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A Senate panel looks at legislation Tuesday that would allow more people to qualify for food stamps. The bill from Democratic Sen. Linda Berglin of Minneapolis would repeal a requirement to show no more than $7,000 in assets such as cash, money in the bank and stocks to qualify for food support. Vehicles already are not counted.

BERKELEY, Calif. – Students carried out raucous rallies on college campuses nationwide Thursday in protests against deep education cuts that turned violent as demonstrators threw punches and ice chunks in Wisconsin and blocked university gates and smashed car windows in California. At least 15 protesters were detained by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee police after as many as 150 students gathered at the student union then moved to an administrative building to deliver petitions to the school chancellor. University spokesman Tom Luljak said campus police allowed one person inside, But when she emerged, she encouraged everyone to rush the building, he said....

Thirty-seven children have been killed in a stampede at a temple in India. The youngsters' bodies, together with those of 27 women, have been recovered by police in Kunda, Uttar Pradesh. A stampede broke out as thousands of people jostled each other to get free clothes and utensils being distributed during a religious ceremony. An under-construction gate collapsed on the crowd as people surged forward towards a local holy man, police said.

BAGHDAD - "He had a tube down his nose, IV's in his arms, had lost a lot of weight and was heavily medicated. He looked really rough and he looked up at me and said, 'I'm comin' back, chief,'" said Chief Master Sgt. Ronnie Barham, 506th Air Expeditionary Group chief enlisted manager. That was seven years ago. "I had a dry cough and couldn't stay warm. I just thought I had the flu," said Tech. Sgt. Mark Duran, a 506th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron structures technician deployed from the 301st CES Joint Reserve Field Carswell, Fort Worth, Texas. The cough...

No presidential statement or White House press briefing was held on it. In fact, all that can be found about it on the official White House Web site is the Dec. 17 announcement and one-paragraph text of President Obama's Executive Order 12425, with this innocuous headline: "Amending Executive Order 12425 Designating Interpol as a public international organization entitled to enjoy certain privileges, exemptions, and immunities."In fact, this new directive from Obama may be the most destructive blow ever struck against American constitutional civil liberties. No wonder the White House said as little as possible about it.

... [T]his is neither a housing crisis nor a Wall Street banking crisis. This is a monetary crisis, rooted in the lending of money created out of thin air. This is what leads to economic booms and busts. The current crisis goes back to the Asian Contagion of 1997 and the meltdown of the Long Term Capital Management hedge fund in 1998. In response to each of these situations, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and rapidly expanded the money supply. This excess liquidity helped push stocks, especially tech issues, to unsustainably high levels. The excess money created by the...

Starting in January 2010, US McDonald's restaurants will no longer charge for Wi-Fi: The quick-service chain has service in 11,000 of its 14,000 locations in the US, and previously charge $2.95 for two hours access. The network is operated by AT&T, originally contracted by Wayport which was acquired by the phone giant last year. Most AT&T subscribers get free access at McDonald's, Starbucks, and a few thousand other locations...

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation on Tuesday to impose sanctions on foreign companies that help supply gasoline to Iran, a move lawmakers hope will deter Tehran from pursuing its nuclear program. The bill authorizes President Barack Obama to levy sanctions on energy companies that directly provide gasoline to Iran along with the firms that provide insurance and tankers to facilitate the fuel shipments. The Senate is likely to approve a similar bill, but it is uncertain how soon it will vote.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken today urged the Senate to pass an extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits before the end of the year, citing the 10 percent unemployment rate and the annual rise in heating bills coming this winter. The Minnesota Democrats joined 22 other senators who signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, asking for a vote on the issue by Dec. 31. A 65 percent subsidy of premium costs for those with COBRA benefits, authorized by the stimulus bill, is set to expire at the end of the year.