Justices discuss graphic details of abortion in case over federal ban on 1 method

WASHINGTON - The graphic details of a disputed abortion procedure filled the Supreme Court on Wednesday as justices voiced concern with a federal ban on that operation.

Hamas leader calls for renewal of attacks after deadly Israeli shelling in Gaza

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip - One weeping man dipped his hand in the blood of a dead relative and smeared it over his face, wailing ''God avenge us, God avenge us.''

Democrats reclaim majority of governorships for first time in 12 years

For the first time in a dozen years, Democrats hold a majority of the nation's governorships after taking 20 of 36 races across all regions, including victories in states - such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Colorado - that will be crucial to the 2008 presidential race.

‘Helicopter parents’ are trying to help their children land jobs

CHICAGO - Some parents are writing their college-age kids' resumes. Others are acting as their children's ''representatives,'' hounding college career counselors, showing up at job fairs and sometimes going as far as calling employers to ask why their son or daughter didn't get a job.

Abortion, gay marriage among many hot topics in state ballot measures

Banning abortion and gay marriage, boosting minimum wages and tobacco taxes, and legalizing marijuana were among the options Tuesday as voters in many states considered ballot measures addressing an array of the nation's most divisive social issues.

Democrats seize control of the House

WASHINGTON - Resurgent Democrats won control of the House and challenged the Republicans' grip on the Senate in midterm elections early Wednesday, riding a powerful wave of public anger over the war in Iraq and scandal at home.

"Mr. President, we need a new direction in Iraq," said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, celebrating her party's return to power - and her own ascension as first female speaker in history.

Interior minister charges more than 50 police with torture

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Interior Ministry said Tuesday that it had brought the first-ever charges of torture against members of the Iraqi police, who are accused of close ties to the Shiite death squads whose daily abductions and killings fuel the sectarian violence convulsing the country.

Talking war and change, Democrats challenge GOP for control of Congress, governorships

WASHINGTON - Democrats challenged Republicans for control of Congress for President Bush's final two years in office Tuesday in elections shadowed by war in Iraq and scandal at home. Thirty-six states elected governors, from Maine to California.

Draft law would reinstate the jobs of members of Saddam’s party

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A day after Saddam Hussein was sentenced to hang, the country's Shiite-dominated government offered a major concession Monday to his Sunni backers that could see thousands of purged Baath party members reinstated in their jobs.

Sandinista leader Ortega appears headed back to Nicaragua’s presidency

MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Daniel Ortega, the revolutionary Marxist who battled a U.S.-backed Contra insurgency in the 1980s, was closing in on Nicaragua's presidency, appearing Monday to have defeated four opponents with promises that he was a changed man.

Bush could face rough road in twilight of presidency, no matter who wins on Tuesday

WASHINGTON - Running out of time and influence, President Bush faces a rough road in the twilight of his presidency regardless of who controls Congress.

Saddam sentenced to death by hanging

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced Sunday to hang for crimes against humanity in the 1982 killings of 148 people in a single town, as the ousted leader, trembling and defiant, shouted "God is great!"

As he, his half brother and another senior official in his regime were convicted and sentenced to death, Saddam yelled out, "Long live the people and death to their enemies. Long live the glorious nation, and death to its enemies!"

Doctors report success with novel treatment for congestive heart failure

BOSTON - Doctors are reporting surprising early success with a novel treatment they hope will one day cure congestive heart failure in thousands of dying patients: They shrink the bloated heart with drugs while an artificial pump temporarily takes over the workload.

Historic Georgia town plagued by millions of bats; infestation is too large for local Batman

AMERICUS, Ga. - The grand historic mansions of this Southern town have become infested with millions of bats - so many that the sky turns black with each sunset. So many that not even the neighborhood Batman can help.

Bloody October gives way to a violent November, 49 killed or found dead in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A blood-drenched October has passed into a violent early November as a motorcycle rigged with explosives ripped through a crowded Shiite market in Sadr City on Thursday and suspected Sunni insurgent gunmen killed a Shiite dean of Baghdad University.

Court: Religious rights trump birth control rule

WASHINGTON - A sharply divided Supreme Court ruled Monday that some companies with religious objections can avoid the contraceptives requirement in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, the first time the high court has declared that businesses can hold religious views under federal law.

Obama picks ex-P&G head to lead Veterans Affairs

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama plans to nominate former Procter & Gamble executive Robert McDonald as the next Veterans Affairs secretary, as the White House seeks to shore up an agency beset by treatment delays and struggling to deal with an influx of new veterans returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

US declares wood storks no longer endangered

TOWNSEND, Ga. - The American wood stork, a bird scientists once feared would be extinct by the year 2000, has made such an impressive comeback that it's getting an official status upgrade 30 years after first being listed as an endangered species, the Obama administration said Thursday.