Credit card delinquencies improve

Wile this may not signal great times are here, it's definitely a positive sign that Americans are not falling behind on credit card debt.

For the first time in a decade, more people paid their credit card bills on time in the third quarter this year than in the second quarter.

The delinquency rate on bank-issued cards like those bearing MasterCard and Visa logos fell to 1.1 percent for the June-to-September period, from a rate of 1.17 percent in the prior three months, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion.

RNC loses communications director

Cillizza notes, mid-cycle, that tends to mean turmoil in repugican land.

Trevor Francis, the communications director at the repugican national committee, is leaving his post, an odd mid-cycle departure that suggests some level of turmoil within the repugican's chief campaign committee.

And this is a bad thing, how?

SC governor faces 37 charges he broke state ethics laws

Mark Sanford, whose tryst with an Argentine lover blossomed into a wide-ranging scandal, is accused of breaking ethics laws by using taxpayer money for pricey airline seats, taking state planes for personal and political trips and occasionally tapping his campaign chest to reimburse himself for travel.

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Charlie Chaplin's last home to become a museum

Charlie Chaplin's last home in Switzerland will be turned into a permanent place of pilgrimage for fans of the actor who immortalized the "Little Tramp," one of his sons said Monday.

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Man Discovers Charles Manson His Biological Father

How would you like to discover that one of the most infamous murderers and cult leaders of all time is your father?

Just ask Matthew Roberts, a 41-year-old Los Angelese DJ.

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Every Human Being Spends Five Years of Life on a Toilet

Generally, an average person spends five years of their life on a toilet.

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Record Exec Arrested For Not Tweeting

Well, here's a new one.

A record label executive was arrested for not Tweeting.
We're not talking about not pretending to be a bird, but rather for not posting a message on Twitter.

This has to be a first in law enforcement.

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Flooding splits town in two

Flooding splits town in two

An English community struggles with unusual isolation after its last bridge is destroyed.

See footage

Also:

• Flood photos
• Price of disaster
• Flood maps

How Americans feel about holiday shopping

How Americans feel about holiday shopping

Most people are going to cut back on gifts this year and use cash instead of credit, a poll says.

Debt stress

Also:

• Black Friday guide
• What the deals mean
• Getting out of debt

When jobs will start bouncing back

When jobs will start bouncing back

The end may be in sight for rampant job cuts that have bogged down the nation's recovery, experts say.

Timeline

Also:

• Search job listings
• The happiness factor
• Ex-cons' job plight

Man visits every country on Earth

Man visits every country on Earth

Kashi Samaddar claims a world record after setting foot in all 194 countries.

How long it took him

Also:

• Everest's oldest climber
• How to get a passport
• Frequent flier mile probe

Thanksgiving food myths debunked

5 Thanksgiving food myths debunked

If you find yourself nodding off after the holiday feast, don't blame the turkey.

Is stuffing a good idea?

Also:

• How to serve the bird
• Fixings made easy
• Avoiding all the stress

Seven simple dinners

Seven simple dinners

Make dinner a no-stress event with these easy menus for every day of the week.

See recipes

Also:

• Easy side dishes
• Rotisserie chicken meals
• Healthy mashed potatoes

Great moments in false advertising

Great moments in false advertising

The makers of Airborne were sued over claims that the concoction "boosts the immune system."

Hype gone wrong

Also:

• Facebook sued over ads
• Black Friday's dirty secret
• Snapple claim under fire

Biggest baby crib recall in U.S. history

Biggest baby crib recall in U.S. history

Following four infant suffocations, the U.S. government issues a record recall for 2.1 million dropside cribs.

Details

Also:

• Find list of recalled cribs
• Find a better baby crib

Ice Surprise

More than 100 icebergs make epic trek

Huge chunks of Antarctic ice turn up in a surprising place — and hundreds more could be on the way.

Warning

Also:

• World's biggest iceberg
• Warning on port cities
• Billions of tons melted

Seattle Woman Denied Credit, Told She's Dead

A Seattle, Washington, woman trying to refinance her mortgage got the shock of her life when she learned her credit report listed her as deceased.

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Patient trapped in a 23-year 'coma' was conscious all along

Man in 23-year 'coma' was awake all along

Rom Houben was conscious after a 1983 car crash, but no one knew it for decades.

Breakthrough
Also:

• More about comas
• Brain protection mutation
• Concussions and the NFL

A car crash victim diagnosed as being in a coma for the past 23 years has been conscious the whole time.

Full Story

Short lifespan for new laptops

Short lifespan for new laptops

A study of 30,000 notebooks finds that as many as a third will die within three years.

Most, least reliable brands

Also:

• Troubleshooting laptops
• Latest battery technology
• Top 10 Internet moments

Shackleton's Antarctic whisky found

Photo: PDVos

In 1909, British explorer Ernest Shackleton aborted an attempt to reach the south pole. He abandoned two cases of scotch at base camp. A century later, we've found it.

Whyte & Mackay, the drinks group that now owns McKinlay and Co., has asked for a sample of the 100-year-old scotch for a series of tests that could decide whether to relaunch the now-defunct Scotch. Workers from New Zealand's Antarctic Heritage Trust will use special drills to reach the crates, frozen in Antarctic ice under the Nimrod Expedition hut near Cape Royds.

Thought discovered in 2006, conservation guidelines impose strict rules on how the ice-embedded bottles may be recovered. Whyte & Mackay's master blender says it will taste exactly as it did 100 years ago.

Company Wants To Drill For Whiskey Lost In Antarctic