Most Americans spent Thanksgiving snug inside homes with families and football. Others used the holiday to give thanks alongside strangers at outdoor Occupy encampments, serving turkey or donating their time in solidarity with the anti-Wall Street movement that has gripped a nation consumed by economic despair. In San Francisco, 400 occupiers at a plaza in the financial district were served traditional Thanksgiving fixings sent by the renowned Glide Memorial Church to volunteers and supporters of the movement fighting social and economic inequality. Read More

Yemen's authoritarian President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed Wednesday to step down after a fierce uprising to oust him from 33 years in power. The U.S. and its powerful Gulf allies pressed for the deal, concerned that a security collapse in the impoverished Arab nation was allowing an active al-Qaida franchise to gain a firmer foothold. Read More

The riot-clad police officer who pepper sprayed a row of peaceful Occupy Wall Street protesters at a California university last week is a retired U.S. Marine sergeant who has been honored for his police work on campus, but also has figured in a previous discrimination suit against the university. Lt. John Pike was hired onto the University of California, Davis police force in 2001. Now, as one of four lieutenants, he supervises more than one-third of the sworn officers on the suburban campus near Sacramento, including the investigations unit. Read More

Egypt's military leader promised a faster transition to civilian rule, saying Tuesday that presidential elections will be held by the end of June 2012. But the major concession was immediately rejected by tens of thousands of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square who responded with chants of "leave, leave" now. Read More