Big quake off New Zealand triggers small wave

  A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck off New Zealand's western coast Wednesday generating a small tsunami. No injuries or major damage were reported.

168 feared dead in Iran jet crash

Sotomayor gears up for Senate grilling

Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic Supreme Court nominee, was set to return Wednesday to a cavernous Senate hearing room for another grueling day of questioning.

NYT: Hearings open window on judge's acumen

Consumer prices rise at fastest pace in months

  Consumer prices shot up in June by the largest amount in 11 months, reflecting the biggest jump in gasoline prices in nearly five years.

  Ex-GM boss Wagoner gets $10M retirement

American dream: AL wins All-Star game again

Carl Crawford’s glove and one of the great bullpens in All-Star history helped save the American League’s streak.

Great catch: Crawford grabs All-Star MVP

Debbie Rowe won’t trade kids for $4 million

Her lawyer says a new report that she plans to relinquish parental rights to her children with Michael Jackson in exchange for $4 million from the Jackson family just isn't true.

Batch of drug central to Jackson probe recalled

Concerns over superbugs in our food supply

A potentially deadly new strain of antibiotic-resistant microbes may be widespread in our food supply.

Proposed smoking ban angers some in military

Cosmic Log: How politeness evolved

Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Taking turns isn't just a nice idea. It may be as much a part of the theory of evolution as survival of the fittest, researchers say.

Military developing robot-insect cyborgs

168 feared dead in Iran jet crash

  An Iranian passenger plane carrying 168 people crashed a quarter-hour after takeoff Wednesday, smashing into a field northwest of the capital and shattering into pieces.

Crunch time at the rental-car counter