Obama Adviser Warns Against Tax Cuts For Wealthy

WASHINGTON - Temporarily extending tax cuts for the rich opens the door to permanent tax cuts and that is something the United States cannot afford, an economic advisor to President Barack Obama said on Tuesday.

U.S. Turns Down China Currency Probes In Two Cases

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commerce Department decided on Tuesday not to investigate whether China subsidizes exports to the United States by undervaluing its currency, prompting renewed calls for Congress to act on the issue.

U.S. Regulators Probe Hyundai Sonata Steering

DETROIT - U.S. safety regulators have opened a preliminary investigation into claims that Hyundai Motor Co's Sonata sedan may have steering problems, government officials said on Tuesday.

U.S. Jails Accused Bin Laden Aide For Life

NEW YORK - An accused former top aide to Osama bin Laden was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison for stabbing a guard through the eye with a sharpened comb while awaiting trial for conspiring with al Qaeda to kill Americans.

Texas Governor Offers School Grants To Spur Sharing

NEW YORK - Texas schools that cut bureaucratic costs by sharing services -- from accounting to transportation -- would get grants worth 10 percent of their savings under a plan Governor Rick Perry proposed on Tuesday.

NY Cracks Down On Building Trade's "cash" Economy

NEW YORK - New York state's construction companies will be subject to new criminal and civil penalties if they misclassify employees as contractors to underpay them or dodge taxes, Governor David Paterson said on Tuesday.

Chinese Man Charged With Stealing U.S. Trade Secrets

CHICAGO - A Chinese scientist has been arrested and charged with stealing trade secrets from an Indiana agricultural company where he worked developing organic insecticides, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Reid Hopeful For GOP Energy Votes After Elections

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he hoped to pick up Republican votes for a pared-down energy bill after the midterm congressional elections.

CEO Layoff Leaders Also Led In Pay In '09: Study

BOSTON - As U.S. companies shed millions of workers during the recession, the CEOs who laid off the most people brought home pay that was significantly higher than that of their peers, a study released on Thursday found.

Hurricane Earl Could Sideswipe East Coast

MIAMI - Powerful Hurricane Earl churned toward the eastern U.S. seaboard on Tuesday and looked to sideswipe the densely populated coast from North Carolina to New England, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

NY State Comptroller Probes MTA For Overtime Fraud

NEW YORK - New York's state comptroller said on Monday his office will probe the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which says overtime costs it $560 million a year, to see if any paychecks were inflated through fraud.

U.S. Proposes Grading Cars On Emissions, Efficiency

WASHINGTON - Gasoline misers like the Toyota Prius would get an 'A-' while muscle cars -- including the Ferrari 612 -- would get a 'D' under a labeling program proposed by Obama administration, which wants to convince consumers to buy vehicles that use less energy.

Bad Weather Delays Retrieval BP Blowout Preventer: US Gov't

HOUSTON - BP Plc delayed retrieval of the failed blowout preventer atop its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well this week because of bad weather, the top U.S. official overseeing the oil spill said on Monday.

Biden Visits Iraq As Troops Withdraw

BAGHDAD - Vice President Joe Biden flew into Iraq on Monday to assure Iraqis the United States is not abandoning them as it stops combat operations, a milestone in the 7-1/2 year war the Obama administration is trying to end.

Obama, Advisers Discussed More Steps On Economy

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama said on Monday he and his economic team discussed additional steps to promote economic growth, including looking at tax cuts for businesses.

Seven U.S. Troops Killed In South Afghan Bombings

KABUL - Seven U.S. troops were killed in two separate roadside bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan on Monday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

Crash Investigators Reassess Aircraft Braking: Report

- Crash investigators are re-evaluating the performance of aircraft braking systems in rainy conditions, following the overshooting of an American Airlines plane on the runway while landing in Jamaica last year, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Rights Groups Challenge Obama On Targeted Killings

WASHINGTON - Civil liberties groups sued the Obama administration on Monday over a program they said illegally tries to kill U.S. citizens believed to be militants living abroad, like the anti-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.

U.S. Egg Producers Failed To Follow Own Safety Plans

CHICAGO - Two Iowa egg farms linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened thousands failed to follow their own safety plans, allowing rodents and other animals into poultry houses, U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors found.

Strengthening Hurricane Earl May Rake U.S. East Coast

MIAMI - Hurricane Earl strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm on Monday after lashing the northeast Caribbean islands, and was expected to swipe the U.S. East Coast in the next few days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.