Top Stories - at USATODAY.com

PARIS - Barack Obama returned to familiar themes in visiting with France's president here Friday, saying international cooperation and understanding were essential in improving both U.S. and European security.

A study that links Vytorin to cancer has provoked controversy among heart specialists worried that the drug's risks may outweigh its benefits.

States beefed up bridge inspections following a fatal collapse in Minneapolis last year, but they aren't coming up with the money needed to ensure that they are sound.

After the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis plunged into the Mississippi River last Aug. 1, transportation departments across the USA scrambled to inspect bridges of a similar design in their own states. On the recommendation of the Federal Highway Administration, they inspected similar deck truss bridges and steel gusset plates used to connect girders.

States are reviewing notification procedures for sex offenders living in long-term care facilities as some nursing homes see an influx of residents with mental illnesses.

PITTSBURGH - Pennsylvania exemplifies the challenges that states face in maintaining and repairing aging bridges.

LOS ANGELES - Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calf., is accusing the Bush administration of failing to own up to "a huge blunder" that led to the release in Mexico of a man wanted in the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

BERLIN - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, as he neared the end of his seven-country foreign trip, staged an unusual public rally Thursday that drew more than 200,000 people to a historic park that is Berlin's equivalent of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

John McCain planned to meet with the Dalai Lama in a show of solidarity with the Tibetan spiritual leader and as a rebuke to China.

Bridge ratings are available from states and the federal government, but in many states, the detailed inspection reports are off-limits over terrorism concerns.

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - The fourth day of Salim Hamdan's war crimes trial opened Thursday with an apology from Hamdan.

Churches nationwide are fretting and sweating to reel men into their sanctuaries on Sundays.

Police only use the public announcements of a child's abduction for kids in the most danger.

LANDSTUHL, Germany - Doctors at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center a key Army hospital have expanded screening for traumatic brain injury (TBI), checking each of wounded servicemember. It's an effort that could set new standards for whether troops suffering from TBI ever return to duty.

SDEROT, Israel - On a visit to a nation that could influence the outcome of the war on terrorism, Barack Obama's itinerary was similar to the one John McCain followed earlier this year, with one notable detour.

WASHINGTON - Blacks and whites continue to have profoundly different perspectives on the prevalence of racism in America, a Gallup Poll finds, but it also shows a jump in optimism about the future.

Pentagon planners are recommending dispatching hundreds of support troops to Afghanistan before bad weather hinders fighting in the fall.

The time prisoners spend on death row has nearly doubled during the past two decades and will likely rise further as states review execution procedures and prisoners pursue lengthy appeals.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Supporters of John McCain say Barack Obama's speaking style and charisma can't match the GOP candidate's stellar background.

With heightened security regulations and frequent delays, airplane travel can be an unpleasant ordeal for anyone. For a child who becomes anxious in close quarters, may have trouble communicating and is sensitive to loud noises, it can be terrifying. Those are common characteristics of autism, a developmental disability that affects about one in every 150 American children and one in every 94 boys, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

FAYETTE, Ala. - When Elisha McKinney graduated this spring from Bevill State Community College, she became the first in her family to earn a college degree. Now, as she takes online summer classes toward a bachelor's degree, she marks another first that she hopes also will be her last: She took out a student loan.

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Salim Hamdan was so entwined in the inner circles of al-Qaeda that an eventual suicide bomber of the USS Cole attended his wedding and Osama bin Laden hosted a post-wedding feast, an FBI official who interviewed Hamdan testified Wednesday..

WASHINGTON - The House on Wednesday approved compromise legislation to shore up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while helping hundreds of thousands of homeowners refinance into more affordable loans.

Community colleges pride themselves on being the best bargains in higher education, yet affordability remains a barrier for many low- and moderate-income students. Tuition, though it's rising faster than inflation, isn't the main culprit. At $2,361, last year's average community college cost was just 38% of what public four-year universities charged, says the non-profit College Board, which tracks annual tuition increases.

SDEROT, Israel - Barack Obama's visit to Israel Wednesday was replete with symbolism that gave him a chance to talk tough about Iran's nuclear program, reaffirm Israel's right to defend itself and to suggest that the election of moderate Palestinian leaders has opened a window for achieving a Mideast peace deal.

It's no coincidence that the most selective universities also tend to be the richest. Higher education traditionally has favored the best and brightest.

Fitness fireball Richard Simmons, 60, who has had people Sweatin' to the Oldies for years, will offer new ideas for pumping up physical education at a congressional hearing Thursday in Washington.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Tuesday that the nation faces an "energy crisis" with both economic and national security implications, requiring more offshore oil drilling to lower gas prices and offset imports from hostile countries.