The Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr is always a time of joyous celebration in the Islamic world. The holiday's arrival means that Ramadan, the long month of daytime fasting, is over, and friends and family gather to exchange gifts and share meals.

As it began Wednesday in Tripoli, the holiday carried even greater resonance this year because of the rebel takeover of the Libyan capital.

"It's the big Eid this year," says resident Alaa al-Najaa. "In my life, I haven't seen the people before like that, especially the children."

The Philadelphia Police Department is building a new crime-fighting weapon: a map of privately owned security cameras across the city. Police are encouraging residents and businesses to register their own cameras through a program called SafeCam. It could be the early stages of Big Brother, but it's also a cost-effective way for police to have more eyes on the streets.

A large white camera stands out against the brick front of a row house near Temple University in Philadelphia. Humberto Fernandini works for the company that owns the building with the camera.

Waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan has cost U.S. taxpayers as much as $60 billion and the tally could grow, according to a government study released Wednesday.

In its final report to Congress, the nonpartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting said lax oversight of contractors, poor planning and corruption resulted in losses of "at least $31 billion, and possibly as much as $60 billion" out of some $206 billion in total payments to contractors by the end of the current fiscal year.

Did you have a sugary soda today? How about a full-calorie sports drink?

Chance are pretty good that you consumed something sugary (or high fructose corn syrupy) in the last 24 hours, according to findings just out from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On any particular day, half the people in the U.S. drink a soda, fruit or sports drink, or similar calorie-rich beverage.

The Republican presidential candidate who's been ignored by many in the news media spent 20 minutes on the air with Talk of the Nation's Neal Conan and Political Junkie Ken Rudin this afternoon.

For the past 10 years, farmers in tobacco-growing states have been slowly saying goodbye to that old leaf in favor of other crops.

Of course, there's lots of corn and soy replacing tobacco, but some farms are testing out specialty crops that appeal to recent immigrants.

George Bowling's farm in southern Maryland is one such place. He started growing African vegetables about a year ago, but he has worked on farms growing corn and tobacco for much of his 70-something years.

When two big companies announce plans to merge, there's always grumbling about what it will do to the market and especially the consumer.

The Justice Department said today that it would try to block the merger of AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA Inc. because it would "substantially lessen competition" in the wireless market.

Chaos.

Crisis.

And Christmas....in Keokuk, or Keene?

Yes, political junkies, we're talking about the completely-up-in-the-air 2012 Republican presidential contest calendar.

On paper, it's scheduled to kick off Feb. 6 with the Iowa caucuses, followed a week later by New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary.

But those of you keeping score at home would be well advised to use a pencil.

Much of the nation may have moved on from last week's hurricane, but about two million people are still without electricity in the northeast. And now that flood waters from Hurricane Irene have mostly receded, residents are shoveling muck from their houses.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo estimates damage in his state at about $1 billion.

"Over 600 homes destroyed. Six towns inundated. One hundred fifty major highways have been damaged. Twenty-two state bridges closed," reported Cuomo at a press conference.

"Extremely rough" roads have been reopened to all but one of the communities in Vermont that were devastated by floods after Hurricane Irene passed over New England, the state's Emergency Management agency reports.

Wardsboro, which is still cut off, could be reconnected later today, officials add.