Wrinkled and skinny at first, the translucent, jellyfish-shaped balloons that Google released this week from a frozen field in the heart of New Zealand's South Island hardened into shiny pumpkins as they rose into the blue winter skies above Lake Tekapo, passing the first big test of a lofty goal to get the entire planet online.
The revelation Friday that a former commander of a Nazi SS-led military unit has lived quietly in Minneapolis for the past six decades came as a shock to people who knew him, prompted harsh condemnations from World War II survivors in the U.S. and Europe, and led prosecutors in Poland to say they would investigate.
Danielle Powell was going through a hard time in the spring of 2011, just months away from graduating from a conservative Christian college in Nebraska. She had fallen in love with another woman, a strictly forbidden relationship at a school where even prolonged hugs were banned.
The Obama administration hopes its decision to give lethal aid to Syrian rebels will prompt other nations to beef up assistance, now that the U.S. has cited evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its people.
The transit police officer who survived a showdown with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects left the hospital Friday, nearly two months after the gun battle that severed one of his femoral arteries.
Obama says a Father's Day luncheon at the White House on Friday was a great way for all the dads to celebrate the coming occasion and remember how lucky they are.
Private investigators found that CBS News Washington reporter Sharyl Attkisson's computer was tampered with multiple times late last year, the network said Friday.
Firefighters have at least temporarily battled to a "draw" with a fast-moving fire that has already killed two people and destroyed 379 homes, giving weary authorities and residents the first glimmer of hope after three days of mounting damage, a sheriff said.
Pope Francis waded diplomatically into the gay marriage debate Friday, telling the Archbishop of Canterbury he wants to work together to promote family values "based on marriage."
President Barack Obama's decision to authorize lethal aid to Syrian rebels marks a deepening of U.S. involvement in the two-year civil war. But U.S. officials are still grappling with what type and how much weaponry to send the opposition forces and how to ensure it stays out of the hands of extremists battling for control of Syria.
A packed outdoor deck behind a popular Miami-area sports bar partially collapsed during the NBA Finals on Thursday night, sending dozens of patrons into the shallow waters of Biscayne Bay.
A businessman opened fire on his employees at a downtown St. Louis office, killing a man and two women before turning the gun on himself, police said.
John Zawahri left a note apologizing for killing his father and brother but left no explanation for the rampage that left them and three others dead in Santa Monica, police said Thursday.
The Obama administration has concluded that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime has used chemical weapons against the opposition seeking to overthrow him, U.S. officials said Thursday, crossing what President Barack Obama has called a 'red line' that would trigger greater American involvement in the crisis.
Google launches Internet-beaming balloons (Photo Gallery)
