CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space shuttle Atlantis and its six astronauts glided to a safe landing in darkness early Thursday, ending a 12-day mission whose smooth success was briefly upstaged by the high drama caused by mysterious floating debris. “Nice to be back. It was a great team effort,” said …

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – A Marine private who pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the killing of an innocent Iraqi civilian was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in custody by a military judge who wanted to mete out a five-year punishment but had to stick with terms of a plea …

Tax cuts, health-care costs, and energy prices — not Iraq — top the list of concerns among the nation’s entrepreneurs. The recent downturn in the economy, coupled with long-standing issues like tax cuts and rising health-care costs, are expected to drive business owners to the polls in record numbers for …

LARNACA, Cyprus – A group of European lawmakers said Tuesday they will petition the European Union to suspend a preferential trade agreement with Israel because of what they described as its “cruel” blockade of Gaza. Lord Nazir Ahmed, a Muslim member of Britain’s House of Lords, said Gaza’s 1.4 million …

We don’t call them man’s best friend for nothing. A man from England has credited his dog with “sniffing out” a life-threatening form of cancer, the BBC reported. Chris Tuffrey, from north Oxfordshire, told the BBC his Rottweiler “Beamish” kept nuzzling and licking him near a mole on his chest …

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – A man who lived down the street from Bill and Hillary Clinton in New York City’s northern suburbs when he killed his wife will be spending his next quarter-century in prison. Carlos Perez-Olivo was sentenced Tuesday to the maximum 25 years to life, two months after …

NEW YORK – Brittle bones are a known consequence of alcoholism, and now new findings suggest that even young men are at risk of developing low bone mass. Surprisingly, a similar risk was not seen in their female counterparts. In a study of 57 alcoholic adults between the ages of …

Crime scene investigators from the Orange County Sheriff’s office went to the home of George and Cindy Anthony on Friday morning, the grandparents of missing toddler Caylee, exactly two weeks after they first investigated the home. Two investigators pulled up to the Anthony home and a short time later, another …

Kate Winslet says shooting a sex scene with her good friend and “Titanic” co-star while being directed by her husband was “weird.” “I just kept saying, ‘This is too … weird,'” the actress, 32, told Entertainment Weekly, of her experience filming their upcoming movie “Revolutionary Road.” “And Leo was like, …

WASHINGTON – The little devils just can’t wait. Faced with an epidemic of cancer that cuts their lives short, Tasmanian devils have begun breeding at younger ages, according to researchers at the University of Tasmania in Australia. “We could be seeing evolution occurring before our eyes. Watch this space!” says …