Vital Signs for the Week of May 2
BusinessWeek - 10 hours ago Exactly where is the economy going The latest data show it cooled down in the first quarter, as prices kept creeping higher. What's more, there were some signs that businesses and consumers have gotten a little more cautious.

No Tanks as Vietnam Fetes War's End with B'day Cake
Reuters - 1 hour ago By Brian Williams and Ho Binh Minh. HO CHI MINH CITY (Reuters) - Vietnam celebrated the 30th anniversary of the end of "The American War" on Saturday, baking a four-toncake for Liberation Day babies and staging

Chinese Americans hail Lien Chan's visit to mainland
Xinhua - 1 hour ago WASHINGTON, April 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The visit of Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) Party Chairman Lien Chan to China's mainland was "good news for all Chinese," Hunter Huang, president of the Washington-based National Association for China's Unification, said on

Ways and Means chief says Bush reforms part of it
Houston Chronicle - 1 hour ago WASHINGTON - The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee promised Friday that his panel would approve a bill going beyond President Bush's plan for Social Security private investment accounts and predicted that the Republican majority in the House

China Heads List of Problems for New Trade Official
New York Times - 6 hours ago WASHINGTON, April 29 - Representative Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, was sworn in as the new United States trade representative Friday after the Senate approved his nomination in the morning. Popular with

Bombs kill 50, hurt 121 in Iraq
Washington Times - 2 hours ago By Thomas Wagner. BAGHDAD -- Insurgents set off at least 17 bombs in Iraq yesterday, killing at least 50 persons, including three US soldiers, in a series of attacks aimed at shaking Iraq's newly formed government.

Sgt. Akbar Sentenced to Death
Pardon My English - 4 hours ago Justice has been served, as Sgt. Hasan Akbar was sentenced to death for murdering two soldiers, Army Capt. Chris Seifert, 27, and Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone, 40, and wounding several others days before Operation Iraqi Freedom began.

Pentagon: No New North Korean Nuclear Weapon Capability
Voice of America - 7 hours ago By Al Pessin. The US Defense Department says a statement Thursday by its intelligence chief was not a new assessment indicating an increased nuclear weapons capability by North Korea. The spokesman was attempting

Putin starts visit to Palestine
People's Daily Online - 5 hours ago Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) talked to President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas upon his arrival in Ramallah in the West Bank April 29, 2005. Putin arrived in Ramallah that day

Microsoft: The Cash Machine
Motley Fool - 10 hours ago By WD Crotty. Software giant Microsoft (NYSE: MSFT) is a classic cash machine (or, if you're from the Midwest, a cash cow). Go back 15 years (you can go back further, but I didn't) and you'll see that revenue and earnings increased every year.