Stocks jump on Geithner speculation
Wall Street got a boost of confidence following a report that President-elect Barack Obama plans to name New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary.

Islamists: We'll fight Somali pirates
A radical Islamic group in Somalia said Friday it will fight the pirates holding a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of crude oil.

Report predicts U.S. decline, Russia rise

Global warming could be a boon to Russia while the U.S. could further decline in importance during the next two decades, says a U.S. intelligence report with predictions for the world in 2025.

Mexico: Ex-drug czar took cartel money
Mexico's former drug czar took $450,000 to leak information to a powerful cartel, officials said Friday.

Blast kills 8 mourners at Pakistani funeral

A blast killed at least six mourners Friday at the funeral of a Shiite cleric in northwest Pakistan who was gunned down hours earlier, police said.

Bush to promote action plan to deal with crisis

Struggling to get ahead of a global financial crisis, the president hopes to win more converts at a summit in Peru for a plan aimed at showing governments have the will and means to halt the turmoil.

Leftist Sandinistas win Nicaragua vote

Nicaragua's ruling Sandinista party won the large majority of municipal races, including the capital Managua, in local elections that have sparked violent clashes and allegations of fraud.

Madonna, Ritchie granted divorce

The show-business marriage that began in a Scottish castle came to an end in a drab London courtroom Friday as Madonna and Guy Ritchie were granted a preliminary decree of divorce.

Mukasey feeling better, checks out of hospital

The attorney general was given a "clean bill of health" and went back to work Friday after his harrowing collapse at a late-night dinner speech.