Holiday shoppers stuck to spending pledge

When it comes to holiday shopping, Americans have been great at saying they were going to cut back — but not so good at actually doing it. This year appears to be an exception.

French motorcyclist found dead at Dakar Rally

49-year-old Terry had gone missing Sunday during second stage of race

Scoop: Spears' tour gets off to shaky start

According to Us Weekly, Britney Spears just doesn't have the work ethic she used to and it's affecting her upcoming tour.

'God' author faces plagiarism claim

Neale Donald Walsch, best-selling author of "Conversations with God," said that he unwittingly passed off another writer's Christmas anecdote as his own in a recent blog post.

Ice storm in Northeast, floods in South

Storms had people on edge across the U.S. Wednesday, with ice and freezing rain  in the Northeast, flooding and power outages in the South and the Pacific Northwest watching for avalanches.

Gaza Palestinians: ‘Everywhere is dangerous'

Msnbc.com's Kari Huus on Wednesday interviewed two young Palestinians in Gaza by phone to hear their accounts of life in the battle zone.

Bikers strap on fruit to dodge helmet law

Police in Nigeria have arrested scores of motorcycle taxi riders with dried fruit shells, pots or pieces of rubber tire tied to their heads with string to avoid a new law requiring them to wear helmets.

Israel welcomes cease-fire proposal

Israel tentatively welcomed a proposal for a Gaza cease-fire and briefly halted its offensive to allow aid to reach civilians, but also gave the military a green light to press ahead with its assault on Hamas.

Drug created from genetically engineered goats
In a scientific first, an anti-clotting drug made from the milk of genetically engineered goats is moving closer to government approval for humans.