A NASA spacecraft wielding a trench-digging robotic arm is poised for a Saturday launch towards the north pole of Mars to find out whether the icy region sports an environment suitable for microbial life. The three-legged Phoenix Mars Lander is set to launch at 5:26:34 a.m. EDT (0926:34 GMT) atop …

It’s one of the most reviled words in the English language, but if one Texas mayor gets his way, getting caught uttering the “N-word” will hit offenders where it hurts. • Speakout! What Do You Think of Charging ‘N-Word’ Users? Mayor Ken Corley of Brazoria, Texas, has proposed a city …

They are men accused of unthinkable crimes: Kidnapping and molesting young children. Though they haven’t yet been tried before a judge and jury, registered sex offender George Richard Horner, suspected of abducting and raping a 6-year-old Arizona girl, and Michael Devlin, charged with kidnapping and possibly molesting two adolescent boys, …

Lately I’ve been alarmed by the number of men shopping in malls and clearly not doing what I have told them to, again and again on this show. Guys, listen to me. You look pathetic. You’re walking aimlessly around the stores like zombies with credit cards. Listless, clueless, hapless. I …

He was an awful student. He rarely showed up for class and when he did, he was always in trouble: papers late, tests a disaster. He’d actually pay people to do his homework. I frankly think if he wasn’t so funny, no one would have given him the time of …

He had paid his dues and put in his time. Endured countless meetings and worked countless weekends. But when the big job came up, it went to a guy young enough to be his son, who hadn’t worked nearly as many weekends or endured nearly as many meetings or put …

It’s not exactly the most common way to fix a commercial airliner, but officials from Nepal’s state-run airline sacrificed two goats on Sunday in effort to do just that, according to Reuters. Faced with technical problems on an aging Boeing 757 aircraft, Nepal Airlines’ representatives told local media the sacrifices …

WASHINGTON – AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney said Wednesday the legislation passed last week in Maryland to require employers to spend a percentage of their payrolls on employee health care was the “first crisp punch” in the fight for workers’ rights. Speaking at the National Press Club, Sweeney said the …

I guess I fixate a bit too much on time. How quickly it goes by. How quickly it changes things. How equally quickly, I fear, it makes us forget things. You know, one remarkable thing about we Americans is our resilience — our uncanny ability to bounce back. We proved …

Worldwide demonstrations against Israel after about 60 people, including many women and children, were killed by Israeli bombs in southern Lebanon. Of course, these protestors, many of them pro-Hezbollah, also targeted the USA for condemnation. No question, the Israeli bombing was a mistake and will hurt Israel in the court …