Despite the destruction it caused in a massive spill near a Tennessee power plant in December, coal ash has found many uses that benefit industry and even the environment. A billion gallons of ash sludge, laced with toxic materials, spilled from a holding pond and fouled 300 acres and two rivers near the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant on December 22. Forty homes were affected, roads were ruined, and residents were left wondering whether their water would ever be ...

Twenty state attorneys general announced investigations Friday into the $165 million bonuses paid by insurance giant AIG last week, with Connecticut's top lawyer issuing subpoenas to CEO Edward Liddy and 11 other executives. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and the Democratic chairman of the General Assembly's Banks Committee want Liddy and other executives to appear Thursday and bring with them "original or copies of documents regarding the AIG Financial Products Corp. retention bonus plan and any related contracts or agreements." ...

Want to know where the presidential produce comes from? Take a walk past the White House. The answer may be planted right in front of you. First lady Michelle Obama helped break ground on a new White House organic "kitchen garden" Friday. It will be the first working garden at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. since Eleanor Roosevelt planted a so-called "victory garden" at the height of World War II. This time, however, the enemy is obesity. The first family is hoping ...

In a quick and clearly unscripted moment, President Obama exhibited the power of words during his history-making visit Thursday with Jay Leno. While joking on The Tonight Show about his bowling prowess (during last year's campaign trail he shamefully scored 37 in a game), Obama said he'd been practicing at the White House lanes and boasted to Leno, "I bowled a 129. It's like -- it was like Special Olympics or something." The comment during the taping of the show ...

It was the best of times in 2004, when attorney Dave Dineen graduated from Boston University School of Law and landed a job at a top Massachusetts corporate firm, Foley Hoag LLP. By 2007, the National Association for Law Placement was reporting the most promising year in two decades. Nearly 92 percent of graduating attorneys were employed, and the median starting salary at private practices had increased by $13,000 --to a total of $108,500 a year. But times have changed. ...

A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pet store expecting a shipment of exotic fish this week found itself with a man's dead body instead.

Roll out the pink carpet, grab a feather boa and throw open those Malibu Dream House doors. It's Barbie's 50th, and the iconic doll, unveiled today in her latest swimsuit, has plenty to celebrate. Only this American institution could have inspired Barbara Karleskint, 48, to spend nearly $700 so she and one of her dolls could wear matching red chiffon gowns and capes at an annual collectors gathering. "Look, we're not as bad as the Star Trek convention people," Karleskint, ...

After postponing a vote on a $410 billion spending bill, Senate Democrats planned to consider Republican amendments as early as Friday to get the votes needed to move the legislation forward. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, delayed a vote on the spending plan late Thursday, saying he was one vote shy of the 60 needed to end debate on the bill. "At quarter to 8 tonight, I had 59 and a half votes," Reid joked as he announced the ...

Last Friday, Vice President Joe Biden and seven White House officials traveled to Philadelphia to kick off the inaugural gathering of President Obama's Middle Class Task Force. The task force will convene monthly in cities across the country to confront the problems faced by average Americans. It's an admirable goal; with rising costs, stagnant wages and job cuts, a Pew Research study found that 78% of self-described middle class Americans have trouble maintaining their current standard of living. Still, ...

Parts of the Northeastern United States faced freezing temperatures Tuesday morning, a day after a winter storm clogged roadways, cut electricity and dumped as much as 15 inches of snow. The good news for the Northeast was storm advisories were lifted. But parts of the region were still under wind-chill advisories Tuesday, which means winds and low temperatures could put exposed skin at risk for frostbite. Wind-chill advisories were in effect for parts of New York and Pennsylvania until 10 ...