Matthew Sollars

We review some of the remarkable moments in classical music in 2009.

A federal judge dismissed all charges against five Blackwater security guards on Thursday.

A suicide bomber killed eight American civilians in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday.

President Obama says "systemic failure" allowed the attempted attack on a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day.

Home prices rose in October, but only modestly and analysts are concerned the housing market could be headed toward a second round of declines.

Hoping to reassure nervous holiday travelers, President Barack Obama made his first public comments on the failed attempt to bomb an airline on Christmas Day.

The arts world lost  a number of luminaries in 2009. Here is a brief, incomplete list starting first with the classical music world.

The Vatican is defending Pope Benedict's decision to put Pope Pius XII on the path toward sainthood.

Senate Democrats managed to pass a final test vote, clearing the way for passage of their health care reform package early Thursday morning.

Consumer spending and personal income rates increased slightly in November, but new homes sales dropped sharply.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has announced a pollution-reduction settlement with the nation's third largest power producer.

Senators struck a deal on Tuesday to schedule a final vote on the health care overhaul for around 8 a.m. on Christmas Eve.

New York's City Council approved a rezoning plan for a 13-acre portion of the West Side Rail Yards where Mayor Bloomberg originally wanted to put a football stadium.

The City Council voted overwhelmingly to override three of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's vetoes today.

The federal government will impose big fines on airlines that hold passengers on grounded flights for longer than three hours.

Philanthropist Brooke Astor's son has been sentenced to one to three years in prison for exploiting his mother's mental frailty to plunder her millions.

Federal prosecutors in New York say they've disrupted a global drug-smuggling operation by Al Qaeda suspects.

Using a $26 software program, insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan were able to hack into live video feeds from U.S. unmanned drone aircraft.

Senators on the Banking Committee approved the nomination of Ben Bernanke to a second term as head of the federal reserve.

The British Library has a holiday treat for fans of Handel's "Messiah".