Econ 101: US stocks took a slide yesterday greased by the falling price of oil. The Dow Jones dropped 268 points as oil headed toward $60 a barrel, the lowest in five years. US oil production, among other factors, is …

Nation: As demonstrators marched in cities around the country yesterday, President Obama stepped into the Ferguson fray, announcing the formation of a task force to defuse the tension between communities and their police departments. He said there is “a simmering …

Holiday Spirit: Millions of Americans went shopping yesterday, probably before the Thanksgiving dessert was served. Christmas shopping has officially crept into Thanksgiving Day. Shoppers were lined up for the doors to open at Wal-Mart and Target stores across the country. …

Iraq: Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has rejected international calls to form a unity government that includes the Sunni minority to defuse the country’s civil war. Maliki is a Shiite who has squeezed Sunnis out of power in both the military …

World: A half million people have fled the fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo in recent weeks, according to the United Nations. In some areas of nearby Turkey the refugees outnumber the residents.   Secy. of State John Kerry …

Egypt: In a tactical escalation of violence, Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula used a surface to air missile to shoot down an Egyptian military helicopter, killing five people on board. The militants released a video showing a man firing …

Beehive State: Same-sex marriages continued in Utah yesterday after a federal judge refused appeals to stay his own order making it legal. Utah Governor Gary Herbert filed a formal notice of appeal and said in a statement, “I am very …

Pyongyang Purge: The formerly powerful uncle of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un was executed immediately after he was found guilty of plotting against the government, according to the country’s state news agency. Chang Song-thaek was physically removed from a Communist …

Stormy Monday:  Snow and freezing rains caused accidents, snarled air travel and complicated football games Sunday as a major winter storm blanketed the East. A fatal crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike caused a chain of accidents involving nearly 50 vehicles. …

Syria: The British Parliament yesterday rejected by 13 votes a measure to take part in air strikes against Syria in retaliation for using chemical weapons against civilians. The vote is an embarrassing defeat for British Prime Minister David Cameron and …