NYT: Daschle poses conflict-of-interest test

The choice of Tom Daschle for secretary of health and human services poses questions about how broadly Barack Obama will apply campaign promises to limit conflicts of interest among appointees.

eHarmony agrees to provide same-sex matches
Online dating service eHarmony said Wednesday it will launch a new Web site which caters to same-sex singles as part of a discrimination settlement with New Jersey's Civil Rights Division.

Congress votes to extend jobless benefits
Congress has passed legislation extending jobless benefits through the December holidays, keeping checks flowing to laid-off workers who would otherwise lose them.

Governors pledge fight on global warming
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, his counterparts in 12 states and regional leaders from four other countries signed a declaration Wednesday pledging to work together to combat global warming.

New BlackBerry is good iPhone challenger

Review: BlackBerry fans can rejoice: the Storm, Research In Motion's first all-touchscreen Blackberry will make even iPhone users salivate just a little bit over some of the features of this very slick and sophisticated smartphone.

Astronauts venture out for spacewalk No. 2

Astronauts vowed to double-check, even triple-check, to make sure a bag of tools is properly tied down during a spacewalk Thursday so it doesn't float away like one did earlier this week.

Over 1,000 melamine babies still in hospitals
Over a thousand Chinese infants are still in hospital receiving treatment for kidney damage caused by tainted milk, China's Health Ministry said.

McDonald's courts moms as emissaries

McDonald's has recruited mothers to go behind the scenes of the company's operations, meet senior executives and then communicate what they see via the Web in a bid to brighten its image.

Pirates free two ships after ransom

Somali pirates released two hijacked ships after ransoms were paid, U.S. military officials said Thursday.