Poll: Public skeptical of war escalation

President Obama's marks for handling of the Afghan war  jump double digits, but there's no change in the resistance to an escalation, the latest Associated Press-GfK poll shows.

Taliban to release tape of captured U.S. soldier

Stocks end mixed after Fed announcement

Stocks pared their gains Wednesday as the Federal Reserve reminded investors that it would end several of its extraordinary supports for the economy in the coming year.

Big holiday crunch-time sales? Probably not

PFT’s Picks: Jags won’t ruin Colts’ perfect season

Each week, ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio and Gregg Rosenthal will break down and pick the winners of each NFL game. See their Week 15 picks.

Bengals’ Henry is ‘battling for his life’

Scoop: Were Barkley, Jordan models for Woods?

  Tiger Woods’ “indiscretions” began with a pair of bad influences, claims one of his former mistresses.

  Tidbits: Hudson worried about A-Rod, women

Looks buy happiness, but only in the city

When it comes to country girls, looks don’t count so much in terms of overall life satisfaction and happiness, according to a new study in the journal Personal Relationships.

NYT: Smoking rate drops in Mass., drawing attention

Cosmic Log: Alien ‘water world’ found

Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Astronomers say they have detected a planet just six and a half times as massive as Earth — at a distance so close its atmosphere could be studied, and with a density so low it's almost certain to have water.

10 best PlayStation 3 games of 2009

CityCenter’s centerpiece opens in Las Vegas

Casino executives prepared to open the newest and most expensive joint on the Las Vegas Strip on Wednesday night — a 4,000 room resort at the heart of the $8.5 billion CityCenter complex.

AAA says holiday travel to rise this year