Scoop: Jennifer Aniston gets a kick out of ‘Friends'

The "Marley & Me" star tells New York Times magazine, "This is horrible to say, but there are times when I laugh my rear end off."

Obama pledged change, picks insiders

President-elect Barack Obama promised the voters change but has started his Cabinet selection process by naming several Washington insiders to top posts.

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.

Iverson, Pistons end Cavs' win streak at 8

Allen Iverson had 23 points and Rasheed Wallace added 21, leading a fourth-quarter surge that gave the Pistons a 96-89 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Patience, politeness training for airport workers

Employees at Newark Liberty International Airport are getting training in patience and politeness to help them handle the crush of stressed-out holiday travelers.

Hungry in Zimbabwe: 'If you rest, you starve'

Katy Phiri, who is in her 70s, picks up single corn kernels spilled from trucks that ferry the harvest to market. She says she hasn't eaten for three days.

NYT: Daschle poses conflict-of-interest test

The choice of Tom Daschle for secretary of health and human services poses questions about how broadly Barack Obama will apply campaign promises to limit conflicts of interest among appointees.

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.

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.

U.S. shifts its approach in Iraq
With violence down sharply this year, the U.S. military is broadening its efforts to reconcile Sunnis and Shiites.