The security company Blackwater Worldwide formed a network of 30 shell companies and subsidiaries to try to get millions of dollars in government business after the company faced strong criticism for reckless conduct in Iraq, the New York Times reported Friday.

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Federal investigators said Friday that a suspicious fire that damaged construction equipment at the site of a future mosque in Tennessee was arson and offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The first known U.S. outbreak linked to a rare strain of E. coli in ground beef is prompting a fresh look at tougher regulations to protect the nation's meat supply.

A federal appeals court has thrown out a jury verdict and a $926 million award to thousands of Colorado homeowners in a lawsuit involving plutonium contamination from a now-defunct nuclear weapons plant.

Hurricane Earl played havoc with travelers' Labor Day weekend plans even as it weakened Friday on its path up the East Coast toward New England.

Dan Maes likes to brag about taking down the political machine in becoming Colorado's Republican gubernatorial nominee.

Former President Bill Clinton says Republicans left the national economy a "mess" and will make matters worse if they reclaim control of Congress.

News of another oil rig fire in the Gulf of Mexico, so soon after the BP oil spill, has set off a wave of anxiety along the Gulf Coast and prompted calls for the government to extend its six-month ban on deepwater drilling.

Eager to jumpstart the economy ahead of crucial midterm elections, President Barack Obama said Friday he intends to unveil a new package of proposals, likely including tax cuts and targeted spending, to spark job growth.

Private employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought, a glimmer of hope for the weak economy ahead of the Labor Day weekend.

Private employers hired more workers over the past three months than first thought, a glimmer of hope for the weak economy ahead of the Labor Day weekend.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday he saw and heard evidence that the U.S. counterinsurgency strategy is taking hold in critical Kandahar province.

Gang representatives in Chicago held a press conference Thursday to explain why gangs cannot be held solely responsible for stopping street violence, which has escalated this summer.

The Obama administration is weighing a package of business tax breaks - potentially worth hundreds of billions of dollars - to spur hiring and to combat Republican charges that Democratic tax policies hurt small businesses, according to people with knowledge of the deliberations.