Search results for

Executives from four U.S. Internet companies get a chilly reception Wednesday on Capitol Hill as members of Congress accuse them of helping China oppress internal dissent. But the companies say their operations in China would foster freedom there, not squelch it.

The Georgia state house has approved a bill that would levy a 5-percent surcharge on wire transfers by illegal immigrants to their native countries. State lawmakers are seeking to stem the tide of undocumented workers and recoup the cost of providing public services to them.

Sudan's government and rebel groups are extending peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria. Rebels have rejected draft peace agreements concerning Sudan's Darfur region, but agreed to continue negotiating with the government under pressure from the United States.

To boycott or not to boycott? That's the question in the Latin community as Monday approaches. As Rob Schmitz of member station KQED reports, many are trying to discourage this particular form of protest.

French president Jacques Chirac tells the nation that he will sign a controversial new youths-job law, but that the time period in which an employee younger than 26 could be fired would be reduced to one year. Also an employer would be obligated to give a reason for any dismissal.

The Supreme Court rules that one-time stripper and Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith can pursue part of her late husband's oil fortune. Justices gave new legal life to Smith's bid to collect millions of dollars from the estate of J. Howard Marshall II. His estate has been estimated at as much as $1.6 billion.

In Houston, federal prosecutors and former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay continue to spar on the final day of Lay's testimony. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Houston accused Lay of ignoring concerns about the company's accounting. He also pressed Lay for details on $70 million he made selling his own Enron stock.

A New Jersey jury awards more than $4 million to one plaintiff suing Merck, maker of the painkiller Vioxx, which has been linked to heart problems in some patients. Now the jury will hear evidence on whether Merck should face punitive damages. In a separate Vioxx case, the same jury rules against the plaintiff.

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay plans to give up his seat, one week after one of the Texas Republican's top aides pleaded guilty in the corruption investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff. In addition to a tough battle for re-election, DeLay is facing corruption charges in Texas.

A man opened fire during a lunch reception at a Southern California church, killing one person and wounding five before parishioners hog-tied him with electrical cords.