Atlantis rolls out to launch pad

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- Space shuttle Atlantis was hauled to the launch pad early Wednesday, a major step toward a mission to resume construction of the international space station for the first time in three years.

Evolution opponents suffer setback

TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) -- Conservative Republicans who pushed anti-evolution standards back into Kansas schools last year have lost control of the state Board of Education once again.

Montana senator's nephew dies in Iraq

HELENA, Montana (AP) -- A nephew of Sen. Max Baucus serving in the Marines was killed in Iraq during the weekend, the senator's office said Tuesday.

Residents flee as rain swamps Texas

EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- A third day of heavy rain caused widespread flooding around El Paso on Tuesday, swamping mountainside homes, forcing evacuations and closing major roads.

General: Army Guard 'in dire situation'

WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than two-thirds of the Army National Guard's 34 brigades are not combat ready, mostly because of equipment shortages that will cost up to $21 billion to correct, the top National Guard general said Tuesday.

Navy ends Haditha investigation

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S. naval investigation team has wrapped up its investigation into the murders of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha, allegedly at the hands of U.S. Marines, U.S. military officials told CNN.

'Hit-and-run grannies' charged with murder

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Two women in their 70s were charged Monday with having homeless men killed in hit-and-run car crashes to collect more than $2 million in life insurance.

Gibson: 'I am not an anti-Semite'

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actor Mel Gibson on Tuesday admitted making anti-Semitic remarks during his drunken driving arrest and appealed to the Jewish community to help him recover from his alcohol addiction.

Tropical Storm Chris heads for Leeward Islands

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Tropical Storm Chris, the third named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, developed early Tuesday near the Leeward Islands, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said.

Exiles in Miami cheer Castro's illness

HIALEAH, Florida (AP) -- When Gladys Morales heard that Fidel Castro had temporarily given up power, she woke her 70-year-old mother to celebrate with other Cuban exiles dancing in Hialeah's streets.

Heat puts strain on people, power

NEW YORK (AP) -- The famed necklace lights lining the city's East River bridges will remain off to save power, as the city braces for potentially record breaking heat. It's one of many conservation tactics across the country during soaring temperatures from the Midwest to the Northeast.

Sixty Western wildfires stretch crews to limit

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Fot the first time since 2003, federal land management agencies are being asked to make more employees available to fight wildfires because crews and equipment have been stretched to the limit by nearly 60 major blazes around the West.

Cubans in Miami await word on Castro's condition

MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Cubans in the exile community waited to hear news about Fidel Castro's health after Cuban officials announced the head of Cuba had temporarily relinquished presidential power to his brother Raul due to intestinal illness.

Gibson enters rehab after DUI arrest

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Academy Award winning actor-director Mel Gibson entered a rehab program after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, his publicist said Monday.

Court posts 9/11 trial exhibits online

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (AP) -- Exhibits from the trial of convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui, including photographs of September 11 carnage and tape-recorded final phone calls from World Trade Center victims, were posted Monday by a federal court.

FDA reverses course on morning-after pill

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government revived efforts Monday to widen access to the morning-after pill, but only to women 18 and older, issuing a surprise announcement that it was reconsidering over-the-counter sale of the emergency contraceptive almost a year after it was thought doomed.

Plains, Midwest face blistering heat

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) -- Stocked up with extra water and wearing a short sleeve shirt, Nate Olson was ready for the heat Monday morning, saying, "the past week's been pretty bad."

Governor apologizes for 'tar baby' comment

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- Gov. Mitt Romney has apologized for referring to the troubled Big Dig construction project as a "tar baby" during a fundraiser with Iowa Republicans, saying he didn't know anyone would be offended by the term some consider a racial epithet.

Nevada fire grows to 300 square miles

RENO, Nevada (AP) -- High wind hampered fire crews again Sunday as they fought a wildfire that had dashed across nearly 300 square miles of remote rangeland in northern Nevada.

Heat wave moves to Plains, East

(AP) -- Near-record heat was forecast from the Plains to the Eastern Seaboard on Monday, while cool air was expected to move into the West.