May 31, 1:06 PM (ET) By TIM PARADIS

NEW YORK (AP) – The stock market is looking winded from its three-month race upward.

After a quick bounce off 12-year lows in early March, Wall Street is having a harder time carving advances as investors await definitive signs of a break in the recession.

The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.3 percent in May, but that was less than its 9.4 percent surge in April.

Traders have been buying stocks on kernels of economic data and corporate earnings reports that indicate the economy’s slide could be slowing. But some analysts say investors might be getting ahead of themselves.

May 30, 5:01 PM (ET) By TODD LEWAN

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – We first heard the term decades ago: The “Sun Belt” was just starting a run of phenomenal growth – and no wonder. It conjured a sunny state of mind as well as a balmy place on the map.

Everybody, it seemed, wanted a spot in the sun.

Industries such as aerospace, defense and oil set up shop across America’s southernmost tier, capitalizing on the low involvement of labor unions and the proximity of military bases that paid handsomely, and reliably, for their products and services.

May 29, 3:49 PM (ET) By ERIC TALMADGE and ANNE GEARAN

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea on Friday vowed to retaliate if punitive U.N. sanctions are imposed for its latest nuclear test, and U.S. officials said there are new signs Pyongyang may be planning more long-range missile launches.

With tensions rising, the communist nation punctuated its barrage of rhetoric with yet another short-range missile launch – the sixth this week.

Perhaps more significantly, officials in Washington said there are indications of increased activity at a site used to fire long-range missiles.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because methods of gathering information about North Korea are sensitive. The officials also said an initial U.S. air sampling from near the underground test site was inconclusive.

May 29, 9:10 AM (ET) By SIYOUNG LEE

YEONPYEONG, South Korea (AP) – North Korea warned Friday it would act in “self-defense” if provoked by the U.N. Security Council, which is considering tough sanctions over the communist country’s nuclear test, and followed the threat with the test launch of another short-range missile.

The North fired the missile from its Musudan-ni launch site on the east coast, a South Korean government official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the matter. It is the sixth short-range missile North Korea has test-fired since Monday’s nuclear test.

May 28, 7:47 AM (ET) By ERIC TALMADGE

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korean and U.S. troops raised their alert Thursday to the highest level since 2006 after North Korea renounced its truce with the allied forces and threatened to strike any ships trying to intercept its vessels.

The move was a sign of heightened tensions on the peninsula following the North’s underground nuclear test and its firing of a series of short-range missiles earlier this week.

In response, Seoul decided to join more than 90 nations that have agreed to stop and inspect vessels suspected of transporting banned weapons.

North Korea says South Korea’s participation in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative is a prelude to a naval blockade and raises the prospect of a naval skirmish in its western waters.

May 28, 8:45 AM (ET) By MADLEN READ

NEW YORK (AP) – The stock market is headed for a slightly higher open after more economic data suggested the economy is stabilizing.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that April orders for big-ticket items rose 1.9 percent, more than economists predicted.

The Labor Department, meanwhile, said new jobless claims fell to 623,000 last week, below expectations, from a revised 636,000 the previous week. But the number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits rose to a new record.

Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 20, or 0.2 percent, at 8,317. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures are up 1.00, or 0.1 percent, at 893.50. Nasdaq 100 index futures are up 2.25, or 0.2 percent, at 1,406.25.

By JEAN H. LEE, Associated Press Writer Jean H. Lee, Associated Press Writer – 9 mins ago

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea threatened military strikes on U.S. and South Korean ships Wednesday and renounced a 1953 truce halting the Korean War fighting — an escalation of tensions in the wake of Pyongyang’s nuclear test.

The threats, which follow Seoul’s decision to join more than 90 nations in stopping and inspecting ships suspected of transporting banned weapons, raised the prospect of a naval clash off Korea’s west coast.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton responded by saying North Korea faces consequences for its nuclear and missile tests and denouncing its “provocative and belligerent” threats. She also underscored the firmness of the U.S. treaty commitment to defend South Korea and Japan, which are in easy range of North Korean missiles.

May 26, 7:56 PM (ET) By TOM CURLEY

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Pentagon is prepared to leave fighting forces in Iraq for as long as a decade despite an agreement between the United States and Iraq that would bring all American troops home by 2012, the top U.S. Army officer said Tuesday.

Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, said the world remains dangerous and unpredictable, and the Pentagon must plan for extended U.S. combat and stability operations in two wars. “Global trends are pushing in the wrong direction,” Casey said. “They fundamentally will change how the Army works.”