Minnesota recount begins
City and county workers across Minnesota have started recounting more than 2.9 million ballots from the state's U.S. Senate race.

Community colleges suddenly in spotlight
Long the neglected stepchildren of American higher education, community colleges have come front-and-center in the eyes of students, policymakers and philanthropists.

Spacewalker learns from tool mistake

The astronaut who lost her tool bag on a spacewalk admitted Wednesday that she made a mistake by not checking to see if the sack was tied down, and said she's still smarting over the whole thing.

U.S. shifts its approach in Iraq
With violence down sharply this year, the U.S. military is broadening its efforts to reconcile Sunnis and Shiites.

Talk of GM bankruptcy filing fuels debate

As the days pass and GM's money burns away, bankruptcy is a distinct possibility. But what, exactly, would a GM bankruptcy mean?

It's North vs. South in Big Three bailout fight

Should taxpayers in Alabama be asked to help bail out Big Three automakers whose plants are concentrated in Northern states such as Michigan and Ohio? How the auto industry pits North against South.

Bush set to relax rules protecting species
Animals in danger of becoming extinct could lose the protection of government experts who make sure that dams and other projects don't pose a threat, under a regulation the Bush administration is set to put in place.

Report: Economy is sickening U.S. hospitals
The dismal economy has U.S. hospitals ailing, with new data showing declines in overall admissions and elective procedures, plus a big jump in patients who can't pay for care.

Teen lives 118 days without a heart
An American teenager survived for nearly four months without a heart, kept alive by a custom-built artificial blood-pumping device, until she was able to have a heart transplant.