USA

Caterpillar Inc., the construction equipment giant, said Monday it is shedding 20,000 jobs to cope with the economic downturn. Pfizer Inc., which announced a $68 billion merger with rival Wyeth, reported it will trim 8,000 jobs, the same as wireless provider Sprint Nextel Corp. Meanwhile Home Depot, the No. 1 home improvement retailer, said it is eliminating 7,000 positions.

Portland, Ore., Mayor Sam Adams said he will not resign but acknowledged Sunday that he'd made mistakes in lying and asking an 18-year-old man to lie about their sexual relationship. Adams is the first openly gay mayor of a major city.

Sales of existing homes rose 6.5 percent in December, much better than the 4.4 percent drop that had been expected, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. Bargain-hunting buyers, taking advantage of dramatically lowered prices, fueled the market.

The US Supreme Court reinstated a 20 percent antidumping tariff Monday on imported enriched uranium used at nuclear power plants. A US enricher was one of the plaintiffs looking for price parity with importers.

Officials in Coatesville, Pa., declared a state of emergency Sunday after the latest in a series of suspicious fires tore through a block of row houses, leaving several dozen people homeless in the Philadelphia suburb. Police believe that 30 possible arsons since the beginning of the year could be part of a gang initiation.

Better classroom behavior results from providing 8- and 9-year-old pupils at least a 15-minute break during the school day, according to new research published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

"Slumdog Millionaire" continued to rack up the movie awards, securing the Screen Actors Guild award Sunday in Hollywood for best motion picture. Acting honors went to Meryl Streep for her portrayal of a stern nun in "Doubt" and to Sean Penn for playing gay-rights activist Harvey Milk in "Milk."