AP - Hindu and Buddhist priests chanted sacred hymns and cascaded flowers and grains of rice over a 3-year-old girl who was appointed a living goddess in Nepal on Tuesday.

AP - Children under 4 should not be given over-the-counter cough and cold remedies, drug companies said Tuesday in a concession to pediatricians who doubt the drugs do much good and worry about risks.

AP - Former top executives of insurance giant American International Group Inc. were on the receiving end of a verbal smackdown Tuesday as a congressional panel probed the chain of events that forced the government to bail out the conglomerate.

AP - Leading in the polls, Barack Obama hopes to cement his standing while John McCain is trying to turn his fortunes around in their second presidential debate — with economic turmoil bordering on chaos suddenly serving as the backdrop.

AP - Americans' retirement plans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months, Congress' top budget analyst estimated Tuesday.

AP - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Tuesday that the financial crisis has not only darkened the country's current economic performance but also could prolong the pain.

AFP - Thai police fired tear gas Tuesday to try to disperse anti-government protesters blocking parliament, injuring 116 people as months of political turmoil boiled over, police and medics said.

AFP - Battered world markets shook off some of their recent gloom Tuesday as European stocks rallied and Asian bourses pulled back from the brink on hopes of cuts to global interest rates.

Reuters - Britain's military commander and ambassador in Afghanistan are being "defeatist" by thinking the war cannot be won, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, as Washington seeks more troops for the conflict that started exactly seven years ago.

Reuters - Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin told Florida's voters on Monday to expect "rough" campaigning as she seeks to halt a slide in opinion polls in a state that could make or break Sen. John McCain's White House bid.

Reuters - Wells Fargo & Co and Citigroup Inc agreed on Monday to a 44-hour truce in their fight over regional bank Wachovia Corp after a weekend of legal wrangling.

Reuters - Bank of America Corp, citing "recessionary conditions," on Monday halved its dividend and said it would sell at least $10 billion in new common stock to bolster its capital to offset rising loan losses.