WASHINGTON – More good things are happening in Iraq than what is portrayed in the media, President Bush said Wednesday, and the United States will ensure that the security, political and economic elements for the fledgling democracy are in place before American troops will pull out. “This is a quiet, …

NEW YORK – David Letterman has learned the Power of Oprah: her “Late Show” appearance Thursday earned him his biggest audience in more than a decade. An estimated 13.5 million people stayed up late to watch Winfrey’s first visit to Letterman in 16 years, Nielsen Media Research said on Friday. …

NEW YORK – Two former employees in the city medical examiner’s office were charged with embezzling millions of dollars intended to help identify victims of the World Trade Center attack. Natarajan R. Venkataram, 41, and Rosa Abreu, 38, were arrested Wednesday. “These defendants breached their positions of trust and responsibility …

WASHINGTON – President Bush on Wednesday directed federal agencies to be more efficient in dealing with requests for government information, but he left in place a four-year-old policy that restricts access under the Freedom of Information Act. Bush signed an executive order that calls on agencies to take several consumer-friendly …

NEW YORK – A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman while posing as a firefighter was charged with kidnapping, sexual abuse and other offenses, authorities said Sunday. Peter Braunstein, 42, also is charged with burglary and robbery in the Halloween attack, said Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau’s spokeswoman Barbara …

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Vincent Dilella looked up when he heard a strange sound from the sky, knowing almost immediately that something was horribly wrong. He saw a seaplane about 300 feet in the air, emerging from behind one of the many high-rise condominiums that dot the coast of Miami …

ATLANTA – An Iraqi infant with a severe birth defect began her journey Friday to the United States, where she will receive medical care at the urging of U.S. soldiers who discovered her during a raid. Noor al-Zahra, who is 3 months old, and family took off in a military …

HOUSTON – A judge rejected former Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey Skilling’s request to dismiss insider trading charges pending against him in a court opinion made public Thursday. U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, in a 26-page opinion, denied Skilling’s request to dismiss 10 counts of insider trading. On Wednesday Lake accepted …

AUSTIN, Minn. – Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL), maker of Spam and Dinty Moore (search) stews, posted earnings that fell short of expectations as higher turkey profits were largely offset by rising pork and beef costs at other units. Its shares fell more than 4 percent. The company earned $55.8 million, …

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Financier Ronald Perelman (search) Monday won $604.3 million from Morgan Stanley in a Florida court case. The unanimous verdict of the nine jurors in Florida district court found that Perelman, chairman of cosmetics giant Revlon Inc. (REV), relied on representations made by the investment bank …