WASHINGTON – China’s most senior military officer gave Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld new documentation Tuesday on the 1956 Chinese shootdown of a Navy pilot who was a friend of Rumsfeld’s. A senior defense official who participated in the meeting at the Pentagon said Gen. Guo Boxiong handed over archival …

WIMBLEDON, England – A tearful Andre Agassi bowed out of Wimbledon for the final time Saturday, beaten in straight sets by Rafael Nadal. Defending women’s champion Venus Williams also departed, upset in three sets by Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, 7-6 (8), 4-6, 6-4. Playing in his 14th Wimbledon before retirement …

RICHMOND, Va. – Sometime around 1610, archaeologists figure, a thirsty colonist in Jamestown set his brass pistol on the side of a well as he pulled up some water and accidentally knocked the weapon in. It’s one explanation for a cache of rare finds the archaeologists fished up Tuesday from …

MANSFIELD, Ohio – A woman drowned after jumping into fast-moving floodwaters to try to rescue her 9-year-old daughter, who slipped on a stone walkway into the water and was swept through 460 feet of drainage pipe into another creek. The girl emerged from the pipe without serious injuries and was …

ROME – Bob Geldof canceled two concerts in Italy this weekend after too few people bought tickets, Italian news reports said. The 51-year-old Irish rocker, known for his anti-poverty efforts, had been set to perform in Milan on Friday night and in Rome on Saturday. Fewer than 50 people turned …

LIVINGSTON, Mont. – Firefighters and homeowners got cooler temperatures and hint of rain Friday to help douse a wildfire that has forced people out of homes and cabins. “This is exactly what we need,” fire information officer Marq Webb said as morning clouds hung low over the blaze. “We’re looking …

SAN FRANCISCO – Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) on Tuesday began selling movie downloads from Walt Disney Co.’s (DIS) film studios, aiming to turn its iTunes online music store into a one-stop shop for digital entertainment. Aside from the iTunes announcement, Chief Executive Steve Jobs also said at a San Francisco …

LONDON – Britain’s Ministry of Defense sought to prevent the public from knowing about the work of a unit that investigated reported sightings of unidentified flying objects, or UFOs, a published report said Monday. The Guardian newspaper (click to read article) said that documents released under the British Freedom of …

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Developing nations were calling on rich countries to restart global trade talks, as trade representatives from United States, Europe and Japan joined a meeting of ministers from emerging economies. The two-day gathering of the Group of 20 developing nations in Rio marks the first time …

For women who undergo breast cancer surgery, a novel technology may soon be available to tell whether the disease has spread, German researchers report. The diagnostic tool, which looks for circulating tumor cells, or CTCs, in the blood, can spot one malignant cell among the millions of cells in the …