WORLD

Anthony Shadid, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner reporting for the New York Times, died Thursday in Syria. The American reporter, of Lebanese origin, leaves behind a wife and two children.

In a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing about the existing hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, American intelligence officials said it is unlikely that Iran will start military action against the U.S.

The House of Representatives passed an energy bill Thursday that would wrest control of a permit for the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline away from President Barack Obama, who has put the project on hold.

The U.S. Postal Service warned it could become a long-term burden on taxpayers absent legislative change, as the cash-strapped agency put pressure on Congress to allow it to end Saturday delivery and to tap into a retirement-account surplus.

Republican critics of a Senate cybersecurity bill want to slow down consideration of the measure, saying it could give government too much power over private-sector infrastructure companies.

A planned March 1 debate of Republican presidential candidates in Atlanta was canceled Thursday after Mitt Romney and Ron Paul dropped out of it and the campaign for Rick Santorum expressed doubt he would attend.

Exchange operator Nasdaq OMX is trying to gain support for a legislative proposal that would give it a competitive edge over both rival exchanges and banks that operate anonymous trading venues known as "dark pools."

The Postal Service warned it could become a long-term burden on taxpayers absent legislative change, as the cash-strapped agency put pressure on Congress to allow it to end Saturday delivery and to tap into a retirement-account surplus.

The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly ratcheted up the pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday by overwhelmingly approving a resolution that endorses an Arab League plan calling for him to step aside.

A deal to renew a payroll tax cut for 160 million U.S. workers through 2012 headed on Thursday toward congressional approval as Democratic and Republican leaders rallied support for the bipartisan agreement.

The New Jersey Assembly passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage on Thursday, sending the bill to Republican Gov. Chris Christie, a possible vice-presidential candidate who has promised to veto the measure.

At a House committee hearing on Thursday, three angry Democrats stalked out of the room to protest what they saw as an unfair, one-sided appointment of panelists.

Foster Freiss, the born-again Christian that funds Rick Santorum's Super PAC, left MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell nearly speechless Thursday by joking about contraception.

Chinese dissident Web site Boxun has reported that Wang uncovered a plot by his former boss, Bo Xilai, and a senior government official, Zhou Yongkang, to seize power from Xi Jinping, heir-apparent to the reigns of Communist Party leadership.

The Underwear Bomber, Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was sentenced to life in prison without parole by a federal court in Detroit on Thursday afternoon.

Generation Investment Management, the investment firm run by Al Gore and David Blood, released a white paper encouraging financial companies to adopt sustainable capitalism guidelines.

Economists have factored the payroll tax cut extension into forecasts that the U.S. economy will grow 2.5 percent in 2012.

A video of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on trial for corruption and terrorism has gone viral in Russia, attracting millions of views after being posted on YouTube two days ago.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a rule to include consumer reporting agencies and debt collectors in its efforts to supervise nonbank financial companies. The rule's passage would put those sectors of the lending industry under the umbrella of federal oversight for the first time.

Tareq al Dahab, brother-in-law of slain U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, was killed along with five bodyguards by his brother Hizam - who was himself later killed in a revenge attack.

Regardless of what you think of their present government, the Iranian people deserve respect and admiration.

Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign has raised $1.2 million in the last two days through their No one But Paul money bomb.

John Reed, who helped engineer the merger that led to the creation of Citigroup, told the SEC that the agency needs strengthen the rule to avoid the high-risk trading activities that helped cause the collapse of the world's financial system.

There were a number of new developments in the ongoing Iran-Israel saga.

Former U.S. vice president Al Gore wants to end quarterly reporting by companies and explore issuing loyalty-driven securities as part of an overhaul of capitalism that he says has turned many of the world's largest economies into hotbeds for irresponsible short-term investment.

Greece’s finance minister Evangelos Venizelos has suggested some countries in the bloc want Greece to leave the eurozone.

Dressed in a black Mao-style suit, a smiling Kim resembled his grandfather Kim Il-sung as he presided over a lavish military parade in honor of the recently deceased Kim Jong-Il.

Democrats and Republicans sparred Thursday during a House hearing on the Obama administration's mandate that all health insurance plans cover birth control, underscoring how the issue has become politically potent and divided lawmakers along party lines.

Spanish oil producer Repsol, in the news in recent weeks for starting deep-water oil exploration off Cuba, is on Thursday expecting crews from Texas to help control a blowout in one of its Alaska exploration wells.