SAN ANTONIO The more than 400 children, from newborns to teens, forced from a polygamist sect's sprawling ranch during a raid six weeks ago and into foster care have been treated as a single group of abused and at-risk kids.

BAGHDAD An American soldier used a Quran, the Islamic holy book, for target practice in a predominantly Sunni area west of Baghdad, prompting an apology from the U.S. military, a spokesman said Sunday.

WASHINGTON When Pope Benedict XVI visited the nation's capital last month, Sen. Sam Brownback did a little preaching to Catholics himself - the gospel according to John McCain.

PLANO, Texas A minister arrested in an Internet sex sting has resigned his position at a Dallas-area megachurch, its pastor said Saturday.

WASHINGTON John McCain is 71 years old, and his age has provided late-night comics with some easy punch lines. On "Saturday Night Live," he joined in.

Penns Valley Area High School technology education teacher Andrew Landis left his job earlier this school year to serve with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. Before going abroad, he made one request of district Superintendent Brian Griffith: He asked if students would write letters to Landis and his fellow troops. The teachers and students took up the offer, and their letters have been sent abroad. Letters from eight classes in the district’s three elementary schools were submitted to the CDT for publication. Because of the large volume of letters submitted, more are published online at www.centredaily.com/living.

Q: I heard that the last frost can come as late as May 30th? Is this true? When is the latest frost?

I’ve heard time and time again that some people know what they want to do with their lives from an early age. Unfortunately, I was not one of them.

This year is the 20th anniversary of Meritage wines; specifically, the Meritage Association was formed in 1988 by three Napa, Calif., vintners. The name came from a contest held by the Los Angeles Times which received just a few more than 6,000 entries.

ATLANTA Melanie Roach was supposed to make her first Olympic team in 2000.

NEW YORK Philipina Heintzman, 81, drove 80 miles across the South Dakota prairie to experience history in the making: a woman running for president, something she never dreamed as a child that she would live to see.

BRYAN, Texas A minister from a Dallas-area Baptist megachurch was caught in an Internet sex sting and charged with online solicitation of a minor, police said Friday.

WASHINGTON Health regulators warned again Friday that Roche and Novartis drugs prescribed to organ transplant patients can cause miscarriages and birth defects when used by pregnant women.

A growing number of women with early stage breast cancer seem to be choosing to have the whole breast removed instead of just the cancerous lump, doctors are reporting.

Breast cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D were much more likely to die of the disease or have it spread than patients getting enough of the nutrient, a study found - adding to evidence the "sunshine vitamin" has anti-cancer benefits. The results are sure to renew arguments about whether a little more sunshine is a good thing.

A combination of two new-generation cancer drugs modestly delayed the time it took for cancer to worsen in a study of 300 women with very advanced disease who had stopped responding to other treatments.

VATICAN CITY Pope Benedict XVI has written a special prayer for Chinese Catholics who face "daily trials" in the officially atheistic country, the Vatican said Friday.

TRAMOUNG CHRUM, Cambodia When residents of this poor, Cambodian village need something built, they call on the Lightmans.

ELDORADO, Texas In just five years, the West Texas polygamist sect transformed 1,700 acres of scrubland purchased for $700,000 into a bustling ranch with a blazing-white limestone temple, sprawling three-story log cabins, woodworking shops and a dairy.

LOS ANGELES A Catholic order of priests that refused to join a record sex-abuse settlement between accusers and the Los Angeles Archdiocese has reached a deal, an attorney for the plaintiffs said.