Sept. 11 suspect seeking a trial, and a platform

The five men the Justice Department has said will be charged in the attacks of Sept. 11 intend to plead not guilty so they can express their political and religious views during a trial, the lawyer for one of the men said on Saturday. - 11/22/2009

Postal Service to resume North Pole Santa letters

Anchorage, Alaska -- Wide-eyed children around the world will be hearing from Santa's "elves" at the North Pole after all. - 11/21/2009

Dozens killed, trapped in China coal mine blast

Harbin, China -- Rescuers working in frigid cold and darkness tried to reach 66 people believed trapped a third of a mile underground after a huge gas explosion Saturday ripped through a coal mine in northern China, killing at least 42 people. - 11/21/2009

Quick restart of Big Bang machine stuns scientists

Geneva -- Scientists moved Saturday to prepare the world's largest atom smasher for exploring the depths of matter after successfully restarting the $10 billion machine following more than a year of repairs. - 11/21/2009

Atlantis spacewalkers fix antennas

Cape Canaveral, Fla. -- A spacewalking astronaut put aside the impending birth of his daughter and blazed through his first-ever venture outside the International Space Station on Saturday. - 11/21/2009

Protecting the world's youth

Millions of children battle poverty, abuse

Twenty years after the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, multitudes of children across the globe are still suffering from poverty, abuse and disease. - 11/21/2009

Rocket strikes hotel in Afghan capital

Kabul, Afghanistan -- A rocket hit outside the luxury Serena Hotel in Afghanistan's capital late Saturday, wounding two people, the Interior Ministry said. - 11/21/2009

Dems push health bill vote

Washington -- After negotiating last-minute commitments, Senate Democratic leaders on Friday stood on the verge of achieving the necessary 60 votes to begin consideration of the most expansive health care legislation before the Senate in nearly half a century. - 11/21/2009

More Hasan e-mails found

Washington -- There may be additional e-mails that could have tipped off law enforcement or military officials to the Fort Hood shooter before he went on his deadly rampage, the chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee said Friday. - 11/21/2009

Pentagon vows to examine own role in Afghan corruption

Halifax, Nova Scotia -- The United States will do its part to reduce corruption in Afghanistan by examining its own contracts and projects, even as it is demanding the same from the Afghan government, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday. - 11/21/2009

Feds cite cluster of Tamiflu resistance

Atlanta -- Four North Carolina patients at a single hospital tested positive for a type of swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu, health officials said Friday. - 11/21/2009

Researcher: Faint writing on shroud points to Jesus

Rome -- A Vatican researcher has rekindled the age-old debate over the Shroud of Turin, saying that faint writing on the linen proves it was the burial cloth of Jesus. Experts say the historian may be reading too much into the markings, and they stand by carbon-dating that points to the shroud being a medieval forgery. - 11/21/2009

Military schools get few minority names

Annapolis, Md. -- As the nation's military academies try to recruit more minorities, they aren't getting much help from members of Congress from big-city districts with large numbers of blacks, Hispanics and Asians. - 11/21/2009

Nation/World briefs

Feds to drop charges against Blackwater guard; California students protest fee hikes; Ethics committee rebukes Sen. Burris; Floods swallow U.K. Lake District; Explosion kills 11 in China coal mine - 11/21/2009

Obama faces tight schedule for Afghan troop announcement

Washington -- President Barack Obama will have scant time to rest up from his eight-day Asia trip. - 11/20/2009

Pentagon review set in wake of Ft. Hood

Washington -- The Pentagon said Thursday it will scour its procedures for identifying volatile soldiers hidden in the ranks following the Fort Hood shooting rampage and for lapses that might allow others to slip through bureaucratic cracks. - 11/20/2009

Afghan president promises stability

Kabul, Afghanistan -- President Hamid Karzai was inaugurated Thursday for a second term, pledging that Afghanistan will prosecute corrupt officials and control its own security within five years. - 11/20/2009

Canned pumpkin may be hard to find

Portland, Ore. -- The holidays may not be so sweet this year. Nestle -- which sells nearly all the canned pumpkin in the U.S. -- says poor weather hurt its harvest, creating a potential shortage of its Libby's pumpkin pie products through the holidays. - 11/20/2009

Palin's book tour to include stop at Fort Hood

Fort Hood, Texas -- Sarah Palin's tour to promote her new memoir will include a stop at Fort Hood to benefit the victims of the shooting rampage and their families. - 11/20/2009

Young women don't need Pap tests as often, report says

New guidelines for cervical cancer screening say women should delay their first Pap test until age 21, and be screened less often than recommended in the past. - 11/20/2009

Researcher says text proves Shroud of Turin real

Rome -- A Vatican researcher claims a nearly invisible text on the Shroud of Turin proves the authenticity of the artifact revered as Jesus' burial cloth. - 11/20/2009

Grinch! North Pole irked at end to Santa replies

Starry-eyed children writing letters to the jolly man at the North Pole this holiday season likely won't get a response from Santa Claus or his helpers. The U.S. Postal Service is dropping a popular national program begun in 1954 in the small Alaska town of North Pole, where volunteers open and respond to thousands of letters addressed to Santa each year. - 11/19/2009

FAA fixes computer glitch that caused flight delays

Romulus -- The Federal Aviation Administration has repaired a glitch in its system that delayed flights across the nation this morning, but caused relatively few problems at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. - 11/19/2009

• Video: Flight computer glitch fixed, air delays remain

Afghan President Karzai sworn in to second 5-year term

Kabul -- Afghanistan will control its own security within five years and prosecute corrupt officials, President Hamid Karzai pledged today in an inauguration speech made under intense pressure to shed the cronyism and graft that marked his government's first term. - 11/19/2009