(Stations: UPDATES number of possible deaths, illnesses.)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are getting a boost today from a trio of rising economic numbers. A closely-followed private sector gauge of manufacturing activity is showing growth, while the government says a strong increase in housing has helped boost construction spending by 0.8 percent. And the National Association of Realtors says an index of sales agreements rose for the eighth straight month in September. The Dow was up more than 100 points at midday.

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford is reporting a third-quarter profit of nearly $1 billion dollars. The automaker says cost cuts, the Cash for Clunkers program and market share gains all helped boost earnings. Ford is also forecasting a "solidly profitable" 2011.

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — The U.N. says spreading violence is forcing it to pull some of its staff out of Pakistan and suspend work along the Afghan border. That word comes on a day when a suicide bomber killed 35 people near Pakistan's capital and another struck at a checkpoint in Lahore, wounding at least seven policemen.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A New York meat company has recalled more than 500,000 pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria. The meat was packaged by Fairbank Farms in September and sold in several grocery chains. A federal health official says two deaths and 26 other illnesses in the northeastern U.S. may be linked.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — Officials at Fort Bragg in North Carolina are trying to sort out what happened when an explosion near a firing range observation point killed a civilian Friday. Post officials say two civilians were in the area at the time. The second was not hurt. The post is home to the Army's 82nd Airborne Division and Special Operations Command.