AP - President Barack Obama said Tuesday he'll bring in high-tech bounty hunters to help root out health care fraud, grabbing a populist idea with bipartisan backing in his final push to overhaul the system.

AP - The government sent investigators Tuesday to examine a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway, and Toyota said it wanted to interview the driver as the besieged automaker dealt with a high-profile new headache that raised questions about the safety of its beloved hybrid.

AP - Israel's new plan to build 1,600 homes for Jews in east Jerusalem is overshadowing Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the West Bank.

AP - The Taliban claimed responsibility Wednesday for a suicide bombing inside a U.S.-Afghan base in eastern Afghanistan that killed two NATO service members.

AP - Suspected militants armed with grenades attacked the offices of an international aid group in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, killing five people working for the organization, police said.

AP - Former Rep. Eric Massa, who resigned from Congress amid sexual harassment allegations, offered contradictory explanations for his behavior Tuesday, acknowledging he groped a male staffer in a non-sexual way but later denying any groping.

AP - A suburban woman "desperate to do something" to help suffering Muslims has been accused of using the Internet to recruit jihadist fighters and help terrorists overseas, even agreeing to move to Europe to try to kill a Swedish artist, prosecutors said Tuesday.

AP - Hundreds of construction workers raised a rallying cry of "Build it now!" on Tuesday, gathering with elected officials at the World Trade Center site to urge a quick rebuilding of the complex.

AP - The executive director of the film academy said Tuesday that Farrah Fawcett wasn't included in the Academy Awards' In Memoriam segment because the actress was better known as a TV star.

AP - Mike Dunleavy and the Los Angeles Clippers parted company for good Tuesday, barely a month after he relinquished his head coaching duties to focus solely on being general manager.

Reuters - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned Israeli plans to build 1,600 more homes on occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood, announced in the middle of his visit to help revive peace negotiations.

Reuters - U.S. safety regulators and Toyota dispatched teams on Tuesday to inspect a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway a day earlier, as the automaker struggled to reassure consumers shaken by its recall crisis.

Reuters - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sees risks to the economic recovery and says it is not the moment to change course as he prepares for an election by June.

Reuters - President Barack Obama, making a final push for healthcare reform, will back bipartisan plans to stamp out waste in government-run medical programs for the old and needy, the White House said on Tuesday.

AFP - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad flew into Kabul on Wednesday for summit talks on a visit overlapping with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was in Afghanistan to review a US troop surge.

AFP - Militants armed with guns and grenades stormed the offices of a US-based Christian charity in Pakistan Wednesday, killing up to five people and sparking clashes with police, officials said.

U.S. safety regulators and Toyota Motor Corp dispatched investigators to San Diego on Tuesday to inspect a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway a day earlier.

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday the scene at President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address was "very troubling" and that the annual speech to Congress has "degenerated into a political pep rally."

As much as half the food aid sent to Somalia is diverted from needy people to a web of corrupt contractors, Islamist militants and local U.N. staff, according to a new report.

Celizic: Connecticut won its record 71st straight game on Monday. On Tuesday, the Huskies extended it to 72. No women?s team has ever won more consecutive games. Only UCLA?s 88-game winning streak that ran from 1971-74 is longer in D-I hoops. And America greeted this extraordinary achievement by erupting into a coast-to-coast yawn.

A federal indictment accuses a Pennsylvania woman of using the Internet to recruit jihadist fighters and promote terrorism overseas, NBC News reports.

Robert ?Joe? Halderman has pleaded guilty to trying to shake down David Letterman over the comic?s sexual affairs.

With DeGeneres on board ? and Simon Cowell on the way out ? judges Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi seem to have decided it's time to start trying harder.

A ring accused of helping people from the Mideast obtain student visas by taking proficiency exams and classes for them has exposed a vulnerability in tracking foreign students.

The actress Lindsay Lohan has sued E*Trade Financial Corp for $100 million, saying a "milkaholic" baby girl who appeared in a recent commercial was modeled after her.

A New York congressman who resigned under an ethics cloud has been under investigation for allegedly groping multiple male aides, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Sean Evans had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead St. John's to a 73-51 victory over Connecticut on Tuesday, extending the Huskies' losing streak in the Big East tournament to six games and in effect ending their chance for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

Every human competitor now running the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will be tested for alcohol and illegal drugs on the trail for the first time in the history of the 1,100-mile race ? a change defending champion Lance Mackey believes is directed at him.

Dual announcements by bitter rivals Israel and Syria that they want to pursue atomic power plants could fuel a widening web of suspicion across the region.

I started hearing the offers soon after arriving at the Liang Bua cave in the mountains of Flores island. "You want to see a living hobbit?"

Israel approves the construction of 1,600 new homes for Jews in disputed east Jerusalem ? a move that is sharply denounced by Vice President Joe Biden during a visit there.

An organization co-founded by the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney is under fire from prominent conservative lawyers who say a new Web ad unfairly questions the motives of Justice Department lawyers who previously represented suspected terrorists.

Three men are arrested over the theft of the body of former President Tassos Papadopoulos, which was found reburied in another grave three months after being dug up and reportedly held for ransom.

The violent temblor ? the fifth most powerful quake ever measured ? shifted other parts of South America as well, from the southern tip of the continent to northern Brazil.

The pope's brother said in an interview that he slapped pupils across the face at a German boys' choir, and that he was aware of allegations of abuse but did nothing about it.

Despite many upbeat tales of online matchups or romantic reunions through Facebook or e-mail, there are plenty of cautionary tales. They don't have the high-profile, TMZ-appeal of Tiger Woods' case, but are more devastating to the victims.

BONN, Germany (AP) -- For environmental activists, the message was clear: Earth Hour was a huge success. Now they say it's time for nations to tackle climate change. "The world said yes to climate action, now governments must follow," the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said a day after hundreds of millions of people worldwide followed its call to turn off lights for a full hour. From an Antarctic research base and the Great...

BONN, Germany (AP) -- President Barak Obama's climate change team made their international debut Sunday at a major U.N. conference -- and delegates were eager to find out whether Obama could translate his aggressive domestic agenda into a worldwide deal to fight global warming. The two-week meeting by 175 countries is the latest attempt to craft a global agreement to govern the emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama will find out two things as he studies how to make the White House more environmentally friendly:  No. 1: It's already been done.  No. 2: It needs to be done again. It was Earth Day 1993 when President Bill Clinton launched his ambitious "greening the White House" project. That effort saved more than $1.4 million in its first six years, largely from improvements in lighting,...

(From DivineCaroline.com) - There are many reasons why consumers choose organic over conventionally-grown food, but there's usually one reason why they don't--cost. Organics can run 10 to 100 percent higher than conventionally grown, throwing all health, taste, and environmental concerns out of the grocery basket. Although savvy farmers' markets and comparison shopping can yield organics that are close in price to non-...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Environmental Protection Agency has taken the first step on the long road to regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Politicians and the public, business and industry will have to weigh in along the way, but for now a proposed finding by the EPA that global warming is a threat to public health and welfare is under White House review. The threat declaration would be the first step to...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's aides say the administration will work with Congress on his budget proposal, but energy independence is not subject to wheeling and dealing. Obama planned to make the case Monday for a budget proposal that invests billions in research designed to reduce climate change and guarantees loans for companies that develop clean energy technologies. Obama has tied his first budget proposal...

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- The new head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will not only be talking the talk on global warming, she will be walking the walk -- eight blocks from the Metro station to her office. Former Oregon State University marine biologist Jane Lubchenco had planned to rent a small apartment close enough to walk to her offices in the nation's capital, but got sticker shock when she saw the...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- New information on Antarctica's regularly melting distant past is giving scientists a glimpse into what may be a flooded future as the planet warms up.The West Antarctic ice sheet collapsed periodically between 3 million and 5 million years ago, adding more than 16 feet to global sea level, according to the first examination of soil cores far below the surface of the Ross ice shelf. Also, new computer models...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Countries buying Chinese goods should be held responsible for the heat-trapping gases released during manufacturing in China, one of its top officials said Monday.  The argument could place an even greater burden on the U.S. for reducing pollution blamed for global warming. Li Gao, China's chief climate negotiator, said that any fair international agreement to curb the gases blamed for global warming...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- They're a fixture along Wyoming's wintery, wind-blown roadways -- fences that have spent up to 50 years blocking blowing snow and keeping roadways clear of drifts in the winter. Now snow fences are finding a second life as green building material for homes and businesses worldwide, a Wyoming twist on a trend that's sent carpenters scavenging in old barns and abandoned buildings in search of boards with a...