Pirates open fire on U.S. cruise ship

Pirates near Somalia chased and shot at a U.S. cruise liner with more than 1,000 people on board but failed to hijack the vessel, a maritime official said Tuesday.

Panel: Biological attack likely by 2013
The U.S. can expect a terrorist attack using nuclear or more likely biological weapons before 2013, reports a bipartisan commission in a study being briefed Tuesday to Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

Scoop: ‘Idol's' emotional focus will highlight Abdul

"American Idol" plans to give the show a more emotional focus, which will play to the strengths of judge Paula Abdul.

Second death sentence for 'Chemical Ali'

A court sentenced Saddam Hussein's notorious cousin, known as "Chemical Ali," to death Tuesday after convicting him of crimes against humanity while crushing the 1991 Shiite uprising in Iraq.

British Airways in merger talks with Qantas
British Airways PLC said Tuesday it is in talks with Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. about a potential merger.

AP: Feds ignored meltdown warnings

The Bush administration ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents.

Rapport with Obama will be key for Clinton

Hillary Clinton's success as secretary of state may depend as much on Obama's willingness to admit her to his inner circle as her mastery of the job, officials say.

Your brooding teen: Just moody or mentally ill?

The teen years are a critical period of development when mental illnesses can emerge and progress untreated, in part because they are perceived as typical adolescent behavior.

Wave of drug violence grips Tijuana

At least 37 people were killed over three days in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, including four children caught in shootouts and nine men found decapitated, the state attorney general said Monday.