Workers See Higher Health Costs, Less Care

WASHINGTON - Companies are cutting healthcare costs further amid a continuing sour economy, scaling back benefits and shifting a greater share of the expense to employees.

Jury Hits Ford Motor Co With $131 Million Verdict

SAN FRANCISCO - A Mississippi jury ordered Ford Motor Co to pay $131 million to the family of a man who died while driving an Explorer, an attorney for the family said on Thursday.

S.Korea Kia Recalls Some Soul, Sorento Vehicles

SEOUL - South Korea's No. 2 automaker Kia Motors said on Friday that it had started a recall of some Soul and Sorento vehicles sold worldwide because of a fire hazard.

Warren Schedule Change Stirs Talk On Consumer Job

WASHINGTON - A last-minute change in the fall course schedule of Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren has fueled speculation the White House might soon nominate her to head the newly created U.S. consumer financial agency.

EPA To Issue More Rules In Climate Fight

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will roll out more regulations on greenhouse gases and other pollution to help fight climate change, but they will not be as strong as action by Congress, a senior administration official said.

Justice Department Sues Arizona Sheriff In Immigration Probe

WASHINGTON/PHOENIX - The Justice Department on Thursday sued an Arizona sheriff for refusing to cooperate with its investigation into allegations he and his police force discriminate against Hispanics in his program to crack down on illegal immigrants.

BP Removes Cap From Gulf Well

HOUSTON - BP Plc said it removed a cap from equipment atop its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well on Thursday, the first of several steps in advance of plugging the leak for good.

Bumpy Economy Cited As Helping Improve U.S. Roads

LOS ANGELES - One upside of the worst U.S. economic slump since the Great Depression is that with fewer motorists on the road, the nation's highways are less congested and in better shape, a study said on Thursday.

Hurricane Earl Rakes U.S. East Coast With Wind, Rain

MANTEO, North Carolina - Hurricane Earl raked North Carolina's barrier islands with gusting winds, pounding surf and rain on Thursday as it took a swipe at the U.S. East Coast on an offshore path toward New England and Canada.

No Sign Of Oil After Gulf Platform Fire: Coast Guard

NEW ORLEANS - An oil and gas platform operated by Mariner Energy burst into flames in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, but the crew of 13 escaped and there were no signs of an oil spill, the Coast Guard said.

U.S. Charges Pakistani Taliban Leader In CIA Killings

WASHINGTON - U.S. prosecutors have charged the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, in the plot that killed seven CIA employees at an American base in Afghanistan last December, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Lukewarm Reaction To NY Imam On Middle East Tour

DUBAI - A heated U.S. debate over a planned Islamic center near New York's World Trade Center site is seen by Middle East media, scholars and citizens as more of a domestic American issue rather than an attack on their faith.

Send Pakistan Aid, Not Jobs, U.S. Textile Groups Say

WASHINGTON - U.S. textile groups and cotton farmers on Wednesday strongly objected to proposed new trade benefits for Pakistan, saying the United States should send aid to the flood-ravaged country, not U.S. jobs.

Judge Rules Against U.S. Government On Oil Drilling

HOUSTON - A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the U.S. government's request to dismiss an industry lawsuit challenging its deepwater oil and gas drilling moratorium, dealing another blow to the Obama administration.

Court Battle Set Over Giant NYC Housing Complex

NEW YORK - The future of an 80-acre New York apartment complex will be at stake on Thursday as a judge considers whether a venture led by a prominent hedge fund investor may conduct a foreclosure auction.

BP To Remove Equipment At Gulf Well By Sunday

HOUSTON - BP Plc expects to remove a failed blowout preventer atop its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well by Saturday or Sunday and later plug the leak for good, the top U.S. official overseeing the spill response said on Wednesday.

Consumer Bankruptcies Fell 8 Percent In August

BANGALORE - Bankruptcies filings by consumers fell 8 percent in August but still remained on track to top 1.6 million filings in 2010, according to a report by the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI).

New York Imams Say Muslims Are Americans, Too

NEW YORK - New York City Muslims declared themselves just as American as opponents of an Islamic cultural center and mosque near the World Trade Center on Wednesday in a bid to seize control of a debate they appear to be losing.

Police End Hostage Drama At Discovery Channel

SILVER SPRING, Maryland - Police shot and killed a man who took three people hostage, waving a gun and apparently fitted out with explosives, in the headquarters of the Discovery Channel near Washington Wednesday.

Stronger Hurricane Earl Nears East Coast

HATTERAS ISLAND, North Carolina - Hurricane Earl strengthened on Wednesday, churning up dangerous swells, forcing evacuations on some of North Carolina's barrier islands and prompting storm alerts along much of the U.S. East Coast.