12-Year-Old Girl Who Blogged Cancer Fight Has Died

Tens of thousands of people responded by posting updates to the page in a show of support that includes "likes" and prayers

2012-01-08

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. (AP) -- A Southern California girl who became a nationally recognized face of child cancer with a blog that chronicled her fight against brain tumors has died. Jessica Joy Rees was 12 years old. Read the complete article

IRS Estimate: 17 Percent of Taxes Owed Went Unpaid

The study covered 2006, the most recent data the IRS said was available. The amount of underpaid taxes far exceeded the size of the entire federal budget deficit at the time

2012-01-08

Alan Fram The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- People and businesses underpaid their taxes by an estimated 17 percent in the most recent year studied, failing to send the government a massive $450 billion that it was owed, according to an Internal Revenue Service report released Friday. Read the complete article

Santorum: Trim Social Security Now Even If Painful

Santorum says changes should include a higher eligibility age to qualify for Social Security benefits, and tighter restrictions on benefits for upper-income people

2012-01-08

Charles Babington The Associated Press

KEENE, N.H. (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum called Friday for immediate cuts to Social Security benefits, risking the wrath of older voters and countless others who balk at changes to the entitlement program. Read the complete article

Titanic Items to Be Sold 100 Years After Sinking

Collection of 5,000 artifacts from infamous wreck has been appraised at $189 million

2012-01-07

Steve Szkotak The Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Items as small as a hairpin and as big as a chunk of the Titanic's hull are among 5,000 artifacts from the world's most famous shipwreck that are to be auctioned in April, close to the 100th anniversary of the disaster. Read the complete article

Your Home's Age Important for Child Lead Exposure

Do-it-yourselfers often embark on fix-ups without knowing about environmental hazard that long ago faded from the headlines

2012-01-07

Lauran Neergaard AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- If you've been putting off repairing a peeling windowsill, or you're thinking of knocking out a wall, listen up: Check how old your house is. You may need to take steps to protect your kids from dangerous lead. Read the complete article

Now You See It, Now You Don't: Time Cloak Created

Cornell scientists find way to interrupt flow of light coming to our eyes, thus hiding reality for an instant

2012-01-07

Seth Borenstein AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- It's one thing to make an object invisible, like Harry Potter's mythical cloak. But scientists have made an entire event impossible to see. They have invented a time masker. Read the complete article

IRS Says Audit Rates Have Grown for the Wealthy

Twelve percent of millionaires audited in 2011, up four percent from 2010

2012-01-06

Alan Fram The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- If you earn less than $200,000 a year, there's a strong chance you don't have to worry about an Internal Revenue Service audit. But if you make more than $1 million annually, the odds have been rising that you'll be hearing from the tax man. Read the complete article

VIDEO: Dog Found Alive Four Days After Montana Avalanche

Welsh corgi showed up at hotel where his owners had stayed before going backcountry skiing

2012-01-06

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- A dog that was feared dead after he was swept away in a weekend avalanche that killed his owner showed up four days later at the Montana motel where his owners had stayed the night before going backcountry skiing. Read the complete article

Police Warn California Homeless About Serial Killer

Three men have been slain in north Orange County since Dec. 21

2012-01-06

Amy Toxin The Associated Press

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- Homeless people in Orange County were put on alert by police and advocates concerned that they're the target of a serial killer who has already slain three homeless men. Read the complete article

At 75, Marion Barry Gears Up for Another Campaign

Longtime Black figurehead of DC city politics grates on some but has won 10 of 11 local elections

2012-01-05

Ben Nuckols The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As HBO considers making a movie about Marion Barry with Eddie Murphy in the title role, the real Barry is doing something that comes naturally: running for re-election in the nation's capital. Read the complete article