Vatican defends move to beautify Pope Pius XII

  Moving Pope Pius XII closer to sainthood is not a hostile act against Jews, the Vatican said in a statement on Tuesday.

  Pakistan Taliban ‘helping’ beef up Afghan fight

AIG bonus return pledge goes mostly unfulfilled

Earlier this year, executives at AIG Financial Products agreed to return about $45 million in bonuses.  But as 2009 draws to an end, a majority of that money remains unpaid.

Stocks up a third day, helped by housing report

Davis: Forget Kentucky, Kansas — Texas will lose last

Davis: No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 Texas faced stiff challenges at home Tuesday night, but both pulled away late to win. The Jayhawks defeated hot-shooting Cal 84-69. And the Longhorns held off Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans 79-68. Who is No. 1? Leave that to the pollsters. Who will be the last undefeated team? That leads us to your questions.

No. 2 Texas runs past No. 9 Michigan State

Scoop: No Tiger cub on way for Rachel Uchitel

Golfer's alleged mistress bluntly denies magazine's claim that she is expecting a baby.

Report: Simon Cowell will leave ‘American Idol’

Fighting breast cancer, Teresa Heinz urges tests

Teresa Heinz says she is being treated for breast cancer discovered through mammography and argues that younger women should continue undergoing the tests.

U.S. expands efforts to regulate meds in water

Cosmic Log: Decades of future science

Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Solar-power primacy? Cloud science? Space colonies? Those are some of the visions put forward for the next 50 years in science and technology.

Real-life high school musical smackdown!

10 years of twisted travel

Ring out the old, ring in the new and rack up another decade in the annals of bizarre travel behavior. That’s right, folks, it’s time to celebrate the end of 2009 with a look back at some of the strangest stories of the last 10 years.

Top 10 ski resorts for nonskiers