UNITED STATES

U.S. President Barack Obama begins his biggest week yet on the world stage, facing pressure for results on an agenda of rekindling Middle East peace talks, tackling climate change and reshaping financial regulations.

The upcoming park documentary, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, is directed by Ken Burns and will be aired on September 27 by PBS.

Cubans were expected to fill Havana's massive Revolution Square on Sunday for a concert by Colombian singer Juanes and a lineup of top Spanish-language musicians who hope art can do what politics has not -- bring together Cubans here and in the United States.

Just 8 miles across the Hudson River from New York City, the largest city in New Jersey can seem a world away from the affluence and ambition on Wall Street.

Will the Mad Men of U.S. television score a second Emmy best drama victory and can anyone stop comic actress Tina Fey and 30 Rock?

Japan's new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, faces his first diplomatic test this week when he meets President Barack Obama in New York as the two allies grapple with disagreements that investors fear could damage ties.

President Barack Obama in an interview aired Sunday said all signs point to the U.S. economy starting to grow again but there may not be enough new jobs created until next year.

President Barack Obama, preparing to meet with other G20 leaders in Pittsburgh, on Saturday stressed the need for regulations to prevent another global economic crisis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel was optimistic agreement could be reached at the summit.

Patty Loveless' 2001 bluegrass album, Mountain Soul, holds a special place in her heart. Influenced by the music she grew up with in rural Kentucky, the album resonated strongly with the country singer's fans even as it broadened her audience.

In the midst of its first reunion tour in the summer of 2006, veteran hard rock act Alice in Chains played to a crowd of 30,000 at Portugal's Super Bock Super Rock festival. As the band performed a set of its classic cuts, a handful of fans unfurled a 25-foot-long sign that read, Alice in Chains Get Born Again.

He gained fame as one of China's best dancers and was at the center of an international crisis, but the real story of Li Cunxin may never have been told if it had not been for Li sitting down to write it.

Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar issued a statement Saturday telling people of the West not to listen to U.S. President Barack Obama's justifications of war and vowing to defeat NATO troops like other invaders of history.

Members of the union representing more than 10,000 workers at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co have ratified a four-year labor deal, Goodyear and the United Steelworkers union said on Saturday.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire won the top award at the Toronto International Film Festival Saturday, giving the Oprah Winfrey-produced film some early momentum heading into Oscar awards season.

The Federal Reserve plans new rules on bank pay to curb the type of excessive risk-taking that sparked the global financial crisis and triggered international demands for action.

Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook stepped down on Friday from his post to pursue new adventures after privately telling staff he felt he no longer fits in at the No. 1 U.S. entertainment company.

Equatorial Guinea seeks steady oil output of 500,000 barrels per day but not necessarily membership in OPEC, the African nation's oil minister Owono Edu Marcelino said Friday.

Microsoft Corp has approved a proposal to allow shareholders to vote on its executives' compensation, as U.S. corporations' pay policies come under scrutiny in the wake of the financial crisis.

Volkswagen's unit Audi expects to reach its unit sales target for China two years earlier than previously planned, Audi's head of sales told industry publication Automobilwoche.

Solar thermal company BrightSource Inc has dropped plans to build a solar power plant in the Mojave Desert, losing a battle with environmentalists and a U.S. senator who want to preserve the surrounding area.

An association representing major cruise lines operating in Alaska on Friday filed a lawsuit against the state of Alaska seeking to overturn the state's passenger head tax, a levy the cruise companies claim is unconstitutional and has stifled business.