Thai nightclub blaze toll hits 64
Thai police say the death toll in a New Year's Eve nightclub fire has reached 64 after two of those injured died.

Man holding 3 hostages surrenders

A former South Carolina policeman who fired shots from a Georgia motel while holding his infant son and two women hostage surrendered peacefully Monday after a 13-hour standoff.

5 killed in fire at Texas homeless shelter

Fire tore through a small-town homeless shelter early Monday, partially collapsing the building and killing five men, fire officials said.

U.S. tourist stabbed in Rome
An American tourist from California is in serious condition in a Rome hospital after being stabbed outside a bar in downtown Rome.

Greek cop wounded in shooting

Gunmen shot and seriously wounded a policeman in Athens on Monday, the second such attack since police shot dead a teenager last month prompting Greece's worst riots in decades.

Griffin Bell, Carter's attorney general, dies

Griffin B. Bell, the shrewd lawyer who grew up with Jimmy Carter and became U.S. attorney general after Carter was elected president, died at an Atlanta hospital Monday. He was 90.

Waterford seeks bankruptcy protection
Waterford Wedgwood PLC, for centuries a name synonymous with luxury,  filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday after attempts to restructure the struggling business or find a buyer failed.

Intel picks signal break from Bush

President-elect Barack Obama's decision to fill the nation's top intelligence jobs with two men short on direct experience in intelligence gathering surprised the spy community and signaled the Democrat's intention for a clean break from Bush administration policies.

Scribner to publish Laura Bush's memoir

The first lady is finally telling her side of the story. Laura Bush's memoir, which is expected to be published in 2010, will provide an intimate account of her eight years in the White House, revealing her recollections of personal and historical moments.