Politics

The Energy Department reports U.S. greenhouse gases emissions increased last year by 1.4 percent after a decline in 2006.

A cigarette maker and a smoker's widow squared off for the third time at the Supreme Court on Wednesday over a $79.5 million punitive damages award, but the real battle was between the justices and their counterparts on Oregon's high court.

President-elect Barack Obama says it appears that the heads of the Big Three automakers are coming back to Congress with a "more serious set of plans" for how their companies are going to survive.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey appeared in good health Wednesday in his first news conference since collapsing during a speech Nov. 20.

First lady Laura Bush says she and President George W. Bush will have a house in Dallas after leaving the White House.

The federal government has recommended a site in Kansas for a new $450 million laboratory to study biological threats like anthrax and foot-and-mouth disease, officials said Wednesday.

California Democratic Rep. Xavier Becerra, a strong proponent of labor protections in free trade pacts, is in discussions with the Obama transition team about taking the job of U.S. trade representative.

Democrat Al Franken caught a couple of breaks Tuesday as the recount in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race drew closer to a finish, though not enough to undo Republican Sen. Norm Coleman's persistent lead.

The only thing that might be longer than a bone-rattling Minnesota winter is the state's never-ending 2008 Senate race, which Jane Burton says is getting downright ridiculous.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Pakistan bears a "special responsibility" to help get to the bottom of last week's terror attacks in India, and she used a condolence trip to India on Wednesday to increase pressure on India's nuclear rival.