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Lenders have become even less willing to part with their money, further crimping budgets and family spending.

The presidential race has turned into an audition for who could best handle a national economic emergency.

At issue is whether plaintiffs have the right to sue when the products that hurt them had met federal standards.

California legislative leaders and the governor have come to an agreement on the state budget, which is now roughly three months late.

After investigators said an engineer in last week’s collision had been texting on the job, regulators temporarily banned the use of all cellular devices by anyone at the controls of a moving train.

Democrats believe that a long list of Republican lawmakers with legal troubles makes it impossible for Republicans to gain much ground on the issues of ethics and good government.

The recommendations included a simpler application, Pell grant maximums linked to the consumer price index and federally financed college savings accounts for children in low-income families.

The blueprint would change the city’s building codes to promote energy efficiency, and it calls for installing huge solar panels at municipal properties and building alternative fueling stations.

Treasury and Fed officials were discussing with leaders in Congress a plan for the government to buy up distressed mortgages.

A backlash against short sellers has begun, with regulators in the U.S. and Britain tightening rules and authorities in New York intensifying investigations.

The president spoke briefly on Thursday after remaining largely out of sight as Wall Street has become engulfed by a financial crisis.

Senator John McCain’s once easygoing if irreverent campaign presence — endearing to crowds, though often resulting in gaffes — has been put out to pasture.

As Gov. Sarah Palin has moved to the national stage, Senator Ted Stevens, who goes on trial next week, has risen in some opinion polls in Alaska.

Todd Palin was one of 13 people subpoenaed in the inquiry into whether Gov. Sarah Palin or members of her administration abused their power in the dismissal of a top state administrator.

A Spanish-language Obama ad misrepresents John McCain’s record on the immigration issue and his relationship with Rush Limbaugh.

A privacy group filed a class-action lawsuit on Thursday seeking to halt what it describes as illegal surveillance of Americans’ telephone and Internet traffic.

Remnants of Hurricane Ike swept through the region on Sunday, bringing torrential downpours and strong winds.

As the veterans’ health system strains to handle a growing caseload, a move is under way in Congress to avoid yearly delays in financing that can hamper the medical care of the nation’s veterans.

O. J. Simpson’s legal team began Thursday to mount a defense that will sound familiar to anyone who followed his 1995 murder trial.

Flashing headlights and honking horns penetrated the early-morning sky as police officers and first responders led drivers in a slow procession across the new Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis.

Gov. Haley Barbour agreed to move a special election for Trent Lott’s former Senate seat to near the top of the November ballot, ending a dispute that had threatened to delay the start of absentee voting.

Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell of Alaska conceded to Representative Don Young in the Republican primary for Alaska’s only House seat.

Agriprocessors Inc., an embattled kosher meatpacker with a plant in Postville, Iowa, named a corporate lawyer from New York to be its chief executive, responding to an ultimatum from the leading kosher certifying organization.

An Episcopal bishop, whose diocese is moving toward splitting from the national church, was ousted from ministry.

A man charged in the killings of four people who died during a June killing spree in Illinois and Missouri has been charged with murder in four more bludgeoning deaths.

For North Carolinians, Thursday was "a day of action," before Hurricane Earl arrives Friday.

Some relatives of Muslim 9/11 victims worry the flap over a mosque near Ground Zero is feeding a revival of Islamophobia they felt in 2001.

Democratic congressional candidates face a political landscape even rockier than those in 1994 and 2006 that ended with election upheavals ...

Staff at two Iowa egg processors implicated in a national salmonella outbreak were supposed to enforce rules, federal regulations show.

College students use a number of strategies to prevent their female friends from engaging in risky sexual behavior after a night of heavy drinking, ...

An offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that exploded Thursday did not leak a significant amount of oil into the water, the Coast Guard sa ...

Americans will take to the roads and skies for the Labor Day holiday in greater numbers than a year ago, thanks to low gas prices and pent-up ...

A visitor has to look closely to find it, but here, in a remote mountain forest of Southern California, is a sign of what's to come for state ...

Some veterinary hospitals approach felines as if they're more like small dogs than a separate species with its own unique needs.

The U.S. Justice Department sued Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Thursday, saying the Arizona lawman refused for more than a year to turn over records ...

A new study suggests that at least one in seven home kitchens would flunk the kind of health inspection commonly administered to restaurants ...

Major mortgage lenders will now give state and local governments the right to buy foreclosed properties before they go on the market, HUD sa ...

Three hostages were freed unharmed Wednesday when police fatally shot a gunman with explosives at Discovery Channel headquarters in Maryland ...

Health care spending this year has grown at its at the slowest rate in a half-century, a USA TODAY analysis of government data finds.

Two days before Labor Day weekend and one day before the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Earl, many tourists were evacuating their North Carolina ...

Earl Heads Uncomfortably Close to Area Relatively Few Hurricanes Tend to Go

Recruiters Accused of Luring 400 Thai Workers into Forced Labor; FBI Says Case is Biggest in U.S. History

Residents along the Cape Cod shoreline are recommended to leave as Hurricane Earl makes its way up the eastern seaboard. Dean Reynolds reports.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority sat down with to talk peace for the first time in two years. The two leaders agreed to begin meeting every two weeks. Bill Plante reports.

Residents in N.C., Mass. and N.Y. Prepare for Hurricane Earl as It Approaches

Workers were doing routine maintenance when a fire broke out on the upper deck of Vermillion 380 located in the Gulf of Mexico; all 13 rig workers were rescued. Don Teague reports.

As tourists obeyed orders to leave North Carolina's coastal towns, locals are stocking up on supplies and preparing for the powerful Hurricane Earl. Kelly Cobiella reports.

A Study Found that In-Custody Deaths Increased 6 Times after Tasers Were Introduced to Law Enforcement Agencies

Officers Have Towed Car, Which Had Been Parked at 51st Street and Park Avenue in Front of Bank Since about 6 a.m.

Chicago Group Offers a Musical Alternative To Keep Young People From Joining Gangs

Oil Not Expected to Resume Gushing into Gulf of Mexico; Crews on Standby with Collection Vessels Just in Case

Montgomery County Police Safely Detonate 4 Additional Devices Discovered

A beach town near Tokyo offers Nintendo DS' "Love Plus" users everything they need to bring their digital romance to the real world. The video game fosters relationships between young men and virtual girlfriends.

2 Bodies Are Unidentifiable, but One Dead Is Believed to Be Founder of an East Palo Alto Steel Company

UVA Professor and political extraordinaire, Larry Sabato unveils his predictions for the 2010 mid-terms. Plus; CBS News' Kaylee Hartung on Facebook's growing popularity among Washington's politicians.

WWE champion John Cena is starring in the upcoming drama, "Legendary." But, Cena tells CBSNews.com's Ken Lombardi that he's not giving up on wrestling just yet.

The Deepwater Horizon disaster dumped millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, significantly impacting the marine ecosystem. WWL's Maya Rodriguez gives an update on the gulf's sea life.

CBS News' Nancy Cordes spoke with UVA's Larry Sabato about his picks for November's mid-terms.

Growing Number Joining Rock-Solid Republican Opposition to Obama's Plans to Let Bush Tax Cuts Expire

U.S. Postal Service Will Release 44-Cent Stamp Showing Portrait of the Roman Catholic Nun at Ceremony on Sept. 5

On this weeks' "Unplugged Under 40" CBS News' Kaylee Hartung looks at the impact of Facebook on Washington's heaviest hitters.

Texas hunters have been looking forward to dove hunting season all year long but some homeowners are concerned for their property and a local high school. KTVT'S Arezow Doost reports Frisco, Texas.

New Research Suggests U.S. Home Kitchens Would Flunk Same Health Inspection Test Given to Restaurants

Caught on Tape: Dash cam video from the Iowa City Police Department shows Iowa Hawkeye football offensive-lineman Josh Koeppel being hit by a truck while riding his motorcycle.

A traffic jam in China has stretched to more than 75-miles long, following a 62-mile build up on the same road a week ago. Gary Hamilton reports.