Hurricane season second costliest on record

The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season ended Sunday, marking the finish of one of the busiest and costliest hurricane seasons ever. The damage caused by this year's Atlantic hurricanes is estimated at $54 billion, according to the National Climatic Data Center. That's second in recorded history only to 2005, the year Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast.

Vehicle crashes into Hanukkah celebration

Fourteen people, including children, were hospitalized Thursday afternoon after a driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a New York building where a Hanukkah festival was under way, police told CNN. Heshey Jacob, president of the Hatzolah Volunteer Emergency Medical Service, said the vehicle went through a play tent in the front of the building where children were playing.

Shuttle makes safe but costly California landing

Space shuttle Endeavour landed safely Sunday afternoon at Edwards Air Force Base in California, after NASA officials waved off two opportunities for the shuttle to touch down in Florida because of poor weather conditions. NASA has estimated it costs about $1.7 million to bring a shuttle home to Kennedy Space Center from California.

De-icer sucked into jetliner, passengers hurt

At least two people were injured when de-icing fluid was sucked into the ventilation system of an Alaska Airlines jetliner at Sea-Tac International Airport in Washington on Wednesday, airport and airline officials said. At airports across the U.S., weather was forcing significant delays as travelers tried to reach their destinations by Christmas.

Bush grants 19 pardons; Libby not on list

President George W. Bush granted pardons Tuesday to 19 citizens charged with a variety of crimes. One of them is Charles Winters, who died almost 25 years ago. Winters helped smuggle weapons to Jews fighting in what was then Palestine in the late 1940s. Presidential pardon watchers are waiting to see whether former vice presidential aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby gets one.

Massive sludge spill overtakes homes

A wall holding back 80 acres of sludge from a coal plant in Tennessee broke this week, spilling more than 500 million gallons of waste into the surrounding area. The sludge, a byproduct of ash from coal combustion, was contained at a retention site at the Tennessee Valley Authority's power plant in Kingston, about 40 miles east of Knoxville.

President pardons 19, commutes meth dealer

President Bush granted pardons Tuesday to 19 citizens charged with a variety of crimes, but none was prominent. One of the men pardoned is Charles Winters, who died almost 25 years ago. His son had worked on winning a presidential pardon for his dad, who had helped smuggle weapons to Jews fighting in what was then Palestine in the late 1940s.

Massive sludge spill runs over homes, water

A wall holding back 80 acres of sludge from a coal plant in Tennessee broke this week, spilling more than 500 million gallons of waste into the surrounding area. The sludge, a byproduct of ash from coal combustion, was contained at a retention site at the Tennessee Valley Authority's power plant in Kingston, about 40 miles east of Knoxville.

Unusually destructive hurricane season ends

The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season ended Sunday, marking the finish of one of the busiest and costliest hurricane seasons ever. The damage caused by this year's Atlantic hurricanes is estimated at $54 billion, according to the National Climatic Data Center. That's second in recorded history only to 2005, the year Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast.