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.

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.

Court ruling dissolves Thai government

A court dissolved Thailand's top three ruling parties for electoral fraud Tuesday and temporarily banned the prime minister from politics, bringing down the government.

Carbon monoxide kills 11 girls at China school
Eleven girls died of carbon monoxide poisoning at a school in northern China's Shaanxi province, an education official said Tuesday evening. The girls had reportedly lit a fire to keep warm.

Governors press for stimulus bill by Inauguration

Facing severe cutbacks in state services as the recession deepens, the nation's governors pressed their case on Capitol Hill Monday, asking for at least $40 billion to help pay for health care for the poor and disabled.

30-mile pile a symbol of FEMA delays

A 30-mile scar of debris along the Texas coast stands as a festering testament to what state and local officials say is FEMA's sluggish response to the 2008 hurricane season.

Rice gives piano recital fit for a queen

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave a piano recital for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

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.

Ga. runoff could decide balance of power

Georgia voters are returning to the polls Tuesday to decide one of two unresolved U.S. Senate races that Democrats need to win for a 60-seat majority impervious to GOP filibusters.