The Lakers are close to reaching an agreement with Houston forward Ron Artest, The Times has learned. The move would probably end the pursuit of forward Trevor Ariza.

A South Carolina official said there was no evidence that Gov. Mark Sanford violated any law when he visited his mistress.

The U.S. Marshals Service on Thursday took possession of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's $7 million Manhattan penthouse, an action that forced his wife to move elsewhere.

Depicted by experts as the candidate favored by the United States and other wealthy nations, Yukiya Amano favors a strict approach toward Iran.

A distraught caller trying to save the life of a 2-year-old Florida girl strangled by a pet python screamed 'The baby's dead!' in chilling 911 tapes released in the toddler's death.

J&J agreed to buy an 18.4% stake in Elan for $1 billion and acquire the rights to much of the Irish biotech company's research into drugs for Alzheimer's disease.

Thousands of U.S. Marines poured from helicopters and armored vehicles into Taliban-controlled villages in southern Afghanistan ...

Political fate shifts after admission of encounters with women in addition to Argentine mistress.

The Sears Tower is offering a new way to push your fear of heights right over the edge.

After a string of real celebrity deaths last week, the Internet and online social networks killed a few more stars.

A teenage girl who is the only known survivor after a jet crashed into the Indian Ocean is conscious in the hospital with bruises on her face and a gauze bandage on her elbow.

NASA and Japan improved our world view this week, or at least our view of the world.

The new Apple iPhone 3GS feels fast, but it's always good to see your feelings confirmed with hard numbers.

THIS bungling burglar got a shock when he broke into a pensioner's home — two powerful right hooks to the face.

Zambian company hopes to profit from growth market.

Swiss bank UBS AG "systematically and deliberately" violated U.S. law by dispatching private bankers to recruit wealthy Americans interested in evading taxes and must be forced to reveal the identities of 52,000 of those clients, the Justice Department said in a court filing Tuesday.

Much to everyone's surprise, Russia is going through with a law that bans nearly all casinos and confines gambling to four special zones in far-flung regions.