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WASHINGTON – Carlos Gutierrez (search) in his first trip to Russia and China as commerce secretary plans to urge both countries to crack down on the pirating of American movies, music and computer programs, which costs U.S. companies billions of dollars a year. The Bush administration has been prodding Russia …

WASHINGTON – Averting a showdown, moderates on both sides of the aisle in the Senate reached a compromise late Monday clearing the way for the confirmation of many of President Bush’s stalled judicial nominees, leaving others in limbo and preserving filibuster rules. “We have reached an agreement to try to …

WASHINGTON – Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods shot up 1.9 percent in April, the government reported Wednesday, reflecting strong demand for autos, appliances and aircraft. The Commerce Department (search) said it was the best showing in five months. Demand for durable goods, items expected to last at …

TIRANA, Albania – U.S. and Albanian rescuers recovered four bodies on Friday, following the crash of a U.S. military transport plane in central Albania while on a training mission Thursday. Nine American personnel aboard were believed to have been killed, Albanian officials said. The Pentagon said a search was under …

LOS ANGELES – The new ABC drama “Grey’s Anatomy,” (search) which has proved a strong Sunday night partner for “Desperate Housewives,” will keep its time slot and cut short the season for “Boston Legal.” “Grey’s Anatomy,” about first-year surgical interns at a Seattle hospital, debuted March 27 and improved on …

HINESVILLE, Ga. – The 32 dogs look up with sad eyes or wag their tails as animal control officer Linda Cordry walks the row of chain-link cages toward a door concealing a gas chamber. “These guys are mine,” Cordry says with weary resignation. “These are basically on Death Row.” Liberty …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Insurgents set off a series of explosions Wednesday, killing 12 police officers near Kirkuk and hitting a Defense Department convoy as a senior American official visited the capital, the U.S. military and Iraqi police said. Al-Jazeera television broadcast what it said was video of kidnapped American. The …

NEW YORK – Verizon (VZ) is widely expected to boost its bid for MCI Inc. (MCIP) again now that the long-distance phone company has embraced a rival $9.75 billion bid from Qwest (Q), though it remains unlikely Verizon will need to pay as much to win MCI back. Analysts also …

This is a partial transcript from “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” April 26, 2005, that was edited for clarity. NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: She couldn’t strike a deal to reduce her sentence in court, but, when it comes to deal making in business, Martha Stewart (search) has got that down pat. …

NEW YORK – Fasten your seatbelts. Stock investors could be in for a bumpy ride next week with widely watched inflation gauges likely to dictate the market’s direction. Worries about inflation and rising interest rates drove stocks down sharply late this week as gold hit a 26-year high and the …