Bush effigy burned at Iraq protest

Followers of a Shiite cleric on Friday stomped on and burned an effigy of President Bush in Baghdad as they protested a proposed U.S.-Iraqi security pact on Friday.

Bush signs bill providing extra jobless benefits
President George W. Bush on Friday ensured that millions of laid-off workers will keep getting their unemployment checks as the year-end holidays approach.

Islamists: We'll fight Somali pirates
A radical Islamic group in Somalia said Friday it will fight the pirates holding a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of crude oil.

Child deaths test faith-healing exemptions
Three criminal cases have revived concerns about exemptions that most states grant to parents who rely on faith healing instead of doctors to treat sick children.

Nebraska tightens 'safe haven' age limit
Nebraska on Friday added a 30-day age limit to the state's "safe haven" law.

Germany drops attempt to ban Scientology
Germany is dropping its pursuit of a ban on Scientology after finding insufficient evidence of illegal activity, security officials said Friday.

Stocks jump on Geithner speculation
Wall Street staged a surprising comeback, with the major indexes jumping more than 5 percent and the Dow Jones industrials surging nearly 500 points in a late afternoon rally

Bob Jones Univ. apologizes for racist policies
A fundamentalist Christian University has apologized for racist policies including a one-time ban on interracial dating that wasn't lifted until nine years ago and its unwillingness to admit black students until 1971.

Spiders get their space legs — all eight of them

Two plucky spiders on the international space station have bounced back from a tangled false start to weave amazing new webs in zero gravity, astronauts said Friday.