'Living goddesses' have rights, court says

Nepal's Supreme Court has ordered the government to ensure basic health care and education for virgin girls worshipped as "living goddesses" in a centuries-old tradition in the Himalayan nation.

Veep speculation at fever pitch

American voters should know this week who will join Barack Obama as No. 2 on the Democratic presidential ballot.

Vietnam deports Gary Glitter
Vietnamese authorities freed British glam rocker Gary Glitter on Tuesday after nearly three years in prison on child molestation charges, then moved immediately to deport him.

Zambia's president dead at 59

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa died in a French hospital Tuesday at 59, nearly two months after he was hospitalized for a stroke, the country's vice president said.

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.

Texas sect child ordered into state care

A Texas judge has ordered a 14-year-old girl who was allegedly married to jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs to be placed in foster care.

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.

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.

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.

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.