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PORTLAND, Ore. - Most states don't recognize gay marriage — but now Hallmark does.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Grown men argued over dolls for six hours as they wrapped up a federal trial pitting the maker of the pouty-lipped Bratz dolls against the house of Barbie — a lawsuit that could cost upstart MGA Entertainment Inc. up to $2 billion.

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The maker of Snickers bars and M&Ms candies said it is raising wholesale prices on various items to offset the higher costs of raw materials, packaging and energy, the second major candy company in the past week to announce such a move.

(Corrects spelling of Seinfeld throughout)

(Reuters) - Jerry Seinfeld will be one of the key celebrity pitchmen in Microsoft Corp's $300 million advertising campaign aimed at changing its image, the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday, citing people close to the situation.

NEW YORK - Oil prices shot up more than $5 a barrel Thursday, rising to the highest level in over two weeks as escalating tensions with Russia stoked fears of supply disruptions to the West.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama, pushed to third in national obesity rankings by deep-fried Southern favorites, is cracking down on state workers who are too fat.

RICHMOND, Va. - Two-year community colleges are seeing record enrollment as families squeezed by tough economic times steer high school graduates away from more expensive four-year universities.

WASHINGTON - Federal drug safety regulators said Thursday they are investigating whether the cholesterol-lowering drug Vytorin can increase patients' risk of developing cancer.

INDIANAPOLIS - A fast-growing vine that's left parts of Indiana beneath tangles of greenery is coming under assault as the state ramps up its efforts to kill the leafy invader.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors' growing belief in the likelihood of a federal bailout of home-funding giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac triggered a rally in the debt prices of the two companies on Thursday while a steep fall in their shares prices abated.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Grown men argued over dolls for six hours as they wrapped up a federal trial pitting the maker of the pouty-lipped Bratz dolls against the house of Barbie — a lawsuit that could cost upstart MGA Entertainment Inc. up to $2 billion.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Most states don't recognize gay marriage — but now Hallmark does.

(Corrects spelling of Seinfeld throughout)

(Reuters) - Jerry Seinfeld will be one of the key celebrity pitchmen in Microsoft Corp's $300 million advertising campaign aimed at changing its image, the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday, citing people close to the situation.

NEW YORK - Oil prices shot up more than $5 a barrel Thursday, rising to the highest level in over two weeks as escalating tensions with Russia stoked fears of supply disruptions to the West.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors' growing belief in the likelihood of a federal bailout of home-funding giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac triggered a rally in the debt prices of the two companies on Thursday while a steep fall in their shares prices abated.

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke tackles financial stability in a key speech on Friday but economists doubt he will provide solid clues about future policy action to calm the credit crunch.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose nearly 5 percent on Thursday, the biggest percentage gain in more than two months, driven by rising tensions between the United States and energy behemoth Russia.

INDIANAPOLIS - A fast-growing vine that's left parts of Indiana beneath tangles of greenery is coming under assault as the state ramps up its efforts to kill the leafy invader.

Road warriors may be a step closer to dumping the rat's nest of recharging wires in their laptop bags. According to reports, Intel was to demonstrate Thursday at the Intel Developers Forum a major breakthrough in charging devices such as laptops, cell phones, and MP3 players without wires.

NEW YORK - Wall Street finished mixed Thursday after investors largely shrugged off a jump in oil prices and focused instead on a bullish call on Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. that eased worries about the financial sector.

WASHINGTON - Federal regulators are working on a stronger label for a widely used diabetes drug marketed by Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co. after deaths were reported with the medication despite earlier government warnings.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers failed to sell a large stake to Asian investors, a report said, and such failures may open the door to a hostile takeover of the investment bank, an analyst wrote.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Thursday as surging oil prices drove up energy shares, though fresh fears of more credit losses on Wall Street kept gains modest and pushed the Nasdaq into negative territory.

LOS ANGELES - California homebuyers sprung to life in July, pouncing on foreclosed homes and deeply discounted properties but largely ignoring pricier homes that have been languishing on the market, a research firm said Tuesday.

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo will intensify his probe into auction-rate securities by focusing on Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG, a person close to the investigation said Wednesday.

(Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Chief Executive Dick Fuld nearly struck a deal to raise almost $5 billion from South Korean wealth funds and institutions but the pact disintegrated, the New York Post said citing sources familiar with the matter.

NEW YORK — A private sector measure of the economy's health showed the largest drop in a year, and while new jobless claims fell for the second straight week, they remain near the highest levels since 2002. The reports are the latest evidence the languishing American economy remains stuck in low gear.

In the mortgage industry, they are called "liar loans" — mortgages approved without requiring proof of the borrower's income or assets. The worst of them earn the nickname "ninja loans," short for "no income, no job, and (no) assets."

WASHINGTON - Two giant mortgage companies get into hot water over risky investments. The government steps in to throw them a lifeline should they need it.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mid-Atlantic factory activity declined less rapidly in August while weekly jobless claims fell, in two reports on Thursday that revealed morsels of good news in an otherwise bleak economic environment.