ATHENS, Greece ( AP) — Greece has reached a tentative agreement on new austerity cuts demanded by creditors to release a (euro) 130 billion ($ 173 billion) bailout, hours before a crucial meeting of finance ministers in Brussels, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos’ office said today. A spokeswoman said the agreement with the majority Socialists and […]

NEW YORK (AP) — A German runner has won an annual race up 86 flights of stairs at the Empire State Building for a record seventh straight time. Stuttgart resident Thomas Dold completed the Empire State Building Run- Up on Wednesday in 10 minutes and 28 seconds. “Well, the good thing is that I’ve done […]

DETROIT (AP) — Ford says two top executives who helped lead its comeback are retiring. Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth and global product development chief Derrick Kuzak both will retire April 1. But CEO Alan Mulally says he has no plans to leave. He quickly named Controller Bob Shanks to replace Booth. Engineering chief Raj […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment aid neared a four- year low last week, an encouraging sign that strong hiring could continue in the coming months. The Labor Department said today that weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 358,000. That’s the second-lowest level since April 2008. lower […]

RIVER FOREST, Ill. Candy company executive Nello Ferrara lived a sweet life. The man who brought the world Lemonheads and Atomic Fire Balls routinely serenaded the restaurants where he dined and held mandatory family dinners every Sunday, said his son, Salvatore Ferrara. Nello Ferrara died Friday at his home in the Chicago suburb of River […]

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney’s remark that he’s not worried about the very poor, the latest gaffe in a campaign rich with blunders, joins a long list of wait-letme explain episodes in presidential election history. It’s been a banner year for campaign misfires: Rick Perry had his “oops” moment when he forgot one of the three government […]

AUGUSTA Mitt Romney and Ron Paul are the undisputed favorites in Maine, the next state weighing in on the Republican presidential race. They’re the only candidates who have made much of an effort here. The state’s Republican Party is set to announce the victor Saturday night of the GOP contest. Local Republican Party committees have […]

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Workers have removed a 2 million-pound section of the historic Memorial Bridge linking Portsmouth to Kittery, Maine. The removal had been scheduled for Tuesday, but prep work took longer than expected. The lift span was lowered Wednesday and was positioned onto a barge around 10:30 p.m. The barge will float the […]

NEW GLOUCESTER (AP) — It will soon be possible to drive through the New Gloucester toll plaza on the Maine Turnpike without slowing down. The Turnpike Authority is starting a $5 million project to replace the middle lanes of the plaza with what is called open-road tolling. That allows drivers with EZ Pass transponders to […]

FARMINGTON ( AP) — A Portland man has pleaded guilty to being the getaway driver in the theft of more than $ 5,000 worth of merchandise from a Walmart. Brian Elliot pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge Wednesday in Franklin County Superior Court. Prosecutors say last April two men went into the store, filled […]