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.

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.

Calif. court takes up gay marriage ban
California's highest court agreed Wednesday to hear several legal challenges to the state's new ban on same-sex marriage but refused to allow gay couples to resume marrying before it rules.

G'day! Hugh Jackman is new Sexiest Man Alive

Hugh Jackman, People's 2008 Sexiest Man Alive, is a romantic in a hard body who leaves women saying "Oh ... my ... God."

Mayor sorry for kids' anti-Obama chant
The mayor of an Idaho town where second- and third-grade students on a school bus chanted "assassinate Obama!" has publicly apologized, saying there's no excuse for such behavior.

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.

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.

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.

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.