Wall Street drops to more than 5-year low
Wall Street hit levels not seen since 2003 on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging below the 8,000 mark amid a dour economic outlook from the Fed.

Lawyers visit secret Gitmo camp
For the first time, defense lawyers have been allowed to see a section of the Guantanamo prison that is so restricted, even its location on the U.S. base is secret.

Minnesota recount begins
City and county workers across Minnesota have started recounting more than 2.9 million ballots from the state's U.S. Senate race.

NBC: Daschle to be Obama's HHS secretary

The former Senate majority leader has been a close adviser to the president-elect throughout the campaign for the White House and recently wrote a book proposing health care improvements.

U.S. intel office adds warming to warnings

A major U.S. intelligence report coming out Thursday  is adding climate change to the "traditional" mix of factors expected to destabilize the world into the near future.

Al-Qaida No. 2 says Obama betrays race

Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader used a racial epithet to insult Barack Obama in a message posted Wednesday, describing the president-elect in demeaning terms that imply he does the bidding of whites.

Scientists spot hints of dark-matter blast

A balloon-borne instrument soaring high over Antarctica has found potential evidence of a large clump of mysterious dark matter relatively close to our solar system, scientists said Wednesday.

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.

Insurance may soon cover maggot therapy

Maggot therapy has received a boost from the medical establishment that could make it easier for patients and doctors to get insurance reimbursement for this treatment.