NEW YORK – Circuit City Stores Inc. (CC) Tuesday said it received an unsolicited takeover bid valuing the struggling electronics retailer at $3.25 billion, and its shares rose above the offer price, indicating expectations of a better offer. Private investment firm Highfields Capital Management LP (search), which already owns 6.7 …

ASUNCION, Paraguay – The daughter of former Paraguyan President Raul Cubas (search) was found dead Wednesday night, months after she was abducted by heavily armed gunmen in the highest-profile kidnapping ever in this South American country. Attorney General Oscar Latorre said the body of Cecilia Cubas (search), 32, had been …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A major oil fire raged Saturday after insurgents blew up a pipeline in the north of the country. The family of an anchorwoman for a U.S.-funded state television station — a mother of four who was repeatedly shot in the head — found her body dumped on …

BEIJING – North Korea (search) on Sunday criticized Japan’s new defense guidelines, saying that Tokyo (search) has joined “U.S. vicious hostile policy” toward its communist state. The statement came after top U.S. and Japanese officials expressed deep concern about North Korea’s nuclear programs, and pressed Pyongyang (search) to soon resume …

LOS ANGELES – Authorities shot and killed a male tiger Wednesday that had been roaming the hills near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (search). The 425-pound cat was shot several hundred yards from soccer and baseball fields at the edge of a housing development, said Lorna Bernard, a spokeswoman for …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Ibrahim al-Jaafari (search), the head of a religious party who fought Saddam Hussein (search) and took refuge in Iran for a decade, was chosen Tuesday as the dominant Shiite ticket’s candidate for prime minister — making him the overwhelming favorite for the post. Al-Jaafari’s selection came after …

BOULDER, Colo. – A University of Colorado professor who once compared some of the World Trade Center victims to a Nazi war criminal said Tuesday he mourns for everyone killed on Sept. 11 and conceded that he could have explained himself better. Ward Churchill (search) made the comparison in an …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraqi officials said Wednesday they must recount votes from about 300 ballot boxes because of various discrepancies, delaying final results from the landmark national elections. Hundreds — perhaps thousands — of other ballots were declared invalid because of alleged tampering. Postelection violence mounted, raising fears that the …

WASHINGTON – FOX News’ Carl Cameron spoke with first lady Laura Bush on Tuesday about the campaign to make women more aware of heart disease, the elections in Iraq and President Bush’s State of the Union message. The following is a full transcript of their conversation: FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE …

WASHINGTON – A look at changes to Social Security, which President Bush discussed Wednesday night in his State of the Union address. OVERVIEW: Bush is proposing to restructure the nation’s retirement system to allow workers under age 55 to divert a portion of their Social Security payroll taxes into individual …