One of Herman Cain's accusers alleged "several incidents of sexual harassment" in a formal complaint more than a decade ago, her lawyer disclosed Friday a fresh allegation that could complicate the Republican presidential hopeful's determined bid to lay the politically explosive controversy to rest.The lawyer, Joel Bennett, said his client - married then and now - accepted a financial settlement i...

The jobs crisis may be easing slightly on the strength of a fourth straight month of modest hiring and a dip in the unemployment rate.Hiring slowed a bit in October. But the government said job growth was much stronger in August and September than first thought.Average hourly earnings rose last month. And the unemployment rate ticked down to 9 percent from 9.1 percent, because more people said the...

of thousands of construction jobs and lifted the still-struggling economy. But Republicans unanimously o...

The yellow school bus could become another victim of the Great Recession in some parts of Washington.Gov. Chris Gregoire doesn't want to see her state stop spending money to get kids to school. But any squeamishness over student transportation cuts isn't enough to keep that $220 million idea off her list of ways to potentially deal with budget shortfalls, the latest a $2 billion one.Tough choices ...

CANNES, France — Leaders of the world’s most industrialized nations scrambled Thursday to rescue a European Union deal to restructure Greek debts and prevent a regional financial crisis from spreading and creating further global economic disruption. President Barack Obama and his European Union counterparts held closed doors meetings looking for ways to salvage last week’s marathon...

President Barack Obama can’t get enough of North Carolina and its people – or at least that’s the impression he gives in a series of interviews to anchors in local television markets.He tells WSOC anchor Natalie Pasquarella of Charlotte that he hopes next year’s Democratic National Convention will highlight “how wonderful Charlotte is.” He tells WXII ancho...

A political action committee supporting Texas Gov. Rick Perry started ads in South Carolina that mark the run-up to the Jan. 21 primary and the role that big money from outside groups will play in the presidential contest.Make Us Great Again PAC began airing ads titled "Leadership" in the Columbia and Greenville markets that introduce Perry to voters as the son of a tenant farmer and an Air Force ...

Asian stock markets were mostly lower Monday as investors shifted their focus from Europe's debt woes to the strength of the U.S. economy. Japan sold the yen to limit its export-sapping strength.Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.2 percent to 9,035.95 despite the currency intervention. Hong Kong's

Former U.S. House Speaker and GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is planning to make two days of campaign stops in South Carolina.Gingrich plans to talk about jobs and the economy at a Greenville fast-food restaurant Friday before heading to the Aiken Republican Club dinner for a keynote

Americans say they feel worse about the economy than they have since the depths of the Great Recession. And it's a bad time for a bad mood because households are starting to make their holiday budgets.It might not be all doom and gloom, though. Sometimes what people say about the economy

President Barack Obama on Friday declared an end to the Iraq war, one of the longest and most divisive conflicts in U.S. history, announcing that all American troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end.Obama's statement put an end to months of wrangling over whether the U.S. would maintain a force in Iraq beyond 2011. He never mentioned the tense and ultimately fruitless negotiations...

Despite a campaign-style push this week by President Barack Obama, the Senate on Thursday scuttled pared-back jobs legislation aimed at helping state and local governments avoid layoffs of teachers and firefighters.Obama's three-day bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia - states crucial to his re-election race next year - didn't change any minds among Senate Republicans, who filibustered Ob...

Republican presidential contenders attacked upstart Herman Cain’s economic plan as a tax increase waiting to happen Tuesday night, moving swiftly in a fiery campaign debate to blunt the former businessman’s unlikely rise in the race for the party’s nomination. Old animosities flared, too, as former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry swapped criticism in unusual...

One way that surging GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain has distinguished himself from his rivals is by calling for an alternative to Social Security - a private retirement plan modeled on one instituted a generation ago in Chile."Chile - they had the same problem nearly 30 years ago," Cain said last month at a forum in Florida, one of several occasions where he's touted his proposal. "They we...

To veterans of past social movements, the Occupy Wall Street protests that began in New York and spread nationwide have been a welcome response to corporate greed and the enfeebled economy. But whether the energy of protesters can be tapped to transform the political climate remains to be seen

Employers added 103,000 jobs in September, a modest burst of hiring after a sluggish summer. Still, job growth remains too weak to lower the unemployment rate, which stayed at 9.1 percent for the third straight month.The Labor Department also said Friday that it has revised the previous two months to show that companies hired at a stronger pace than first estimated.Employers have added an average ...

Protests against Wall Street entered their 18th day Tuesday as demonstrators across the country show their anger over the wobbly economy and what they see as corporate greed by marching on Federal Reserve banks and camping out in parks from Los Angeles to Portland, Maine.Demonstrations are expected

Soaring gasoline prices are in the rearview mirror.For the first time in months, retail gasoline prices have fallen below $3 a gallon in places, including parts of Michigan, Missouri and Texas. And the relief is likely to spread thanks to a sharp decline in crude-oil prices.The national average for regular unleaded gasoline is $3.51 per gallon, down from a high of $3.98 in early May. Last week's p...

With the economy sputtering, the warring factions of Congress have lurched toward gridlock over the usually noncontroversial process of approving disaster aid and keeping the government from shutting down.The GOP-dominated House early Friday muscled through a $3.7 billion disaster aid measure

Signs that powerhouse China is slowing have spooked global markets and added to fears that the world economy will suffer another recession.Analysts said Friday that the stock market fallout from one small, preliminary survey of manufacturers in China far exceeded the data's importance

Mounting evidence that the world economy is slowing down sharply sent global stock markets spiraling down Thursday as investors brushed off the U.S. Federal Reserve's efforts to spur growth and focused instead on the central bank's gloomy outlook.Oil and other commodities tumbled

Aiken County landed the biggest corporate capital investment in state history Wednesday when tire maker Bridgestone Americas announced plans to put $1.2 billion into a new plant to make off-road radial tires and an expansion of its existing passenger tire manufacturing facility.With those plans will come more than 850 new jobs in both construction and manufacturing, the company said, with construc...

The Federal Reserve is running out of options to try to boost a slumping economy and lower unemployment. So policymakers are expected to reach 50 years back into their playbook for their next move.Most economists expect the Fed to announce a plan Wednesday to shift money in its $1.7 trillion

Asian stocks were mixed Wednesday as investors fearful of a debt implosion in Europe held onto hopes that the Federal Reserve will announce measures to jolt the U.S. economy.Japan's Nikkei 225 index was marginally higher at 8,721.98 after the Finance Ministry released trade data showing the country's exports rose for the first time in six months. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.4 percent to 1,845.09....

The S.C. Supreme Court made it clear Monday that couples seeking a divorce must live apart for one spouse to seek monetary support in the interim. It’s a legal requirement that makes divorce more difficult to obtain in this economy, said family law expert Marcia Zug. The justices

Republican presidential contenders have crisscrossed the nation bashing President Obama’s economic stimulus plans as a colossal waste of taxpayer money. But with an awkward frequency, these same candidates are campaigning at businesses that benefited from the president’s landmark stimulus package. With the cameras rolling, the Republicans celebrate the hard work of local entrepreneu...

The chairman of the Republican Party says he's "very satisfied" with the GOP presidential field and that it's not too late for another candidate to join the race.Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus) tells ABC's "Good Morning America" show that it's normal for there to be "a lot of shots" among candidates in the primary season. He declines to say whether he thinks Sarah Palin will be a factor, but says ...

Consumers grew more cautious last month amid wild stock market swings, zero job growth and heightened concerns that the economy has weakened. Retail sales were flat in August. At the same time, wholesale inflation leveled off. The latest data could give the Federal Reserve more impetus to adopt

President Barack Obama urged enthusiastic college students Wednesday to join him in his fight to get Congress to act on his new jobs bill. "Every single one of you can help make this bill a reality," the president called out at a hot and noisy rally at North Carolina State University.Someone in the crowd yelled out, "I love you!""If you love me you got to help me pass this bill," the president res...

The ranks of the nation’s poor have swelled to a record 46.2 million – nearly 1 in 6 Americans – as the prolonged pain of the recession leaves millions still struggling and out of work. And the number without health insurance has reached 49.9 million, the most in more than two decades. The figures are in a Census Bureau report, released Tuesday, that offers a somber snapshot o...