U.S. drug cartel crackdown misses the money

  Every day, criminals shove proceeds from U.S. drug sales in their shoes, tape it to their torsos, stash it under dashboards — or just wire it electronically to Mexico. It all adds up to $25 billion a year.

Climate talks make late progress, but enough?

Stocks slide after jobless claims rise

A stronger dollar and disappointing corporate news muscled stocks lower over concerns that the economy will struggle to recover. Major stock indexes slid more than 1 percent.

NYT: Taxpayers at risk with mortgage giants

Howard: Colts, not Pats, best-run franchise in NFL

Howard: Watching the New England Patriots bicker amongst themselves the past week has been a reminder of something that’s hardly being said: The Indianapolis Colts have eclipsed New England as the NFL’s best-run organization.

  PFT’s Picks: Cowboys can’t match Saints’ firepower

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

Sunshine states are the happiest, study shows

People in sunny, outdoorsy states — Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida — say they’re the happiest Americans, and researchers think they know why.

  11 baby deaths now linked to Simplicity cribs

Check your Facebook privacy settings. Now!

If Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg can't figure out his social networking site's privacy settings after they were ripped open earlier this month, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Eight ancient drinks uncorked by science

Offbeat holiday celebrations

There are some places that put an offbeat spin on the holidays with everything from oversize ice-sculptures to New Year’s Eve events where big yellow Peeps drop from the sky.

Thousands flock to Aria for glitzy unveiling