BOSTON – Federal regulators will require banks to strengthen security for Internet customers through authentication that goes beyond mere user names and passwords, which have become too easy for criminals to exploit. Bank Web sites are expected to adopt some form of “two-factor” authentication by the end of 2006, regulators …

WASHINGTON – Samuel A. Alito has been a strong conservative jurist on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a court with a reputation for being among the nation’s most liberal. Dubbed “Scalito” or “Scalia-lite,” a play not only on his name but his opinions, Alito, 55, brings a …

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration has abandoned research into a nuclear “bunker-buster” warhead, deciding instead to pursue a similar device using conventional weaponry, a key Republican senator said Tuesday. Sen. Pete Domenici (search), R-N.M., said funding for the nuclear bunker-buster as part of the Energy Department’s (search) fiscal 2006 budget …

WASHINGTON – New orders for U.S.-made durable goods (search) sank an unexpectedly deep 2.1 percent last month as aircraft orders plunged, but even non-transportation orders dropped 1 percent, a government report showed on Thursday. Transportation orders fell 4.7 percent in September as civilian aircraft orders plummeted 41.6 percent, the Commerce …

An animal rights activist who faces a potential two-year prison term for freeing thousands of mink (search) from Midwest fur farms says he has no regrets. Peter Daniel Young, 28, told The Associated Press during a jailhouse interview that serving time will be nothing compared to what caged animals suffer. …

CHICAGO – Candy maker Hershey Co. (HSY) Thursday posted a 28 percent drop in quarterly profit due to charges related to measures to streamline operations in North America. But sales of new products and price increases offset higher commodity costs, with the company saying 2005 sales and earnings from operations …

WASHINGTON – United Nations Ambassador John Bolton (search) told Congress Tuesday that he’s working hard to press the U.S. case for an urgent overhaul of the world body, but he expects a tough diplomatic campaign to win the necessary support. Making his first appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee …

NEW YORK – A reported plot to bomb city subways with remote-controlled explosives has not been corroborated after days of investigation, law-enforcement officials said Sunday amid an easing sense of concern. Interrogations of suspects captured in Iraq last week after an informant’s tip about bomb-laden suitcases and baby carriages have …

Watch “Hannity & Colmes” weeknights at 9 p.m. ET! Monday, October 10: It’s a “Hannity & Colmes” exclusive interview! As California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reloads for re-election, he’s in the fight for his political life! Wait till you hear what he has to say to Sean — It’s a side …

BALI, Indonesia – Police took to the air Saturday to press the search for the suspected masterminds of the Bali (search) terror bombings, using a helicopter to scatter pictures of the fugitives on another island where at least one of the pair was thought to be hiding. Although they expressed …