WASHINGTON – Four U.S. high-tech companies on Wednesday found themselves branded collaborators with the Chinese government in suppressing dissent in return for access to a booming Internet market. House members contended that Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc., Cisco Systems Inc. and Google Inc. sought to explain their business practices in China …

NEW YORK – Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) Thursday said fourth-quarter profit fell 69 percent on a drop in investment gains and a higher tax rate, even as it added high speed data and digital phone customers. The board of directors approved an additional $5 billion stock buyback program, which Wall Street …

ST. LOUIS – Captive gorillas actually are a cultured bunch. Genetics or environment alone cannot explain variations in the behavior of different groups of the apes, a study found. Behavioral surveys of the roughly 370 gorillas in U.S. zoos showed 48 variations in how individual groups of the apes make …

WASHINGTON – Pennsylvania lost a Supreme Court appeal on Tuesday that sought to put a convicted killer back on death row. The state wanted justices to overturn a ruling by the court’s new member, Samuel Alito. Alito had handled Antuan Bronshtein’s case at the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, …

NEW ORLEANS – Tourists and locals stood side-by-side — in some spots 6 to 8 feet deep — as two of the Carnival season’s biggest and glitziest parades rolled through a city struggling to reclaim some of its famous fun. “It’s very special,” said Barbara Sykes, who flew in from …

HAYWARD, Calif. – The financial future of California’s $3 billion human embryonic stem cell research institute went on trial Monday as taxpayer groups tried to block the state-funded research. Two lawsuits seek to invalidate the law that created the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, which is authorized to hand out …

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Gunfire erupted Monday during protests over election results in Haiti and at least one supporter of leading presidential candidate Rene Preval was killed. Witnesses said U.N. peacekeepers opened fire on the crowd, but a U.N. spokesman denied that. Witnesses said Jordanian U.N. peacekeepers opened fire on them, …

WASHINGTON – Demand for mortgages and consumer loans weakened at U.S. banks in recent months, while competition forced banks to ease terms for commercial real estate loans, a Federal Reserve survey released on Wednesday found. “On net, 44 percent of domestic banks reported weaker demand for mortgages to purchase homes, …

ROSEBURG, Ore. – Authorities charged a 14-year-old freshman with attempted murder in a school-yard shooting that seriously injured another student. Vincent Wayne Leodoro will be tried as a juvenile under Oregon law, Police Sgt. Aaron Dunbar said. He said Leodoro was three months shy of turning 15, the age at …

WASHINGTON – Even though she won’t be running for Senate, Cindy Sheehan isn’t disappointing anyone when it comes to being either a vocal leader or outlandish character in the anti-war movement. “I think we need to duplicate her 10,000-fold. We need more people who have the courage to stand up …