AP - City officials have agreed to return hundreds of firearms that police officers confiscated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, part of a deal to resolve a lawsuit filed by gun lobbying groups.

AP - Two Japanese scientists and an American won the 2008 Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for theoretical advances that help explain the behavior of the smallest particles of matter.

AP - Will NASA's flagship mission to Mars fly next year? The space agency could decide as early as Friday whether to cancel, delay or proceed with plans to launch a nuclear-powered, SUV-size rover to the red planet.

AP - Two Americans and a U.S.-based Japanese scientist won the Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for research on a glowing jellyfish protein that revolutionized the ability to study disease and normal development in living organisms.

Reuters - Average household heating fuel costs this winter will be 15 percent higher than last year, with heating oil and natural gas users taking the biggest hit due to more expensive crude oil and colder weather than last winter, the government's top energy forecasting agency said Tuesday.

AFP - From tiny tree frogs to gorillas, wild animals already facing extinction due to habitat loss, pollution and hunting must now cope with the added threat of virulent disease, conservation scientists said Tuesday.

SPACE.com - A NASA probe has begun beaming back stunning new images from its successful second flyby of Mercury, the planet closest to the sun.

AP - Tropical Storm Marco roared ashore on Mexico's Gulf coast with near-hurricane force winds on Tuesday, prompting a shutdown of some oil platforms.

AP - More than 370 penguins that mysteriously washed up on Brazil's equatorial beaches were flown south on a huge air force cargo plane and released closer to the frigid waters they call home, animal advocates said Monday.