2009 | featured news

The year's tally was 319, compared with 155 in 2008, due mostly to the crude but ever larger and deadlier roadside bombs built by the Taliban.

Dow futures were up 30 points. The S&P Case-Shiller home-prices indexes showed U.S. home prices decreased at a slower annual rate in October, but prices were flat compared to September.

NBC's Dallas-Washington matchup wins night -- NBC's "Sunday Night Football," featuring a matchup of rivals Dallas and Washington, dominated the ratings action on the final Sunday of 2009.

Wall Street is likely to make a strong showing in the final week of 2009 as the bulls gear up to toast the first annual advance for U.S. stocks in two years on hopes of more economic stability in 2010.

The cratering economy led to wild fluctuations in auto sales and unusual shifts in market share.

Sales of new homes plunged unexpectedly last month to the lowest level since April, a sign the housing market recovery will be rocky.

The recovery may have gotten off to a slow start in the third quarter, but a surge in sales of existing homes in November could presage a more robust end to the year.

All four offenses that make up violent crime fell in the first half of 2009, with murders down a significant 10 percent, the FBI reported Monday.

California's unemployment rate fell in November, another sign that a recovery is underway, even as the state shed jobs from its payrolls.

The state's unemployment rate slid to 12.3%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning, down from 12.5% the month before. It is one of 36 states that saw unemployment rates decline in November.

Construction of new homes, helped by better weather, rebounded in November following a setback in the previous month.