The trio was back intact Monday morning as Steve returned from his court-mandated — I mean well-earned — vacation. The top stories today featured Dan Rather’s diss from Mike Wallace, Don Hewitt and Walter Cronkite, Vladimir Putin’s baffling belief that President Bush had those CBS staffers fired and Chris Rock’s …

BEIJING – A top Chinese Communist Party (search) official headed to North Korea Saturday on a diplomatic mission to draw the isolated Stalinist regime back to stalled disarmament talks. Wang Jiarui, head of the diplomatic department of the Chinese Communist Party arrived at Beijing’s international airport for a flight to …

RICHMOND, Va. – Jurors deliberated less than one hour Saturday before convicting the former wife of a University of Richmond (search) professor of murdering him in an “ambush” slaying. Piper Rountree, 45, was convicted of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the …

NEW ORLEANS – A small heap of paper that survived the fiery disintegration of space shuttle Columbia, a 38-mile fall to Earth and two months of exposure to rain and sun in a Texas field has been painstakingly restored by forensic scientists, yielding the flight diary and notes of Israeli …

WASHINGTON – President Bush was concerned “his mistakes as a youth” would disqualify him from running for the nation’s highest office, said an old friend who secretly recorded private conversations in which Bush appears to acknowledge past drug use. “I don’t want any kid doing what I tried to do …

ROME – Italy is blessed with some of Europe’s most brilliant sun and cursed with some of its highest electricity rates, but the nation has long lagged behind its more inclement neighbors in harnessing energy from the sun’s rays. But the government, hoping to cash in on Italy’s most abundant …

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Rates are rising. If you’re thinking about refinancing or taking a second mortgage, read our guide — fast. THINKING ABOUT CONSOLIDATING some debt or renovating your outdated kitchen? Now’s the time to act. Today’s low interest rates make home-equity loans and lines of credit an inexpensive way for homeowners to …

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghanistan’s (search) president said Sunday he is optimistic that next month’s legislative elections will be peaceful, but ongoing pre-vote violence left one candidate dead and three American troops wounded. Hamid Karzai’s (search) comments followed a major offensive by U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops against militants intent on …

SAN FRANCISCO – IAC/InterActiveCorp. (IACI) Tuesday said quarterly profit was about eight times higher than a year ago, mainly because of a large gain from the sale of stakes in two businesses. The company also benefited from higher bookings for Expedia.com (search) — the online travel business that the company …