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October sales gains lift hopes for housing market

In this Nov. 17, 2009 photo, A 'sold' sign is seen outside a home in Los Angeles. October home sales are up 10.1 percent, beating expectations, as tax credit spurs sales. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
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AP
AP - 13 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - First-time buyers seized on an expiring tax credit, low mortgage rates and falling prices to boost home sales in October to their highest level in 2 1/2 years.

  • In this image made from video and released by NASA, astronaut Robert Satcher Jr. is seen preparing to work on a high-pressure tank on the International Space Station. The third and final spacewalk of space shuttle Atlantis' mission will conclude Monday, 23, 2009, at 1 p.m. EST. Satcher will be joined outside by Randolph Bresnik, the father of a new baby girl. The two will hook up a fresh oxygen tank and science experiments at the International Space Station. (AP Photo/NASA)
    Astronauts take spacewalk No. 3 after suit snag AP - 2 hours, 12 minutes ago

    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A pair of astronauts stepped out on the third and final spacewalk of their shuttle mission Monday, helping to install an enormous oxygen tank at the International Space Station.

  • Canadian woman loses benefits over Facebook photo AP - 1 hour, 15 minutes ago

    BROMONT, Quebec - A Canadian woman on sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits after her insurance agent found photos of her apparently having fun on Facebook.

  • FILE - This image released by TLC, shows Jon Gosselin, right, and his wife Kate Gosselin, from the TLC series 'Jon & Kate Plus 8,' in Hawaii. (AP Photo/TLC, Mark Arbeit)
    Attorney: Gosselin divorce could be finalized soon AP - 1 hour, 42 minutes ago

    ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Jon Gosselin offered his estranged wife a bouquet of red roses at their divorce arbitration hearing over the weekend. She evidently turned them down. Despite the snub, the marathon session went so well that the feuding stars of "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" could be divorced by the end of the year, his attorney said Monday.

  • FILE - In this file photo taken Aug. 29, 2005, file photo, a female kangaroo and her joey are seen in suburban Sydney, Australia. An Australian man was in stable condition Monday, Nov. 23, 2009, after being slashed across the abdomen and face by a kangaroo that was holding his dog underwater. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, File)
    Kangaroo tries to drown dog, attacks owner AP - Mon Nov 23, 7:57 AM ET

    MELBOURNE, Australia - A kangaroo startled by a man walking his dog attacked the pair, pinning the pet underwater and slashing the owner in the abdomen with its hind legs.

  • Mauer near-unanimous pick as American League MVP AP - 11 minutes ago

    NEW YORK - Joe Mauer has become only the second catcher in 33 years to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award.

  • Home sales at 2-1/2 yr high Reuters - 25 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes jumped last month to their highest level in more than 2-1/2 years, but a fall in an economic activity gauge was a reminder recovery from recession would be patchy.

  • Captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is seen in a video grab released on October 2, 2009 by Israeli television. REUTERS/Handout
    Israel-Hamas prisoner swap deal near Reuters - 36 minutes ago

    CAIRO (Reuters) - Israel has softened its terms for a prisoner swap with Hamas and the two are nearing a deal to exchange hundreds of jailed Palestinians for an Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip, officials said on Monday.

  • NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, left, looks at Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk prior to talks in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, Nov. 23, 2009. Rasmussen came to Poland to discuss NATO issues including the current situation in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)
    Obama to meet advisers on Afghanistan Reuters - 1 hour, 25 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday added to his schedule an evening session with top advisers on Afghanistan as he closes in on a decision on whether to send thousands more U.S. troops.

  • Rescuers prepare to enter the Xinxing coal mine to search for survivors following a gas explosion at the mine in Hegang, Heilongjiang Province November 22, 2009. REUTERS/Aly Song
    China families protest mine disaster, toll hits 104 Reuters - Sun Nov 22, 9:57 PM ET

    HEGANG, China (Reuters) - Relatives of victims of a gas blast at a mine in northeastern China scuffled with police and demanded answers from the owners on Monday as state media put the toll from the country's latest mine disaster at 104.

  • Gunmen kill 21 in Philippine political war Reuters - Mon Nov 23, 8:39 AM ET

    MANILA (Reuters) - Gunmen abducted and killed at least 21 people in the southern Philippines Monday, apparently to prevent a woman filing her husband's nomination to run for provincial governor in elections next year, the military said.

  • Men, fleeing a military offensive in South Waziristan, line up in a queue while waiting for their turn to collect handouts at a distribution point for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Dera Ismail Khan, located in Pakistan's restive North West Frontier Province, November 22, 2009. REUTERS/Mustansar Baloch
    Pakistani forces attack Taliban, kill 22 Reuters - Mon Nov 23, 9:00 AM ET

    HANGU, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces, backed by tanks and artillery, attacked Taliban positions in the northwest of the country, killing 22 militants, a senior police official on Monday.

  • A view of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant from Goldsboro, Pennsylvania, March 22, 1999. REUTERS/STR New
    Radiation leak investigated at Three Mile Island Reuters - Mon Nov 23, 8:09 AM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal officials are investigating a radiation leak at Three Mile Island, scene of the worst U.S. nuclear power accident, but said on Sunday there was no threat to public health or safety.

  • Abbas al-Bayati (C), a Turkmen member of the Iraqi parliament, speaks to the media after voting on an election law at the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, November 8, 2009. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen
    Iraq parliament passes new vote law Reuters - 45 minutes ago

    BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament on Monday approved an amended law needed to hold an election next year, but the new text risks being vetoed a second time -- which could delay both the vote and next year's partial U.S. troop withdrawal.

  • Philippine soldiers patrol the streets of Manila. At least 21 people were murdered in the lawless southern Philippines on Monday in a massacre that the military and relatives of the victims said was likely linked to a political rivalry.(AFP/File/Jay Directo)
    Philippine kidnappers kill 21 in 'political massacre' AFP - Mon Nov 23, 8:48 AM ET

    MANILA (AFP) - At least 21 people were murdered in the lawless southern Philippines on Monday in a massacre that the military and relatives of the victims said was likely linked to a political rivalry.

  • A couple walks past a poster of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in Jerusalem. Israel said there is no deal yet on a prisoner swap with Hamas, as efforts appeared to gather pace on an accord that could see a Gaza-held soldier exchanged for hundreds of Palestinians.(AFP/Menahem Kahana)
    Israel says no deal yet on Shalit prisoner swap AFP - 1 hour, 23 minutes ago

    JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel said on Monday there was no deal yet on a prisoner swap with Hamas, as efforts appeared to gather pace on an accord that could see a Gaza-held soldier exchanged for hundreds of Palestinians.

  • Russian NTV television channel TV grab shows a Russian firefighter putting out flames resulting from a munitions blast in Ulyanovsk. Eight soldiers died in a munitions blast Monday in central Russia, a defence ministry spokesman said, at the same arms depot where two died in a huge accidental weapons explosion 10 days earlier.(AFP/NTV)
    Eight dead in Russia munitions blast: ministry AFP - 1 hour, 50 minutes ago

    MOSCOW (AFP) - Eight soldiers died in a munitions blast Monday in central Russia, a defence ministry spokesman said, at the same arms depot where two died in a huge accidental weapons explosion 10 days earlier.

  • A view of a superconducting solenoid magnet at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) near Geneva. The world's biggest atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider, began firing beams of protons in opposite directions on Monday, with scientists describing initial progress as an "enormous success."(AFP/File/Fabrice Coffrini)
    Atom-smasher aims sharp increase in power next year AFP - 1 hour, 10 minutes ago

    GENEVA (AFP) - The world's biggest atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider, began firing beams of protons in opposite directions on Monday, with scientists describing initial progress as an "enormous success."

  • Smoke rises from an incineration plant in Amsterdam. The United States plans to join other developed nations in presenting an emissions target at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, a senior administration official said Monday.(AFP/File/John D McHugh)
    US to present emissions target at Copenhagen AFP - 30 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States will present an emissions target at upcoming UN climate change talks in Copenhagen, a senior official said Monday, as President Barack Obama mulled whether to attend the conference.

  • A sold sign is posted in front of a home for sale in August 2009 in San Francisco, California. A rush to cash in on tax incentives helped to push up sales of existing US homes by 10.1 percent in October giving momentum to the ailing sector, industry data showed Monday.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Justin Sullivan)
    Tax credits fuel 10 percent surge in US home sales AFP - 1 hour, 14 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - A rush to cash in on tax incentives helped to push up sales of existing US homes by 10.1 percent in October giving momentum to the ailing sector, industry data showed Monday.

  • Gold prices soared to a record 1,174 dollars an ounce here on Monday as a sliding US currency and worries about a possible spike to inflation increased demand for the "safe-haven" metal, traders said.(AFP/File/Sebastian Derungs)
    Gold hits record high 1,174 dollars AFP - 43 minutes ago

    LONDON (AFP) - Gold prices soared to a record 1,174 dollars an ounce here on Monday as a sliding US currency and worries about a possible spike to inflation increased demand for the "safe-haven" metal, traders said.

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  • A special agent holds an X-ray film file of a healthcare fraud case at a warehouse near Miami, Florida November 23, 2009. It's a crime so profitable that even dead people are in on the act and law enforcement experts, who say it costs U.S. taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars a year, see little hope of reining it in any time soon. Healthcare fraud has garnered increased attention amid the congressional debate about overhauling the U.S. healthcare system, especially since President Barack Obama wants to cover some of the cost of reforms by fighting abuse. REUTERS/Carlos Barria (UNITED STATES HEALTH CRIME LAW BUSINESS)
    FAQ: A normal person's guide to health care reform The Yahoo! Newsroom - Sat Nov 21, 9:27 PM ET

    If you've recently found yourself wondering, "What the heck is going on with the health care reform debate?", you're not alone. The American legislative process is unwieldy, and never more so than in the United States Senate. The Senate voted Saturday to move its bill to a full debate, but some big hurdles still remain.

  • A job seeker picks up a copy of the Washington Job Guide at a job fair in a Washington hotel, August 6, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed
    9 Insider Secrets to Getting Hired U.S. News & World Report - Mon Nov 16, 4:06 PM ET

    While searching for work alongside 16 million people who are angling for the same openings, getting a hiring manager to tell you why you didn't get hired is about as easy as actually getting the job. But one of the best things you can do is examine your job search with a critical eye: Is your résumé really a good advertisement for your skills? Does your nail-gnawing habit turn off prospective employers? Do you tend to make your interviewers a little nervous?

  • A father and child stop to look at the Christmas display at Macy's department store in New York. US retailers are taking desperate measures to spark holiday sales in the face of what promises to be another troubled year-end shopping season.(AFP/Getty Images/Mario Tama)
    Desperate retailers seek holiday season rescue AFP - Sat Nov 21, 11:32 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - US retailers are taking desperate measures to spark holiday sales in the face of what promises to be another troubled year-end shopping season.