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SPACE CENTER, Houston – NASA investigators looking into what caused large pieces of foam to break free from the Columbia and Discovery have found nine small cracks in the foam of an external fuel tank. But program administrators are not sure whether the cracks played any role in the foam …

LOS ANGELES – U.S. online holiday sales, which are expected to hit nearly $20 billion this year, took off on Monday. According to Visa USA’s SpendTrak report, consumers spent approximately $505 million on the Internet Monday using Visa branded cards. The figure represents a 26 percent increase from the same …

LYON, France – Doctors in France said they had performed the world’s first partial face transplant, forging into a risky medical frontier with their operation on a woman disfigured by a dog bite. The 38-year-old woman, who wants to remain anonymous, had a nose, lips and chin grafted onto her …

When the Senate first convened on March 4, 1789, members assumed that their sessions would be conducted behind closed doors, in accordance with the practice of the earlier Continental congresses and the 1787 Constitutional Convention (search). This assumption reflected the Senate’s anticipated low-profile role as an advisory body to the …

Simple foods carry the most scientifically advanced anticancer compounds, scientists say. The reports come from the fourth annual Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting, held by the American Association for Cancer Research. At the cutting edge of these new frontiers is the finding that, well, that your mother was right. …

NEW YORK – Danny DeVito — who hasn’t starred in a TV series since “Taxi” ended its run in 1983 — will return to the small screen next year in the FX comedy “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” “Getting the news from FX that our show got a second season …

This is a partial transcript from “The O’Reilly Factor,” November 17, 2005, that has been edited for clarity. Watch “The O’Reilly Factor” weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and listen to the “Radio Factor!” BILL O’REILLY, HOST: In the “Factor Follow-up” segment, New York state Judge Jacqueline Silbermann …

NEW YORK – Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL) on Tuesday cut its outlook for 2006, saying tougher land-use reviews will mean a lower supply of houses and softening demand in some markets will slow its ability to raise prices, sending its shares tumbling 12 percent in premarket activity. “The 400 to …

CHICAGO – A desktop computer stolen last month from one of the nation’s three major credit bureaus contained Social Security numbers and other credit information for as many as 3,600 people, the company confirmed Friday. TransUnion LLC, which along with Equifax Inc. and Experian Information Solutions checks consumers’ credit on …

CHICAGO – Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) on Thursday said worldwide sales rose 10 percent in October at stores open at least a year, helped by strong demand for food and pricey gasoline. Analysts on average had expected a 7.9 percent increase, according to estimates compiled by Reuters. The largest U.S. …