U.S. National - AFP

CHICAGO (AFP) - Heavy snow blanketed much of the central United States Thursday after a massive winter storm left residents battling frigid temperatures and icy roads. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US man whose Ohio execution was halted after prison authorities spent two hours trying in vain to insert a needle has received a new injunction delaying his execution by lethal injection. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A bankrupt Arizona copper mining firm has paid 1.79 billion dollars for environmental cleanup and restoration in the largest such payout in US history, US federal agencies said Thursday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Chocolate milk is "soda in drag" and should be booted out of US school cafeterias, a former celebrity chef turned school lunch lady has said. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US privacy group is appealing against the legal protection of telecom companies that participated in a wiretapping program during the presidency of George W. Bush. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US household net worth rose for a second straight quarter in the July-September period as Americans reduced their debt by the largest amount on record, a Federal Reserve report showed Thursday. Full Story »

NEW YORK (AFP) - A year after Bernard Madoff's arrest in Wall Street's biggest fraud, only three people have admitted guilt, few victims have been compensated and billions of dollars remain missing. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Barry Bonds, whose links to the BALCO steroid scandal made him a lightning rod for controversy as he marched to baseball's home run record, is finished playing, his agent told the San Francisco Chronicle. Full Story »

ROME (AFP) - Cycling legend Lance Armstrong revealed he plans to ride on for another two years in an interview published in the Gazzetta dello Sport. Full Story »

OSLO (AFP) - A humble President Barack Obama on Thursday joined a list of revered Nobel peace laureates, but in a steely speech he warned he would not hesitate to wage war if it was "morally justified." Full Story »