The House and Senate have passed legislation that will revamp the Bush administration's $5.6 billion effort to counter bioterrorism threats, reorganizing management of the program and providing struggling companies with periodic cash infusions to help fund their research and testing.	WASHINGTON -- America's trade deficit posted a dramatic decline in October, falling to the lowest level in 14 months as the price of crude oil plunged by a record amount.	WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve, under first-year Chairman Ben Bernanke, appears close to achieving the tricky maneuver of steering the U.S. economy to a soft landing.
Comair pilots authorized a strike if union leaders determine it is necessary in the continuing dispute with the regional airline over contract concessions.	COMPLAINTS ON ENTRY Foreign business and leisure travelers are making their feelings known about difficulties in entering the United States. In a survey, foreign travelers rated the entry process the worst among the seven top regional destinations in the world, according to the Discover America Partnership, a tourism industry and business group that promotes foreign travel. Geoff Freeman, executive director of the group, said the study should be a ?“wake-up call?” for the United States government to improve customer service and other procedures for visitors. While foreign visitors overwhelmingly reported positive experiences once they were in the United States, ?“perceptions of a rude and arrogant entry process are turning away travelers and harming America?’s image,?” he said, adding that business travel to the United States was down 10 percent in that period, while it was growing in other regions. The survey, which found that more than half of foreign visitors said immigration officials here were rude, was conducted in this fall by RT Strategies, a polling firm. Ranked from the top, the six destinations that scored higher than the United States were Europe, Asia, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the Middle East.	EUROPE.