Devastating Hurricane Ike makes landfall in Cuba, where mass evacuations have taken place in low-lying areas.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Sunday seized control of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, launching what could be its biggest bailout ever in a bid to support the U.S. housing market and ward off more global financial market turbulence.

Permafrost blanketing the northern hemisphere contains more than twice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, making it a potentially mammoth contributor to global climate change depending on how quickly it thaws

Instead of focusing solely on the search market, where Google generates most of its revenue, the company plays in multiple other markets -- leaving it vulnerable if it spreads itself too thin, analysts say.

Documents with Social Security numbers have been available since 2005 on a Web site that contains land records filed in Iowa counties, although access has now been restricted.