Creating a U.S. agency to regulate home loans, credit cards, savings accounts and dozens of other financial services won the approval of a key House committee on Thursday in spite of loud complaints from banks and businesses.

The controversial debut of Britain's far-right leader on a flagship television debate show has been a ratings bonanza for the BBC, but it's unclear whether British National Party chief Nick Griffin gained from all the attention.

Credit card issuers are desperately trying to rebound after the collapse of the economy and consumer lending, but unemployment, the CARD Act and the possibility of new regulations are restricting traditional areas revenue. Issuers must make changes, even if it angers Congress and their cardholders.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The level of poverty in America is even worse than first believed. A revised formula for calculating medical costs and geographic variations show that approximately 47.4 million Americans last year lived in poverty, 7 million more than the government's official figure.

CUPERTINO, California (AP) -- Apple Inc. is updating its iMac desktop computer line and introducing a mouse that responds to the touch of fingers instead of using buttons or scroll wheels... The company also saw a jump in profits ...

Minister Louis Farrakhan on Sunday urged his followers not to become complacent by President Barack Obama's election and to work to repair communities. The 76-year-old Nation of Islam leader said in a speech commemorating the 14th anniversary of the Million Man March that people shouldn't become pacified by the election of the first Black president ...

The Rev. Al Sharpton on Saturday threatened to sue conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh for writing in a column that the civil rights leader played a role in two New York race riots.

C. Virginia Fields notices that at almost every turn, sex is being used to advertise everything from sodas to automobiles. Yet, candid discussions about protecting African Americans from sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, is often missing from homes, schools, barbershops, churches and other community institutions

On any given day, nearly 23 percent of all young Black men ages 16 to 24 who have dropped out of high school are in jail, prison, or a juvenile justice institution in America, according to a disturbing new national report on the dire economic and social consequences of not graduating from high school.

officials warn that the H1N1 flu virus is spreading rapidly and that the Black community may have a higher rate of existing health conditions that could make the illness a serious threat.