NEW YORK – Stocks barely moved Monday and ended a touch higher as a wave of multibillion-dollar merger deals helped investor sentiment and oil prices retreated from a six-week high. The Dow Jones industrial average (search) was up 6.06 points, or 0.06 percent, to end at 10,467.03, in light trading. …

TEHRAN, Iran – The winner of Iran’s presidential runoff, whose landslide victory dealt a setback to reformers, said Saturday he seeks to create a “modern, advanced and Islamic” model for the world. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (search) made the comments in a taped statement broadcast on state-run radio. They appeared aimed at …

NEW YORK – Stocks rose Friday, with the Dow posting its biggest weekly gain since May, as investors bet the Federal Reserve would pause in its campaign to raise interest rates due to economic fallout from Hurricane Katrina. The major stock indexes finished higher for the second straight week. The …

Long after their mortal forms left this Earth, the ghosts of dead prostitutes may be dragged into a Florida court. The owners of Church Street Station (search), an entertainment complex in downtown Orlando, are suing a sushi restaurant that broke its lease after claiming its space was haunted. “It’s very …

HAYWARD, Wis. – A year after six deer hunters were shot to death in a confrontation with a Hmong (search) immigrant, jurors are being selected in a college town 300 miles to the south of this north woods community. Eyewitnesses and friends of the dead men portray the slayings as …

WASHINGTON – The U.S. military, built for man-made battles, could end up leading fights against Mother Nature. In the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita — and the federal government’s sluggish response to the first — President Bush (search) is raising the possibility of putting the Pentagon (search) in charge …

WASHINGTON – Thailand’s foreign minister (search) says Thai misgivings about a U.S.-Thai free trade agreement could push negotiations into next year, an apparent blow to President Bush’s hope that a deal be completed sooner. Bush and Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (search) agreed during a meeting Monday to make “vigorous …

This is a partial transcript from “The O’Reilly Factor,” September 29, 2005, that has been edited for clarity. Watch “The O’Reilly Factor” weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and listen to the “Radio Factor!” BILL O’REILLY, HOST: Continuing now with our lead story, a victory for the ACLU …

WASHINGTON – A motley group of half a dozen Democrats vying for the first open U.S. Senate seat from Maryland in 20 years could splinter Democratic support during next year’s primary, making a party nominee hard to predict, political observers said. Rep. Ben Cardin (search) and former NAACP head Kweisi …

NEW YORK – Media mogul Oprah Winfrey (search) addressed publicly for the first time Monday the highly publicized incident at the Paris Hermes (search) boutique where she was allegedly snubbed by employees. In front of her television audience, Oprah held up a stack of tabloid reports of the incident and …