October home sales rise 10.1 pct from September
WASHINGTON (AP) - Home sales far exceeded expectations last month, surging to the highest level in 2 1/2 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit. The National Association of Realtors said Monday that home resales rose 10.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million in October, from a downwardly revised pace of 5.54 million in September.

Economic survey: Job losses to bottom out in 1Q
Economists expect the joblessness that has weighed down the nation's economic recovery will start to slowly abate in 2010, but they predict consumers will continue to keep a tight rein on spending, according to a new survey. While signs have pointed to the end of the recession, joblessness remains rampant. The national unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent in October, the highest in 26 years. About 9 million people currently receive unemployment benefits.

Schumer: Dems ready to go-it-alone on health care
WASHINGTON (AP) - A leading Senate Democrat said Monday his party is determined to push through a health care overhaul bill with or without Republican support because the "system is broken." "We prefer to go at it with Republicans if we can reach compromises in some areas," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "But we're not going to not pass a bill."

4 US service members die in Afghan attacks
KABUL (AP) - Bomb attacks and a firefight killed four U.S. troops in 24 hours in Afghanistan, the military said Monday, adding to the growing toll as NATO and the U.S. consider whether to send more forces to the war. Three of the Americans died in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, NATO said in a statement. Two of them were killed in a bomb attack and the third in a separate firefight.

Miners' families want answers in China mine blast
HEGANG, China (AP) - Grieving miners' families demanded answers Monday from mining officials about the underground gas explosion that left at least 104 men dead in northeastern China. The massive blast Saturday in Hegang city in frigid Heilongjiang (pronounced HAY-long-jeeahng) province erupted at night when some 500 miners were working below ground. Most escaped, but 104 were confirmed dead and an additional four were missing and feared dead, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday. The search for the missing men continued, it said.

Kennedy dispute reveals divide among Catholics
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A bitter dispute over abortion that prompted Rhode Island's Roman Catholic bishop to ask Rep. Patrick Kennedy not to receive Holy Communion has revealed the depth of the divide among Catholics over how politicians should reconcile their faith with their public duties. Bishop Thomas Tobin on Sunday said he made the request because of the Democratic lawmaker's support for abortion rights. The news prompted debate among Catholics around the country and within Rhode Island, the nation's most Catholic state, about whether it was right for Tobin to publicly shame Kennedy for breaking with the church on what its leaders consider a paramount moral issue.

Astronauts take spacewalk No. 3 after suit snag
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - A pair of astronauts stepped out on the third and final spacewalk of their mission Monday to take care of some odd jobs at the International Space station. Dr. Robert Satcher Jr. and Randolph Bresnik - the father of a new baby girl - got started on the work an hour late.

Michael Jackson wins 4 at AMAs; Swift top artist
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The King of Pop is still winning awards and setting records doing it. But while Michael Jackson won a record four posthumous awards, he couldn't beat Taylor Swift for top honors at Sunday night's American Music Awards.

Kangaroo tries to drown dog, attacks owner
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - A kangaroo startled by a man walking his dog attacked the pair, pinning the pet underwater and slashing the owner in the abdomen with its hind legs. The Australian, Chris Rickard, was in stable condition Monday after the attack, which ended when the 49-year-old elbowed the kangaroo in the throat. He said he was walking his blue heeler, Rocky, on Sunday morning when they surprised a sleeping kangaroo in Arthur's Creek northeast of Melbourne. The dog chased the animal into a pond, when the kangaroo turned and pinned the pet underwater.

Colts beat Ravens 17-15 to go to 10-0
The Indianapolis Colts are two wins away from the longest winning streak in NFL history. The Colts kept Baltimore out of the end zone Sunday and got the go-ahead field goal from former Ravens kicker Matt Stover in a 17-15 victory, their 19th straight regular-season win over two seasons.