(By Helen Schwab, Restaurant Writer) Has Charlotte – which boasts more than a dozen fancy steakhouses – finally had its fill of pricey beef? Or is Saturday's closing of Morton's The Steakhouse at SouthPark telling us something else? Or nothing at all? Depends who you ask. Consider these possibilities:A. It's the first domino in a line of large, high-end spots in high-rent areas to fall.B. It's a high-profile closing, one of many to come, but

(By Mark Johnson, McClatchy Newspapers) With North Carolina's need for roads expanding – and money to build them dwindling – Gov.-elect Bev Perdue on Monday named a veteran administrator to overhaul the state's transportation system.Perdue said she intends to do what would be considered a daunting task even in good econo mic times: to take politics out of road-building.“I want to professionalize the Department of Transportation,” Perdue said during a news conference to announce her

AP - Members of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment panel say they will move forward despite the possibility that they might not get to hear federal wiretaps of the governor's conversations with aides and others.

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Six countries reported a complete shutoff of Russian gas shipped via Ukraine on Tuesday, in a sharp escalation of a struggle over energy that threatens Europe as winter sets in....

GAZA CITY, Gaza (AP) -- Israeli shells slammed into Gaza and ground forces edged closer to major population centers Tuesday, taking more civilian lives after Israel ignored mounting international calls for an immediate cease-fire....

A Good Samaritan shot and killed an armed man this morning who was beating a woman with a bottle at an Ocoee gasoline station, police said.

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PARIS, Texas — A table piled with donated clothes is being eyed as the potential origin of a fire that killed five people at a Texas homeless shelter, forcing some residents to flee into the cold streets barefoot and coatless.

CHICAGO — Members of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment panel say they will move forward despite the possibility that they might not get to hear federal wiretaps of the governor's conversations with aides and others.

Venezuela's US-based oil subsidiary is halting a programme to provide cheap heating oil to low-income communities in the US.

AP - A table piled with donated clothes is being eyed as the potential origin of a fire that killed five people at a Texas homeless shelter, forcing some residents to flee into the cold streets barefoot and coatless.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- The European Union calls the sudden and substantial cuts in Russian gas supplies to some member states "completely unacceptable."...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A judge has approved a legal settlement that requires outgoing Gov. Matt Blunt to hand over thousands of e-mails to investigators, but leaves unresolved the question of whether Blunt's office violated public records laws.

A 18-year-old in Jackson, Ohio was injured when the 4-year-old boy he was babysitting shot him with a shotgun after he accidentally stepped on the boy's foot. Article © AHN - All Rights Reserved

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Turkey, Romania, Greece and other Balkan nations reported a complete shut off of Russian gas shipped via Ukraine Tuesday, in a sharp escalation of a struggle over energy that threatens Europe as winter sets in....

NORMAL, Ill. — Police say a man suspected of robbing four banks has been shot and killed after leading officers on a high-speed chase in central Illinois.

DETROIT — The new spiritual leader of the Detroit area's 1.4 million Roman Catholics is a Michigan native who is invoking a city slogan about hope as he takes charge of a region tangled in economic woes.

Alexandria, Va., is one of several communities that have lifted or are considering loosening restrictions on sidewalk signs and ...

US President-elect Barack Obama has picked former Clinton chief of staff Leon Panetta to head the CIA, Democratic officials say.

AP - The morning after the Nov. 4 election, Norm Coleman stood before TV cameras, declared victory in Minnesota's U.S. Senate election and said that if he were opponent Al Franken he'd "step aside."

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two more months of mortgage payments and retiree Allan Goldstein says he'll be broke, just another victim in what may be the biggest Ponzi scheme in history....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama's proposed stimulus package would provide businesses with billions of dollars in refunds on taxes they paid several years ago....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Democratic-dominated Congress convenes Tuesday to confront perhaps the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and to grapple with a hugely ambitious agenda set by President-elect Barack Obama....

(By GARY D. ROBERTSON, The Associated Press) North Carolina Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue will hold a news conference on the third consecutive weekday to announce Cabinet appointments.Perdue scheduled a Tuesday afternoon news conference to unveil more of her leadership picks. She's already announced her choices to lead six of the ten Cabinet-level agencies during meetings with reporters Monday and last Friday.Yet to be revealed are the secretaries to lead the departments of administration, revenue, health and