WASHINGTON -- Energy companies bid hundreds of millions of dollars Wednesday to explore for oil and natural gas beneath 1.8 million acres in the western Gulf of Mexico, while looking forward to the possibility of future drilling in federal waters now off-limits.

WASHINGTON -- The number of workers killed on the job annually dropped to a historic low in 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Wednesday.

KERMIT, Texas -- Around the country, Americans are tightening their belts, scrapping vacation plans, eating more dinners at home, getting rid of their SUVs and watching "For Sale" signs linger on front lawns. But in oil-and-gas rich West Texas, folks are living large -- again.

NEW YORK -- From affluent shoppers at Saks to bargain-hunters at Target, from Home Depot to office supplier Staples, consumers are pulling back and that's hurting retailers and raising more concerns about how they'll do the rest of the year.