Friday, July 3 ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Al Franken refused his rival's calls for an election night concession last November, choosing instead to begin vote counting and courtroom haggling that stretched almost eight months and ultimately landed him a seat in the U.S. Senate. Franken's victory over Republican Norm Coleman gives Democrats 60 Senate seats, the critical number needed to   Full Story

Friday, July 3 A federal investigation has found that heart attack survivors enrolled in a study of a controversial alternative medicine treatment were not told enough about potential dangers from the drug being tested, including death. The study is testing chelation — infusions of a drug that in this case has been removed from the market for safety concerns.   Full Story

Thursday, July 2 ATLANTA (AP) — The percentage of Americans with private health insurance has hit its lowest mark in 50 years, according to two new government reports. About 65 percent of non-elderly Americans had private insurance in 2008, down from 67 percent the year before, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the U.   Full Story

Thursday, July 2 WASHINGTON (AP) — On civil rights and campaign cash, the Supreme Court earned an "incomplete" grade in the term that just ended. There is a good chance the court will have a new member but the same right-of-center tilt when the justices return in late summer to deal with unfinished business.   Full Story

Thursday, July 2 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — States from coast to coast began a new fiscal year Wednesday with no budget plans and with cash quickly running out, sending some to the brink of shutdown and forcing others to furlough workers and cut services. In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency and ordered state offices closed three days a month to save   Full Story

Thursday, July 2 ATLANTA (AP) — In a perverse twist of medical fate, Farrah Fawcett has become the poster girl for anal cancer, a rare disease often linked to a sexually transmitted virus. Before her death last week, at age 62, the actress had come to terms with the illness and agreed to have her suffering and treatment chronicled for a television documentary.   Full Story

Wednesday, July 1 ADELPHI, Md. (AP) — Government experts called for sweeping safety restrictions Tuesday on the most widely used painkiller, including reducing the maximum dose of Tylenol and eliminating prescription drugs such as Vicodin and Percocet. The Food and Drug Administration assembled 37 experts to recommend ways to reduce deadly overdoses with acetaminophen, which is the   Full Story

Wednesday, July 1 TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Honduras' ousted president won overwhelming international support Tuesday as he planned a high-profile return to his chaotic country. The politicians who sent soldiers to fly him into exile in his pajamas said he will be arrested for treason if he tries.   Full Story

Wednesday, July 1 LOS ANGELES (AP) — The life of "Charlie's Angels" star Farrah Fawcett was celebrated Tuesday at a private, music-filled funeral that one participant called "stirring." Her longtime companion, Ryan O'Neal, was among pallbearers who accompanied the casket, covered in yellow and orange flowers, into the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.   Full Story

Tuesday, June 30 WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court declared Monday that white firefighters in Connecticut were unfairly denied promotion because of their race, ruling against minorities in a major reverse discrimination case that could affect bosses and workers nationwide. The justices threw out a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor had endorsed as an appeals court judge.   Full Story

Tuesday, June 30 BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — She is a 43-year-old, divorced mother of two teenage boys who wants to believe she can still experience true love. She is an intensely private woman who was not afraid to fight back when that privacy was breached. She was educated in Catholic schools and professes her belief in God, evil and the afterlife, and yet joined a married father of   Full Story

Monday, June 29 TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Soldiers ousted the democratically elected president of Honduras on Sunday and Congress named a successor, but the leftist ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denounced what he called an illegal coup and vowed to stay in power. The first military takeover of a Central American government in 16 years drew widespread condemnation from   Full Story

Thursday, June 25 EDITOR'S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.   Full Story

Wednesday, June 24 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration plans to simplify the federal college aid form, which at 153 questions drives millions of families to give up before they finish it. President Barack Obama wants to make the form much more user-friendly as part of a sweeping plan to put higher education within reach of more students.   Full Story

Tuesday, June 23 ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A strong earthquake jolted Alaska's most populous region Monday, sending residents and office workers diving under desks and huddling in doorways but causing almost no damage. The U.S. Geological Survey said the 5.4 magnitude temblor struck about 24 miles from the town of Willow at 11:28 a.   Full Story