NEW YORK – Factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region recovered strongly in February to the strongest level since the summer as new orders firmed and price pressures moderated, a survey released Thursday showed. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index jumped to 15.4 in February from …

This is a partial transcript from “On the Record,” February 1, 2006, that has been edited for clarity. GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: New information about the search for Natalee Holloway: The Holloway family attorney just got back from Aruba, and he spoke with both the chief prosecutor and the chief …

This is a partial transcript from “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” February 17, 2006, that was edited for clarity. NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: You know, most of us try to arrive at the movies a little early to make sure we get a good seat. But what if I told you, …

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will consider the constitutionality of banning partial-birth abortions, teeing up a contentious issue for a new court already in a state of flux over privacy rights. The Bush administration has pressed the high court to reinstate the federal law, passed in 2003 …

WASHINGTON – The American Red Cross was warned years before Hurricane Katrina hit to resolve its internal disputes or risk a repeat of snafus that plagued the Sept. 11, 2001 relief effort, according to internal documents made public by a Senate panel Monday. Thousands of pages of Red Cross e-mail, …

PORTLAND, Ore. – A lawsuit filed Tuesday asked a federal court to shut down electronic surveillance by the National Security Agency, based on claims the NSA illegally wiretapped conversations between the director of an Islamic charity and two of the charity’s attorneys. A chapter of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, a …

CINCINNATI – Tiny silicon chips were embedded into two workers who volunteered to help test the tagging technology at a surveillance equipment company, an official said Monday. The Mexico attorney general’s office implanted the so-called RFIDs — for radio frequency identification chips — in some employees in 2004 to restrict …

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A national retailers association filed suit in federal court Tuesday, challenging a Maryland law that requires Wal-Mart to spend more on health care for its employees. Maryland became the first state to enact such a law when Democrats in the General Assembly overrode Republican Gov. Robert L. …

Sly Stone, the J.D. Salinger of funk, was drawn out of seclusion by a Grammys tribute. Wednesday night in Los Angeles, the reclusive pioneer of a hugely influential soul-rock-funk fusion made his first major public appearance since Jan. 12, 1993, when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall …

NEW YORK – A federal indictment unsealed Thursday charges 32 people with racketeering crimes, including people described as the acting boss, members and associates of the Genovese organized crime family. The 42-count indictment says the defendants engaged in crimes for more than a decade. Those crimes include murder, violent extortion …