KATC - Always On

WASHINGTON (AP) - First mammograms. Now - in an apparent coincidence - Pap smears. New guidelines by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say most women in their 20s can have a Pap smear every two years instead of annually to catch slow-growing cervical cancer. The change comes amid... more »

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Rare anatomical drawings that once belonged to Benjamin Franklin are on display in a new exhibit at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. The 16 pastel drawings were cutting edge in their day. They show internal organs, bones and muscles of male and female subjects. They were given as... more »

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Customs officials say they got a surprise when they found 316,000 glass bongs disguised as Christmas ornaments at the Los Angeles harbor. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday that agents found the highly decorated drug pipes in 860 boxes shipped from China. The cargo, estimated... more »

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A group of volunteer "elves" in Alaska's frigid interior has set out to save a popular holiday letter service featuring the North Pole's most beloved icon. The group is looking to counter a decision by the U.S. Postal Service to end a program begun in 1954... more »

Statement by US Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis on Wage and Hour Division's increased enforcement and outreach efforts: WASHINGTON - ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding the increased enforcement and outreach efforts of the department's Wage and Hour Division: "There... more »

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) - Call it udder shock. A South Carolina woman who heard a giant splash in her backyard discovered a 650-pound cow had fallen into her swimming pool. WSPA-TV reports that the cow fell into Kathy Wydareny's covered pool on Monday night. The Anderson resident says the cow... more »

SPRING LAKE, N.J. (AP) - Lying in bed one night in 2007, Peter Criss felt something strange: a small lump on his left breast. "I thought, `It's a nodule, I'm a guy, I don't think it's anything more than that,"' he said. "The more I messed with it, the bigger... more »

NEW YORK (AP) - What word sums up 2009? How about "unfriend"? That's the New Oxford American Dictionary's 2009 Word of the Year. It means to remove someone as a friend on a social networking Web site such as Facebook. Each year, Oxford University Press tracks how the English language... more »

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) - One Idaho company is paying for employee loyalty. Health care products company Melaleuca gives workers with five years of continuous employment five grand. Ten years -- $10,000. The longevity payments go all the way up to $30,000 after taxes for 30 years. It's not the... more »

CYBERSPACE (AP) - The Space Shuttle Atlantis won't be the only thing flying when it lifts off from Florida today. The fingers of about 100 huge NASA fans will also be flying - across keyboards as they tweet details of the liftoff. For the first time ever, NASA has invited... more »

SHANGHAI (AP) - President Barack Obama is promoting the idea of Internet freedom to people in China - a land where such freedom is uncommon. The president told a group of Chinese students that unrestricted Internet access in the United States is a source of strength. He also says it... more »

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - A former Louisiana congressman has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa. The sentence handed down Friday in suburban Washington was far less than the... more »

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - These bugs have the right stuff. Three monarch caterpillars are about to become insect astronauts. University of Kansas prof Chip Taylor is providing the caterpillars for a space shuttle launch planned for Monday. The Wichita Eagle reports the bugs will ride the shuttle Atlantis to the... more »

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - The attorney for a Colorado father who reported his son floated away in a helium balloon says his client and the boy's mother could spend time in jail. Lawyer David Lane says both parents will plead guilty to some charges in the case. He earlier... more »

CYBERSPACE (AP) - Wanna go to a concert by Alicia Keys, Daughtry or Usher? A new Web site lets you do so - without even leaving your home. The new concert-viewing Web site gives music fans the opportunity to see the virtual "shows" from any number of different angles. You... more »

SEATTLE (AP) - So far, so good for Microsoft's newest operating system for the personal computer. The new OS has reached its first few weeks on the market without the need for any security fixes. Windows 7 was released on October 22 and in the latest round of security patches... more »

EDINBURG, Texas (AP) - There was something rotten in the fruit -- and it wasn't spoiled produce. Officials at a Texas prison report a crate of donated fruit had 25 pounds of pot stashed inside of it. The illegal harvest had been missed in an earlier search.  The fruit was... more »

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - Bounce it, kick it, catch it. Chase, throw or smack it. The ball, arguably the most popular plaything of all time, has finally earned a place inside a glass case at the National Toy Hall of Fame in New York. Along with the Big Wheel and... more »

ENID, Okla. (AP) - An Oklahoma couple driving home from church hit an animal - a really big one. An elephant that escaped from a nearby circus collided with the couple's SUV Wednesday night when it ran across a rural highway in Enid, about 100 miles north of Oklahoma City.... more »

NEW YORK (AP) - ESPN had better watch its back. Comedy Central has ordered a pilot from the satirical news magazine The Onion. The prospective half-hour scripted series will be based on The Onion's Sports Network, an online video series that parodies sports shows - especially those on ESPN. Onion... more »