General Motors is in preliminary talks about a possible merger with Chrysler, The New York Times reported late Friday.

Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Friday that the Bush administration will move ahead with a plan to buy stock in financial institutions.

Wall Street ended one of its worst weeks ever trying to figure out whether to continue its freefall or take some tentative steps toward a possible recovery.

Government efforts to right the financial system have been overwhelmed by global market panic. Those measures may yet prove effective. But for now, fear has the upper hand.

Republicans say Democrats and their allies are trying to subvert the voter registration system with an avalanche of inaccurate or fraudulent new voter registrations. But Democrats charge Republicans are trying to deter would-be voters.

Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled Friday that same-sex couples have the right to marry, making it the third state to legalize such unions.

Pitcher helps own cause with 3 hits, 3 RBI in 8-5 win; series shifts to L.A.

Barack Obama  on Friday accused John McCain of trying to divide the country, but he let fellow Democrats handle harsher attacks while he kept his message mostly upbeat.

With four weeks left in the presidential campaign, Barack Obama now leads John McCain by double digits, 52 percent to 41 percent among likely voters—a marked shift from the last Newsweek poll, conducted one month ago, when the two candidates were tied at 46 percent.

A hot air balloon crashed into power lines and burst into flames Friday during the annual balloon fiesta in New Mexico, throwing both men on board to the ground and killing one of them.

The pirates who hijacked an arms-laden Ukrainian tanker off the coast of Somalia threatened Friday to destroy the ship if no ransom is paid, a spokesman for the bandits said.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell called Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens' word "sterling" at the senator's corruption trial.

A Minneapolis radio station said Friday it would air public service announcements on HIV/AIDS after a pair of talk hosts accused Magic Johnson of faking AIDS.

No final decision has been made on whether to remove North Korea from the terrorism blacklist, a U.S. official said Friday.