top posts than any of his predecessors, drawing appointees from a wide range of the nations Latino communities, including Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Colombians. That wont necessarily give the president a free pass on issues such as immigration, but it may ease Hispanics worries about whether Obama will continue reaching out to a group that was key to his winning the White House. Interactive.
AFGHANISTAN: THE BEST AND WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE
What is it like to be in the middle of one of the most intense battlefields of the Afghan war? Three marines tell their stories of fighting the Taliban in Helmand province. Interactive.
STRIKE OF THE SWORD: A MARINE'S DIARY
A video interactive on the U.S. Marines that launched their largest air assault since the Vietnam war. Operation "Strike of the Sword" dropped the Marines behind enemy lines in Helmand province, Afghanistan. U.S. Marine Cpl. Jack Hausmann documented the experience in his diary. Interactive with video.
HOLIDAY LED LIGHTS
While more people make the switch to energy-efficient lights for their holiday decorations, the two-inch, 9-watt incandescent bulb remain a nostalgic staple for many families. Calculate your electrical use for holiday lights, incandescent vs. LED. Interactive.
OBAMA'S JOB APPROVAL POLL
Budget deficits are in the stratosphere. Unemployment has hit 10 percent. The health care overhaul is incomplete. Still, Americans appear to like Barack Obama. Some 56 percent of those polled approve of the way the president is taking care of the country's business. Interactive.
BOY SCOUTS CELEBRATE 100 YEARS
Old-fashioned fun is part of the Scout heritage. So is doing ones duty to God and country. And so too is controversy. As the Boy Scouts of America heads toward its 100th anniversary in February, its first century adds up to a remarkable saga, full of achievement and complexity. Interactive.
KIDNEY DOMINOES
Its two weeks before a huge domino kidney exchange, and a worried patient is calling Georgetown University Hospital. Is it really OK that shes lined up to get a kidney from someone two decades older? Interactive.
POLICE GUN DEATHS
A police officer is gunned down in his patrol car in Penn Hills, Pa., while waiting for backup. Near Seattle, four officers starting their day at a coffee shop are ambushed by an ex-con with a handgun. Another four officers are shot to death in Oakland, Calif., after a traffic stop gone awry.
Across the nation, 2009 was a particularly perilous year for officers involved in gun disputes. Interactive, sortable map.
GUN LAWS
A nationwide review found that over the last two years, 24 states, mostly in the South and West, have passed 47 new laws loosening gun restrictions. Among other things, legislatures have allowed firearms to be carried in cars, made it illegal to ask job candidates whether they own a gun, and expanded agreements that make permits to carry handguns in one state valid in another. Recent changes in state gun laws.
DECADE IN REVIEW
Here are 400 historic and memorable events from the past decade in national and international news, business, entertainment, sports, science, health and technology. Defining events, Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, are highlighted with photos and audio galleries. Interactive timeline.
PHOTOS OF THE DECADE
Here is a slideshow of the Associated Press photos that distilled historic events of the last decade. Slideshow.
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