Child deaths test faith-healing exemptions
Three criminal cases have revived concerns about exemptions that most states grant to parents who rely on faith healing instead of doctors to treat sick children.

Date-rape ‘doctor' they could not convict
Despite all the legal advances of the past three decades, little has changed for women who report a date rape.

Spiders get their space legs — all eight of them

Two plucky spiders on the international space station have bounced back from a tangled false start to weave amazing new webs in zero gravity, astronauts said Friday.

Deflation poses new economic threat
Strapped consumers are rejoicing at falling prices. But some economists warn of the growing risk of a ruinous downward price spiral  called deflation. Here's what's at stake.

Disputed Senate ballots hold key to Minn. win

The pile of disputed ballots in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race is growing at a pace sure to dwarf the 215-vote margin prior to the recount, making it tough to tell who is gaining an edge as the recount progresses.

Pentagon bans computer flash drives
The Pentagon has banned, at least temporarily, the use of external computer flash drives because of a virus threat officials detected on Defense Department networks.

Hundreds wait at stores for BlackBerry Storm

Hundreds of people lined up at Verizon Wireless stores on Friday to buy the BlackBerry Storm, the first touch-screen phone from Research In Motion that aims to compete with Apple's iPhone.

Bob Jones Univ. apologizes for racist policies
A fundamentalist Christian University has apologized for racist policies including a one-time ban on interracial dating that wasn't lifted until nine years ago and its unwillingness to admit black students until 1971.

Citigroup's options dwindle; shares plunge

Pressure intensified on Citigroup to sell part or all of itself as its stock fell below $4 a share on Friday and fears escalated about future loan losses.