AP - With unusual speed and little surprise, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany became Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday, a 78-year-old transitional leader who promises to enforce strictly conservative policies for the world's Roman Catholics.
AP - John R. Bolton's nomination as U.N. ambassador suffered an unexpected setback Tuesday when a Republican-controlled Senate committee scrapped plans for a vote in favor of a fresh look at allegations of unbecoming conduct.
AP - Being overweight is nowhere near as big a killer as the government thought, ranking No. 7 instead of No. 2 among the nation's leading preventable causes of death, according to a startling new calculation from the CDC.
Benedict XVI prepared to celebrate his first Mass as pontiff Wednesday in the Sistine Chapel, where less than 24 hours earlier he was elected the Roman Catholic Church's 265th pope. World leaders welcomed his appointment, with President Bush saying the German pope is "a man of great wisdom and knowledge."
The newly elected Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, was one of the most powerful men in the Vatican under Pope John Paul II and is widely acknowledged as a leading theologian.
The full federal appeals court in Washington Tuesday rejected a request from two journalists facing possible jail sentences who had asked the court to reconsider a decision by a three-judge panel.