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The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 10,000 points Wednesday, fueled by better-than-expected retail sales numbers and big profits at JP Morgan Chase. The bank reported third-quarter earnings of $3.6 billion, but warned that it still expects more problems with consumer loans.

When the Dow Jones industrial average first closed above 10,000 points — March 29, 1999 — NATO had just begun its bombing of Yugoslavia, the dot-com doom was still booming and the X-Files reigned on television.

President Obama met Tuesday with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to discuss Afghanistan. The meeting comes as Obama debates whether to increase troop levels in Afghanistan, as called for by his top commander in the country, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

An official assessment by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, concludes that after eight years, the U.S. and its allies have failed to focus on and win over the Afghan people. He also calls for more troops to ensure victory over the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Preliminary results form last week's Afghan presidential elections show incumbent Hamid Karzai and his main challenger with roughly 40 percent each of the votes counted so far. There will be a runoff if neither candidate gets 50 percent of the vote.

Leaders in Pakistan are watching the presidential election in Afghanistan on Thursday very closely. The two countries are neighbors, but they've not always been friends. That's largely because of the activities of Taliban insurgents in the mountains that straddle their border.

FBI agents fanned out across northern New Jersey today and made arrests in a corruption investigation that includes two mayors. Officials say politics and religion were used to cloak crimes and enrich the suspects.

Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, a veteran of Iraq, is leading the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade in its fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. He exhorted his troops in a recent speech to besiege the enemy until the Taliban is dead or surrenders.

Piracy off the coast of Somalia has become an international problem — and an international business. The issues of criminality and the potential for violence aside, a closer look at the "business model" of piracy reveals that the plan makes economic sense.

It's hip to be square this weekend at the annual National School Scrabble Competition in Providence, R.I., where middle schoolers are facing off. The team that makes the highest play using the letter Q wins a signed Shaquille O'Neal basketball jersey.