PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A woman who calls herself the ``Black Madam'' could face charges in the death of a London tourist who received illegal buttocks-enhancement injections last year in a Philadelphia hotel, police said Thursday.Padge Victoria Windslowe, 42, was arrested Wednesday night as she prepar

A contractor works on a roof at the Civita housing development construction site in San Diego, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012. (Bloomberg)A sharp drop in commercial building projects caused a slight decline in U.S. construction spending in January. But the dip comes after previous

LONDON (AP) ― James Murdoch, his credibility diminished and his future at the helm of his father’s media empire in doubt, has stepped down as executive chairman of News International, the troubled British newspaper subsidiary embroiled in a deepening phone hacking scandal.The move ― which the company cast as allowing Rupert Murdoch’s younger son to focus on News Corp.’s international TV holdings ― plucks the one-time heir apparent out of the cross-hairs of the crisis that has spurred judicial an

NEW YORK (AP) ― Apple’s market capitalization topped $500 billion Wednesday, climbing to a mountain peak where few companies have ventured ― and none have stayed for long.Apple was already the world’s most valuable company. The gap between it and No. 2 Exxon Mobil Corp. has widened rapidly in the past month, as investors have digested Apple’s report of blow-out holiday-season sales of iPhones and iPads. And, more recently, Apple has raised investors’ hopes that it might institute a dividend.The

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers Wednesday that the U.S. economy has performed better in recent months than the Federal Reserve had expected. If the trend continues, he said the Fed might have to reassess its outlook for a slow recovery.Investors appeared to take Bernanke’s more optimistic words as a signal that the Fed is less likely to adopt further steps to boost growth. It could also mean that the Fed could back off its plan to hold its key interest rate near zero until

Clinton says no confirmation ban lifted, expects resolution soonCAIRO (AP) ― Egypt lifted a travel ban Wednesday on seven Americans charged with fomenting unrest by working for illegally funded pro-democracy groups, signaling an end to the worst crisis in Egypt-U.S. relations in 30 years.The clash put $1.5 billion in annual American aid to Egypt at risk and sparked intense behind-the-scenes negotiations between the two countries to find a way out.Defense lawyer Tharwat Abdel-Shaheed said the sev

The Vatican on Wednesday unveiled secret documents aimed at showing controversial pope Pius XII’s attention to the persecution of the Jews and promised the full archives would be opened soon.The documents are part of an unprecedented exhibition in Rome of rare Vatican archives spanning centuries of history and include a report from a papal envoy on the conditions inside seven internment camps in southern Italy.Another document is a letter from a formerly interned rabbi in 1942 who thanks the the

HARRISBURG, Illinois (AP) ― A pre-dawn twister flattened entire blocks of homes in a small Illinois town Wednesday as violent storms ravaged the Midwest and South, killing at least 12 people in three states.Winds also ripped through the country music mecca of Branson, Mo., damaging some of the city’s famous theaters just days before the start of the busy tourist season.The tornado that blasted Harrisburg in southern Illinois, killing six, was an EF4, the second-highest rating given to twisters b