AP - For the first time, U.S. life expectancy has surpassed 78 years, the government reported Wednesday, although the United States continues to lag behind about 30 other countries in estimated life span.

AP - NASA's Phoenix Mars lander was not the only one doing the shaking. Scientists operating the spacecraft broke into song and dance on Wednesday after learning that their latest effort to shake lumps of Martian soil into a tiny testing oven worked.

AP - Call it hedonistic environmentalism. Or maybe just eco-conscious imbibing. Either way, those who want their dirty martini to be a little cleaner are increasingly pouring organic spirits into their glass.

AP - Federal health officials haven't yet traced the source of salmonella-tainted tomatoes but, amid an outcry from farmers, are clearing innocent crops as fast as possible.

AP - A remorseful convicted killer was executed Wednesday night for raping and killing a Dallas woman 17 years ago, the first prisoner in nine months to be put to death in the nation's most active capital punishment state.

AP - A helicopter rescued two hikers from high on Mount Rainier Wednesday after they were caught in a freak June blizzard that caused a third hiker's death.

AP - Maybe they stumbled onto a crime in progress. Perhaps they were ambushed by "drunks and dopeheads." Or maybe it was some kind of thrill killing.

AP - More than 100 miles east of Manhattan, out past the Hamptons, sits a tiny village where thousands converge at the docks on summer evenings to ogle at and revere the massive creatures brought back from the sea.