Citizens' U.S. border crossings tracked
Federal government has been using its system of checkpoints to collect information on U.S. citizens crossing by land; data will be stored for 15 years.

U.S. extraditions raise concerns in Colombia

Colombia "Justice and Peace" process, special proceedings designed to unravel the origins of the country's paramilitary movement, is being threatened by U.S. extradition proceedings.

NYT: Ethics worries dampen convention fun
Republican and Democratic convention party planners are scrambling to comply with new sweeping ethics rules that prohibit lobbyists from paying for gifts for members of Congress and their staffs. Corporations and convention party planners are scrambling to comply with sweeping ethics rules in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 that prohibit lobbyists from paying for gifts, including meals and music, for members of Congress and their staffs.

Colleges rethink U.S. drinking age

College presidents from about 100 of the best-known U.S. universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 18.

1 in 2 believe prayer saves the dying

When it comes to saving lives, God trumps doctors for many Americans.

Snatched cigarette catches killer
A convicted rapist admitted to a 1998 murder and was sentenced to a long prison term Monday as another man once blamed for the crime called him a coward who ruined lives.

Russia makes moves toward pullback

Russia took the first steps toward a troop pullback from Georgia on Tuesday but at the same time paraded blindfolded and bound Georgian prisoners on armored vehicles and seized four U.S. Humvees.

More women having fewer kids
More women in their early 40s are childless, and those who are having children are having fewer than ever before, the Census Bureau reports.

FBI tossed anthrax type used in attacks
Months after the deadly 2001 anthrax mailings, FBI scientists had — but destroyed — the unique strain of the bacteria used in the attacks that years later would lead them to Dr. Bruce Ivins, now the government's top suspect.

Attack on Algerian police kills dozens

A suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives into a line of applicants at an Algerian police academy Tuesday, killing at least 43 people in the deadliest terror attack to jolt this energy-rich U.S. ally since the 1990s.