ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Patty Wetterling (search), whose highly publicized search for her missing son helped lead to strengthening of child protection laws, is running for the U.S. Senate. “My campaign is about reminding all of us that faith, possibility and hope are always there, even if sometimes we have …

SHANGHAI, China – A year after raising the censors’ hackles with bus stop ads, Pamela Anderson’s (search) nearly naked image is returning to China on phone cards telling people not to buy fur. The Canadian-born actress appears topless with her back to the camera and an arm partly hiding her …

PRIMM, Nev. – A driverless Volkswagen won a $2 million race across the rugged Nevada desert Sunday, beating four other robot-guided vehicles that completed a Pentagon-sponsored contest aimed at making warfare safer for humans. The race displayed major technological leaps since last year’s inaugural race, when none of the self-driving …

CINCINNATI – Paul Hackett (search), the Democratic veteran of the Iraq war who narrowly lost a special election in a heavily Republican congressional district in August, made his official entry into a U.S. Senate race Monday. He faces a tough Democratic primary with Rep. Sherrod Brown in the race for …

Chocolate may help repair damage to smokers’ blood vessels, at least temporarily, a new study shows. The benefit may stem from antioxidants called flavonols that are found in chocolate (and fruits and vegetables), write the researchers in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. But smokers shouldn’t count on …

WASHINGTON – Computer and Internet use is up, but so are concerns about identity theft and other online dangers. Fifty-five percent of American households had access to the Internet at home in 2003, more than triple the percentage in 1997, according to a report released Thursday by the Census Bureau. …

Here is what’s on tap for Tuesday: “FOX & Friends First” Starts at 6 a.m. ET President Bush taps White House counsel Harriet Miers (search) — fellow Texan — to the Supreme Court. How will this pick affect the future of the high court? Quinnipiac Law Professor John Pavia joins …

SAN FRANCISCO – Fighting high fuel costs in the air and on the ground, UPS Inc. (UPS) is still expected to report higher earnings next week when the shipper turns in its third-quarter results. Analysts expect UPS to earn 86 cents a share, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson …

WASHINGTON – Worldwide, it was the warmest September on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (search) said Friday. Averaging 1.13 degrees Fahrenheit (0.63 degree Celsius) above normal for the month, it was the warmest September since the beginning of reliable records in 1880, according to NOAA’s National Climatic Data …

WASHINGTON – The legal battle between Rep. Tom DeLay (search) and a Texas district attorney continued on Tuesday as DeLay’s attorneys subpoenaed the prosecutor to try to show that he acted improperly with grand jurors. The filings made in Austin late in the day accuse Texas District Attorney Ronnie Earle …