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Mastercard and Visa collect billions of dollars in fees each year from the nation's retailers. Merchants have long complained about the way those fees are determined. A lawsuit accusing Mastercard and Visa of antitrust violations is expected to go to trial in Brooklyn soon.

The Israeli Cabinet voted overnight to expand ground operations in southern Lebanon. Israel Radio reported that the number of ground troops in Lebanon will more than double. Despite growing international calls for a cease-fire, Israeli officials say the offensive against Hezbollah could last for weeks.

Warren Buffett doesn't use e-mail. He shies away from technology stocks. He has made billions of dollars by buying companies he likes, and then leaving them alone to do their business. This minimalist approach has made Buffett the world's second richest man.

Matt Pike overcame long odds to find success in metal bands Sleep and High on Fire. But his deepening obsession with conspiracy theories has created a dissonant riff.

The ballooning crisis over a captured Israeli soldier held by militants in the Gaza Strip has revealed fractures within Hamas. Exiled leaders have appeared more radical than those inside Gaza and the West Bank. But as Israeil troops gather at the border, divisions have emerged in Hamas' internal leadership as well.

Lake Baiyangdian, a network of nearly 150 lakes that form North China's largest wetland ecosystem, has shrunk by one-third in recent years, and lost many of its plant and animal species. The government is trying to rescue what ecologists call "North China's kidney" before it runs dry.

With troops poised to invade Gaza, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ruled out negotiating with the captors of an Israeli soldier. Olmert promised a "broad and ongoing" military offensive if Palestinian kidnappers do not release their prisoner. But an attack may threaten the life of the 19-year-old hostage.

Israel launches new airstrikes in south Lebanon, just hours after the announcement of a 48-hour suspension of the aerial campaign. The partial suspension came after the bombing Sunday of an apartment building in the southern Lebanese town of Qana that left more than 50 civilians dead.

Four leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang are convicted on charges of murder, conspiracy and racketeering. The verdict, delivered in a In Santa Ana, Calif., courtroom, was hailed as a victory for federal prosecutors trying to curb the gang's violent and racist activities.

Israeli forces in Gaza have arrested dozens of Palestinian ministers and lawmakers from the ruling Hamas party. Israel entered Gaza after Palestinian militants captured a young Israeli soldier. Israel has promised continuing military action if the soldier is not released. Also, the body of a kidnapped 18-year-old Jewish settler was found in the West Bank, according to Israeli security officials. Steve Inskeep talks to Linda Gradstein.