Featured wire stories

What makes a person Indian? Massachusetts case stirs debate

Even Native Americans don't agree what makes a person an Indian as they debate the case of Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, whose disputed claim is shining a spotlight on the malleable nature of Indian heritage.

Battle brewing over labeling of genetically modified food

As Americans ask more pointed questions about what they are eating, popular suspicions about the health and environmental effects of biotechnology are fueling a movement to require that food from genetically modified crops be labeled, if not eliminated.

Private cargo capsule arrives at space station in historic first

The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station for a historic docking today, captured by astronauts wielding a giant robot arm. It succeeded in making the first commercial delivery into the cosmos.

US health providers profess new fervor for cutting costs

After years of self-acknowledged profligacy, hospitals, doctors and insurers say there is an unprecedented effort under way to bring medical costs under control. Their goal is to slash growth in the nation's $2.7-trillion health care bill by roughly half.

Egyptians cast votes in their first free presidential election

In a historic first, Egyptians voted for their next president, choosing from an array of competing candidates whose wildly divergent campaign platforms pledged everything from revolutionary, religion-based change to a return to the stability of the dictatorship era.

Rare Bush refuge struggles to keep a door open for women

The Emmonak Women's Shelter, Alaska's only village center for abused women, is often the only option for women living in 13 surrounding villages. Funding woes will likely close it by summer's end.

After Stevens debacle, prosecutors are counting on Edwards case

Eight men and four women resumed deliberating John Edwards' fate this morning in North Carolina in a case that also has put the Justice Department's small Public Integrity Section under scrutiny.

Commercial rocket speeds toward space station

Opening a new, entrepreneurial era in spaceflight, a ship built by a billionaire businessman sped toward the International Space Station with a load of groceries and other supplies this morning after a spectacular, middle-of-the-night blastoff in Florida.

Evidence against Zimmerman lacking, legal experts say

The stack of evidence released last week in the second-degree murder case against George Zimmerman is notable, legal experts say, for what's not in it: firm evidence that Zimmerman acted with malice when he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Jury at Edwards trial ends second day of deliberations

The jury deciding the fate of John Edwards in North Carolina has finished a second day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.

Army's $17,000 drip pans show lingering power of earmarks

Thanks to a powerful Kentucky congressman who has steered tens of millions of federal dollars to his district, the Army has bought about $6.5 million worth of the "leakproof" drip pans at $17,000 each in the past three years to catch transmission fluid on Black Hawk helicopters.

Army doctor catalogs war wounds with hopes of healing them

Col. Michael D. Wirt's information on combatant injuries over 10 years in Afghanistan amounts to the most detailed data ever assembled on battlefield trauma and its care. But there are concerns that potential lessons could be lost, because no one has yet brought the information together and made it fully cohesive.

Army launches review of PTSD diagnoses

Facebook to raise up to $18.4 billion in IPO

Facebook's initial public offering of stock is shaping up to be one of the largest ever. The world's definitive online social network is raising at least $16 billion, a big windfall for a company that began eight years ago with no way to make money.

Boomers' love of pets could change as both age

The loving link between baby boomers and their pets is well documented. But will the beautiful relationship last? Pet ownership rates tend to drop among people in their golden years.

Healthy eating can cost less than fast food, study finds

An Agriculture Department study finds that most fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods cost less than foods high in fat, sugar and salt. That counters a common perception that it's cheaper to eat junk food than a nutritionally balanced meal.

Whites account for under half of US births, census shows

For the first time, racial and ethnic minorities make up more than half the children born in the U.S., capping decades of heady immigration growth that is now slowing. New 2011 census estimates highlight sweeping changes in the nation's racial makeup and the prolonged impact of a weak economy.

Paralyzed woman uses thoughts to control robot arm

Using only her thoughts, a Massachusetts woman paralyzed for 15 years directed a robotic arm to pick up a bottle of coffee and bring it to her lips, researchers report in the latest advance in harnessing brain waves to help disabled people.

Hawaii's beaches are in retreat, and its way of life may follow

Little by little, Hawaii's iconic beaches are disappearing. Most beaches on the state's three largest islands are eroding, and it is likely to accelerate as sea levels rise, the U.S. Geological Survey says.

Ron Paul ends campaign but urges backers to push on

Texas congressman Ron Paul effectively ended his presidential campaign today but urged his fervent supporters to continue working at the state level to cause havoc for presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney.

Facebook is more than the year's hottest stock story -- it's a cultural phenomenon

When Facebook goes public -- as it's expected to do this week in what's almost certain to be the biggest stock debut for an Internet company -- it will be more than a milestone financial event. It will also be a reflection of how tightly a company launched eight years ago in a college dorm room has become woven into the fabric of society.

McNamee says he first gave Clemens steroids in 1998

Speaking softly, nervously and in detail, Brian McNamee testified about the life-changing moment when, he said, he first injected Roger Clemens with steroids.