AP - Members of a fundamentalist Kansas church ordered to pay nearly $11 million in damages to a grieving father smiled as they walked out of the courtroom, vowing that the verdict would not deter them from protesting at military funerals.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A celebration of distance running kicks off in the Big Apple this weekend with the men's U.S. Olympic marathon trials and culminates in a Sunday showdown for the New York City Marathon.

AP - Children in the village of Marshall do not go out alone without an adult. They have been told to stay inside after dark. When night falls, three sentries are posted along the village periphery to keep the wolves out.

AP - The giant agribusiness company Cargill Inc. said Saturday it is recalling more than 1 million pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

AP - Growing interest in seasonal and locally sourced foods has created a fanfare for indoor public markets, where heirloom tomatoes are sold alongside artisan breads and freshly pressed olive oil.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country music singer/songwriter Rosanne Cash will undergo brain surgery for a 'rare but benign condition' at a New York hospital, she said on her Web site on Monday.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Space shuttle Discovery was set to return to Earth on Wednesday after adding a room to the International Space Station and setting the stage for the outpost's future expansion.

AP - The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum can't locate or account for tens of thousands of valuable mementos of Reagan's White House years, according to a published report.

WACO, Texas (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will welcome German Chancellor Angela Merkel to his Texas ranch on Friday where they will seek to show unity on Iran even as Tehran defies the West over its nuclear program.

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Yao Ming scored a game-high 28 points and added 10 rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to a 104-88 home victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in his first meeting of the season with Chinese compatriot Yi Jianlian on Friday.

AP - A preliminary investigation found human error caused a cargo ship to crash into the Bay Bridge, leading to San Francisco Bay's worst oil spill in nearly two decades, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday as rescue teams raced to save hundreds of seabirds.

AP - It's among the most divisive questions in the realm of adoption: Should adult adoptees have access to their birth records, and thus be able to learn the identity of their birth parents?

BOSTON (Reuters) - After rising for two years, U.S. consumer satisfaction dipped in the third quarter because of higher food prices, according to a poll by the University of Michigan released on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ira Levin, author of the best-selling horror and suspense novels 'Rosemary's Baby,' 'The Stepford Wives' and 'The Boys from Brazil,' all later made into popular films, has died at age 78, according to media reports.

AP - A woman was indicted Wednesday in connection with the fatal bludgeoning of her boss, a wealthy real estate agent whose friends included Sting, Madonna and Elton John.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An unusual provision in Merck & Co Inc's settlement agreement concerning the painkiller Vioxx means many plaintiffs may have little choice but to accept the deal, the Wall Street Journal said Friday in its online edition.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Striking U.S. screenwriters and major film and TV studios agreed on Friday to resume formal contract talks on November 26 as the most serious Hollywood labor confrontation in 20 years dragged into its 12th day.

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - World number one Lorena Ochoa headed for a crushing victory at the season-ending ADT Championship after moving five shots clear midway through Sunday's final round.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tom Brady passed for five touchdowns, throwing four to Randy Moss in the first half, to guide the unbeaten New England Patriots to a 56-10 victory over

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc scored a victory Monday through a federal ruling that might wipe out some lawsuits alleging its painkiller Celebrex caused heart attacks and strokes, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Larry Holmes has clashed with Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Ken Norton yet admits his own verbal jab at an American icon was ultimately more painful than anything he endured inside the ring.

AP - A man who has spent 25 years on the FBI's most wanted list said Thursday he's ready to face charges in the slaying of a pregnant Seattle woman.

AP - Five people were found dead in a park Thursday night in an apparent murder-suicide, police said.

AP - A team of FBI agents that re-examined the Oklahoma City bombing after a resurgence in conspiracy theories uncovered no new reliable leads, the man who initially supervised the bureau's investigation told a newspaper.

AP - Every region of the country has its own piece of Americana that locals brag about to visitors. Increasingly, they are asking Congress to help spread the word through a little-known federal program that designates National Heritage Areas.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Walmart.com, hoping U.S. consumers did not get their fill of shopping over the long Thanksgiving weekend, will roll out more holiday deals online every day this week.

AP - Activists of diverse views and faiths awaited the opening of Tuesday's Mideast peace conference, hoping to make enough noise outside the U.S. Naval Academy gates to influence public opinion, if not the negotiations inside.

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Day Two of a planned three-day stretch of double-secret contract talks between the WGA and studio reps seemed to go well enough Tuesday, with parties yakking all day and agreeing to do it again in the morning.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The Writers Guild of America and the Hollywood studios have agreed to keep talking. That was the upshot of a 20th day of negotiations between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers on Wednesday.

DALLAS (Reuters) - The Dallas Cowboys beat the Green Bay Packers 37-27 on Thursday to clinch a playoff berth and take top spot in the National Football Conference.