AFP - Senate Democrats Tuesday failed to win passage of a bill they said would trim runaway energy prices by ending tax breaks for oil companies and forcing them to invest in "clean" technology.

AP - Nearly a month after China's devastating earthquake, the Wolong Nature Reserve held a funeral Tuesday for a panda that was crushed in the temblor.

AFP - A hi-tech telescope NASA plans to launch on Wednesday hopes to fling open a new window on the Universe, exploring extreme sources of gamma-rays that point to powerful and exotic phenomena.

AP - Lesser prairie chickens have been reduced to a fraction of their population across five states, says a conservation group that is ratcheting up the pressure on the federal government to provide more protection for the rare bird.

AP - Little work remained for shuttle Discovery's astronauts to complete aboard the international space station Tuesday before they closed the hatches between the two spacecraft in preparation for their return trip to Earth.

AP - Long-tailed macaque monkeys have a reputation for knowing how to find food — whether it be grabbing fruit from jungle trees or snatching a banana from a startled tourist.

AFP - Australian fashion and farming figures Tuesday hit back at animal rights activists' claims that wool production was cruel to sheep, saying bans on wool exports were misguided and hurting farmers.

AFP - Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide put the robotic arm of the Japanese Kibo module through its paces Monday before stowing it away, as the shuttle Discovery crew completed its mission at the International Space Station.

Reuters - A dam near the Wisconsin Dells resort area broke on Monday, sweeping away some homes, as torrential rains caused more flooding across parts of the U.S. Midwest, authorities said.

AP - First-century burial grounds near Rome's main airport are yielding a rare look into how ancient longshoremen and other manual workers did backbreaking jobs, archaeologists said Monday.