CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—Space shuttle Atlantis is closing in on the International Space Station. Atlantis will do a pirouette for the station cameras... Richmond Times-Dispatch

President Barack Obama’s approval rating has fallen below 50 percent for the first time in polling by Quinnipiac University as U.S. voter discontent... Richmond Times-Dispatch

WASHINGTON—West Virginia Sen. Robert C. Byrd has become the longest-serving lawmaker in congressional history, a milestone to be marked today with... Richmond Times-Dispatch

BEIJING—Sarah Palin’s new book may already be a best-seller, but President Barack Obama says he probably won’t read it. The president... Richmond Times-Dispatch

CONCORD, N.H.—Forget cookies and milk. Santa wants the swine-flu vaccine. Many of the nation’s Santas want to be given priority for the vaccine... Richmond Times-Dispatch

SEATTLE—Seattle police say a man who thought he was ninja was impaled on a metal fence when he tried to leap over it. An officer who was looking... Richmond Times-Dispatch

KITTANNING, Pa.—Hundreds of rotting deer carcasses in a southwestern Pennsylvania yard are causing a stink among the neighbors. Randy Good of North... Richmond Times-Dispatch

CHICAGO—An investigation into the death of Chicago’s school board president would continue even though an autopsy concluded that the longtime... Richmond Times-Dispatch

HARDEEVILLE, S.C.—Four people have been killed after a car was hit by an Amtrak train near the South Carolina-Georgia state line. Jasper County Coroner... Richmond Times-Dispatch

NEW YORK—What word sums up 2009? How about unfriend? That’s the New Oxford American Dictionary’s 2009 Word of the Year. It means to remove... Richmond Times-Dispatch

WASHINGTON—Women in their 40s should stop routinely having annual mammograms and older women should cut back to one scheduled exam every other year,... Richmond Times-Dispatch

ORLANDO, Fla.—A new study raises fresh concerns about Zetia and its cousin, Vytorin—drugs that are still taken by millions of Americans to... Richmond Times-Dispatch

Space shuttle Atlantis rocketed into orbit yesterday with six astronauts and a full load of spare parts for the International Space Station. The supply... Richmond Times-Dispatch

ATLANTA—Sexually spread diseases continue to rise, with reported chlamydia cases setting yet another record in 2008, government health officials... Richmond Times-Dispatch

America’s small cities are losing some of their traditional appeal to upwardly mobile families seeking wholesome neighborhoods, a stable economy... Richmond Times-Dispatch

Space shuttle Atlantis rocketed into orbit Monday with six astronauts and a full load of spare parts for the International Space Station. Richmond Times-Dispatch

SANFORD, N.C. (AP)—Authorities in North Carolina say they have found the body of a 5-year-old girl who disappeared a week ago. Fayetteville Police... Richmond Times-Dispatch

COLUMBUS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP)—Police say four people have been found dead in a home in rural Michigan. St. Clair County Sheriff Tim Donnellon said... Richmond Times-Dispatch

ATLANTA—The nation’s largest publisher of newspapers serving the gay and lesbian community has shut down. Laura Douglas-Brown, editor of Southern... Richmond Times-Dispatch

WASHINGTON—The Federal Reserve today proposed new rules to protect consumers from unexpected costs or restrictions on gift cards. More than 95 percent... Richmond Times-Dispatch

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff’s 55-foot yacht named “Bull” and two smaller boats are heading for the... Richmond Times-Dispatch

WASHINGTON—More than 15 million taxpayers could unexpectedly owe taxes when they file their federal returns next spring because the government was... Richmond Times-Dispatch

DRIGGS, Idaho—An 11-year-old Idaho boy fatally shot a black bear on his family’s front porch after he said it wouldn’t leave. The boy... Richmond Times-Dispatch

THOMSON, Ill.—Federal officials are to arrive in rural northwest Illinois today to inspect a prison that could be bought by the federal government... Richmond Times-Dispatch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—NASA is fueling space shuttle Atlantis for its afternoon liftoff. Atlantis is scheduled to blast off at 2:28 p.m. on a mission... Richmond Times-Dispatch

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani; Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy... Richmond Times-Dispatch

ALEXANDRIA—A former Louisiana congressman who famously hid $90,000 in cash in his freezer was sentenced yesterday to 13 years in prison for taking... Richmond Times-Dispatch

In the biggest trial of the age of terrorism, the professed 9/11 mastermind and four alleged henchmen will be hauled before a civilian court on U.S. soil,... Richmond Times-Dispatch

The Army psychiatrist accused in the fatal shootings at Fort Hood may be paralyzed from the waist down after being shot multiple times during the attack,... Richmond Times-Dispatch

Animal welfare activists and pet lovers are demanding that a dog that survived being thrown off a six-story New York building this summer be allowed to... Richmond Times-Dispatch