AP - America's space agency was shaken Thursday by two startling and unrelated reports: One involved claims that astronauts were drunk before flying. The other was news from NASA itself that a worker had sabotaged a computer set for delivery to the international space station.

AP - The head of the FBI contradicted Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' sworn testimony and Senate Democrats requested a perjury investigation Thursday in a fresh barrage against President Bush's embattled longtime friend and aide.

AP - Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman's forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former NFL player's death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

AP - An explosion killed two workers and critically injured four others at a Mojave Desert airport site used by the pioneering aerospace company that sent the first private manned rocket into space, authorities said.

AP - Pilots' failure to notice clues that they were heading to the wrong runway was the primary cause of last summer's deadly Kentucky plane crash that killed 49 people, safety investigators concluded Thursday.

AP - In a stinging rebuke of the FBI, a federal judge on Thursday ordered the government to pay a record judgment of nearly $102 million because agents withheld evidence that would have kept four men from spending decades in prison for a mob murder they did not commit.

AP - Wall Street suffered one of its worst losses of 2007 Thursday, leading a global stock market plunge as investors succumbed to months of worry about the mortgage and corporate lending markets. The Dow Jones industrials closed down more than 310 points after earlier skidding nearly 450.

AP - With her dying gasp after being shot through the mouth, actress Lana Clarkson may have breathed out blood that spattered on Phil Spector's jacket, a forensic pathologist testified Thursday in the music producer's murder trial.

AP - While his Atlanta Falcons teammates reported to training camp without him, Michael Vick declared his innocence on federal dogfighting charges Thursday and said he looked forward to "clearing my good name."

Reuters - The Pentagon is making contingency plans for a gradual U.S. withdrawal of troops from Iraq, according to U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who called the planning a "priority."

Reuters - NASA is investigating sabotage of a noncritical computer due to be flown to the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour, which was cleared to lift off on August 7, the U.S. space agency said on Thursday.

Reuters - Two people were killed and four others critically injured on Thursday in an explosion at the California rocket-testing facilities operated by famed commercial spaceflight pioneer Burt Rutan, authorities said.

Reuters - South Korea sent a senior envoy to Afghanistan on Thursday to step up efforts to free 22 Christian volunteers held hostage by the Taliban after rebels killed the leader of the church group.

Reuters - Stocks plummeted on Thursday, with the Dow industrials tumbling more than 300 points, on signs of further weakness in the housing market and deteriorating conditions for corporate buyouts.

Reuters - Democratic U.S. senators on Thursday urged that U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales be investigated for possible perjury and issued a subpoena to senior White House political adviser Karl Rove.

Reuters - Palestinian security chief Mohammad Dahlan quit on Thursday and leaders of the secular Fatah faction announced 60 other security personnel would be court martialled for losing the Gaza Strip to Hamas.

Reuters - A parked car bomb killed 25 people and wounded 115 when it exploded near an intersection in central Baghdad on Thursday and police said the toll was likely to rise as many bodies were still buried under rubble.

AFP - A powerful car bomb rocked central Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 25 bystanders, wounding more than 75 and destroying a row of shops in a busy commercial district.

AFP - Taliban militants extended until noon Friday the deadline to negotiate the release of 22 kidnapped South Koreans, as an envoy headed to Afghanistan to spearhead efforts to free them.