BOSTON -- A Raytheon executive says the military knew of problems with the Patriot Missile system before a U.S. Navy pilot was shot down by friendly fire.Nathan White died in April 2003 during the invasion of Iraq when a Patriot Missile hit his fighter jet. His family has sued Raytheon, the defense company based in Massachusetts that manufactures the Patriot.Raytheon's motion to dismiss the lawsuit was denied Dec. 19 by a federal judge in Massachusetts.The ... [full story]

NASHVILLE -- A court in Tennessee ruled that doctors can perform heart surgery on a newborn even though using blood products violates her parents' beliefs.The parents are Jehovah's Witnesses. They believe in getting medical treatment but believe that blood transfusions and any other use of blood violates Biblical teaching."It's a scriptural command to abstain from blood," Fred Haston, who chairs the Jehovah's Witnesses Hospital Liaison committee, told The Nashville Tennessean. "The reason is that the ... [full story]

FARMINGTON, Minn. -- A 2-year-old Minnesota girl who accidentally stabbed herself in the eye with a screwdriver escaped without major injury.Teagon Gislason was treated at the Mayo Clinic for a week, returning to her family in Farmington on Christmas Eve, WCCO-TV reported.The accident occurred at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Cannon Falls, the family said. Teagon, restless during a church service, went into a room where children are under adult supervision.Her parents believe she picked ... [full story]

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan -- The body of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the victim of a suicide attack, was buried Friday next to her father in her family's graveyard.Bhutto was buried next to her father, former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, GEO TV reported Friday.CNN reported Bhutto's funeral procession had a difficult time making headway from Rawalpindi General Hospital when the streets were packed with supporters of the former prime minister and chairwoman of the ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. Department of Homeland Security official said a bulletin was issued citing al-Qaida's alleged claim of responsibility for Benazir Bhutto's death.The official said the bulletin -- issued Thursday by his department and the FBI -- cited Italian news agency Adnkronos International's report that al-Qaida Afghanistan commander and spokesman Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid claims the former Pakistani prime minister's assassination was planned and executed by al-Qaida, CNN reported Friday."We terminated the most precious American ... [full story]

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert bowed to U.S. demands and directed all construction activity in Judea, Samaria and parts of Jerusalem to stop.IsraelNationalNews.com on Friday cited an Israeli Army Radio report that said Olmert and the Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni tried to persuade the U.S. government during the Annapolis, Md., peace talks that construction projects slated for Har Homa in southeast Jerusalem shouldn't be included in the bans on housing projects.The United ... [full story]

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Election officials in Kenya tallied votes Friday from the country's hotly contested presidential and legislative election.The Electoral Commission of Kenya said final results from Thursday's vote were expected Saturday morning, CNN reported Friday.Opposition leader Raila Odinga has repeatedly accused incumbent President Mwai Kibaki of corruption. The results from the election are expected to be close, CNN said.Many Kenyans have said they want change in the country's leadership but numerous others credit the ... [full story]

MOSCOW -- The Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation denied allegations of an arms deal with Iran regarding air defense systems.The statement said Russia isn't discussing the delivery of the S-300 interceptor missile system with Iran contrary to media reports, RIA Novosti said Friday."The issue of the delivery of S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran, raised by the media, is not a subject of current negotiations and has not been discussed with the Iranians," ... [full story]

BAGHDAD -- A car bomb explosion at Baghdad's Aviation Square killed seven Iraqi civilians and injured 35 other people.Iraqi police said the explosion, which took place at 1 p.m. Friday, targeted a crowded market, KUNA, the Kuwait News Agency reported. Police prevented people from gathering at the site Friday in fear a second blast was planned.Iraqi troops, acting on tips from civilians that were verified by intelligence officials, apprehended an al-Qaida-aligned militant during clashes in ... [full story]

BROWNSTOWN, Ind. -- A teenager who confessed to firing a high-powered rifle at a pickup truck in Jackson County, Ind., killing one man, has been sentenced to 42 years in prison.Jackson Circuit Court Judge William Vance said in sentencing Zachariah Blanton, 18, that the teenager committed "an act of terrorism" when he killed Jerry Ross, 40, and wounded a second man in another vehicle on July 23, 2006, the Louisville (Ky.) Courier-News reported Friday."What you ... [full story]