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LAREDO, Texas - A U.S. program that offers trusted trucking companies speedy passage across American borders has begun attracting just the sort of customers who place a premium on avoiding inspections: Mexican drug smugglers.

WASHINGTON - 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."

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.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Leading Indian outsourcers such as Tata Consultancy , Infosys and Wipro stand to gain contracts worth about $1 billion in the next one or two years as U.S. banks emerge from the troubled asset relief program, the Economic Times reported on Monday.

WASHINGTON - Home sales surged for the second month in a row in October, climbing to the highest level in 2 1/2 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose in October at a faster-than-expected pace to the highest in more than 2-1/2 years as buyers rushed to take advantage of a popular tax credit, a survey showed on Monday.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The federal government said Monday that it has found a "strong association" between problematic imported Chinese drywall and corrosion of pipes and wires, a conclusion that supports complaints by thousands of homeowners over the last year.

WASHINGTON - India has watched with wariness as President Barack Obama's administration has lavished attention on rivals Pakistan and China. Now, Obama is trying to ease Indian worries by honoring Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the first state visit of his presidency.

ARTOIS, Calif. - An oil boom is under way in California's agricultural heartland, as evolving tastes and a trend toward healthy fare have transformed a profession as old as civilization: olive production for the extra virgin market.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Getting one of the roughly 11,500 permits granted each year to backpack overnight in the Grand Canyon has become so competitive and "unfair" that managers at the national park have decided to change the system.

NEW YORK - Artist Nate Giorgio recalls the last time he saw Michael Jackson, just days before the singer's death.

NEW YORK - Fewer people are expected to fly this holiday season, but travelers shouldn't expect a full reprieve from the horrid flight delays of Thanksgivings past, especially if they need to land anywhere near New York City.

PARK FALLS, Wis. - Forests are a treasure trove of limbs and bark that can be made into alternative fuels and some worry the increasing trend of using that logging debris will make those materials too scarce, harming the woodlands.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A senior Federal Reserve official said on Sunday the central bank should keep alive its mortgage-related assets purchase program beyond a planned end-date to give policy-makers more flexibility as they help the economy recover from a painful recession.

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold hit a record high at $1,170.55 an ounce on Monday as dollar weakness pushed the metal through key technical resistance levels, fuelling momentum buying after the metal's sharp run higher earlier this month.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Charles Schumer says majority Democrats will push through a bill overhauling the health care system with or without Republican support.

New York (Reuters) - Sales of existing U.S. homes likely rose for a second consecutive month in October, reaching their highest since July 2007, according to a Reuters poll, as buyers scrambled to take advantage of greater affordability and a first-time home buyer tax credit.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks advanced on Monday, with the S&P 500 on track to snap a three-day sell-off, as a weak U.S. dollar and better-than-expected home sales data encouraged investors.

GUANGZHOU, China - Hundreds of residents worried about property values and health risks protested Monday against the planned construction of a trash incinerator in the southern boomtown of Guangzhou.

MADRID (AFP) - With Spain facing its worst recession in decades, the government will approve this week a sweeping package of reforms aimed at changing the nation's economic growth model, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Sunday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold powered to another record high on Monday as the dollar sank, while higher commodity prices lifted world equities.

(Reuters) - Several U.S. policy makers consider JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon as a potential successor to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the New York Post said, citing sources.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Current valuations of waste managers such as Waste Connections Inc , Waste Management Inc and Republic Services Inc give the company's shares a lot of room to rise, according to a Barron's story.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - When the U.S. holiday shopping season kicks off on the day after Thanksgiving, retailers can expect to see millions of less frightened, but even more bargain-hungry customers cross their thresholds.

GENEVA - Charlie Chaplin's last home in Switzerland will be turned into a permanent place of pilgrimage for fans of the actor who immortalized the "Little Tramp," one of his sons said Monday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US retailers are taking desperate measures to spark holiday sales in the face of what promises to be another troubled year-end shopping season.

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's eight-day trip to Asia produced no tangible wins for the United States, though he is citing talks with Asian allies that he says could help create thousands of job and open new markets for American goods in the future.

WASHINGTON - The number of Americans traveling away from home for Thanksgiving will be up only slightly this year from 2008, according to a report from the AAA auto club.

LONDON (Reuters) - Cadbury Plc would prefer a merger with U.S. chocolate maker Hershey Co rather than Kraft Foods Inc , the British company's chairman Roger Carr told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss food giant Nestle may consider a bid for Britain's Cadbury to challenge a hostile 9.9 billion-pound bid by Kraft Foods Inc and a potential move by Hershey, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.