ASTANA, Kazakhstan – Oil-rich Kazakhstan voted Sunday in a presidential election widely expected to give Nursultan Nazarbayev another seven-year term leading the most prosperous country in Central Asia. Nazarbayev was so confident of defeating his four challengers he scheduled a rally at a sports complex in the capital, Astana, on …

HOUSTON – The then-president of Merck Research Laboratories told some colleagues he was in “minor agony” about whether the painkiller Vioxx led to heart attacks, according to a videotaped deposition played for jurors Monday in the nation’s first federal trial involving the drug. Jurors watched several depositions by now-retired Dr. …

This is a partial transcript from “The O’Reilly Factor,” December 21, 2005, that has been edited for clarity. Watch “The O’Reilly Factor” weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and listen to the “Radio Factor!” BILL O’REILLY, HOST: “Back of the Book” segment tonight, one of the most successful …

WASHINGTON – The productivity of American workers shot up at the fastest pace in two years during the July-September quarter, helping to ease fears that inflation pressures were threatening to get out of hand. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that productivity, the key component for rising living standards, rose at …

Want Greta’s blog delivered directly to your e-mail box? Click here to sign up! Thursday night was the annual holiday party at the White House for the media. President Bush and Mrs. Bush were gracious hosts. I posted some pictures today of some of the FOX News talent who attended …

WASHINGTON – Congress has a few days left to decide the future of one of the legacies of the Sept. 11 attacks, federal backup for terrorism insurance sought by the nation’s builders and investors. The 2002 Terrorism Risk Insurance Act is not as well known as the Patriot Act, another …

GROZNY, Russia – Chechnya’s parliament on Wednesday asked the Kremlin to rename the war-ravaged provincial capital after the Moscow-backed Chechen president who was assassinated in a rebel bombing last year. Parliament voted unanimously to ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to rename the capital Akhmad-Kala in honor of Akhmad Kadyrov, who …

NEW YORK – Amid intensifying rhetoric, transit workers and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority scrambled to iron out an 11th-hour deal Thursday as New Yorkers braced for a strike that would leave more than 7 million riders a day looking for alternate transportation. The two sides remain far apart, and leaders …

NEW ORLEANS – National Public Radio’s New Year’s Eve special will originate from New Orleans’ famous Tipitina’s nightclub and feature a number of local musicians who have not performed in their home town since Hurricane Katrina. The 12-hour broadcast, “Toast of the Nation,” will offer jazz and blues from coast …

HILLSIDE, N.J. – Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey announced Wednesday that he is not interested in switching jobs with Gov.-elect Jon Corzine and serving the remainder of the U.S. senator’s term. It is up to Corzine, a Democrat elected two weeks ago, to appoint someone to fill his Senate seat …