Bikers strap on fruit to dodge helmet law
Police in Nigeria have arrested scores of motorcycle taxi riders with dried fruit shells, pots or pieces of rubber tire tied to their heads with string to avoid a new law requiring them to wear helmets.
Gaza Palestinians: ‘Everywhere is dangerous'
Msnbc.com's Kari Huus on Wednesday interviewed two young Palestinians in Gaza by phone to hear their accounts of life in the battle zone.
U.S. 2008 planned layoffs most in five years
Planned layoffs at U.S. firms eased in December from the previous month's seven-year high but they were up an astounding 275 percent annually, according to a new report.
Al-Qaida No. 2 blames Obama for Gaza
Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader lashed out at President-elect Barack Obama in a new message, accusing him of not doing anything to stop Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip, according to a monitoring center.
Europe shivers as Russia cuts gas shipments
Russia shut off all gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine on Wednesday — leaving more than a dozen countries scrambling to cope during a winter cold snap.
Israel conditionally welcomes cease-fire plan
Israel tentatively welcomed a proposal for a Gaza cease-fire and briefly halted its offensive to allow aid to reach civilians, but also gave the military a green light to press ahead with its assault on Hamas.
CBO sees record $1.2 trillion '09 deficit
The U.S. federal budget deficit will hit an unparalleled $1.2 trillion for the 2009 budget year, according to grim new Congressional Budget Office figures.
Scoop: Spears' tour gets off to shaky start
According to Us Weekly, Britney Spears just doesn't have the work ethic she used to and it's affecting her upcoming tour.
Obama pledges to tackle government spending
President-elect Obama says he'll have to juggle the competing interests of economic stimulus and deficit control, but that restoring general business health must come first.
Reports: Gupta approached for surgeon general
CNN says President-elect Barack Obama has approached its medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, to be the country's next surgeon general.
