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The nearly 200-year-old writing system may be meeting its match. Smartphones and screen-reading software are making Braille less and less necessary. Today, the National Federation for the Blind predicts that only one in 10 blind people can actually read it.

A Spanish company has begun drilling for oil in the Caribbean north of Cuba, just 80 miles from the Florida coast. Researchers and response crews in Florida are already making contingency plans for a possible spill.

Chemical companies are the latest beneficiaries of natural gas drilling booms across the country, especially near the Marcellus Shale region in the Northeast. The ethane-rich gas there is providing a cheap resource, prompting chemical companies to build new plants, expand existing ones and even reopen shuttered facilities.

It's a question that Catholic-sponsored employers have objected to the administration's requirement that health plans cover contraceptives at no charge to the insured. What about coverage for medicines to help men with erectile dysfunction?

The case was brought by a group of students who say the ban has led to a big decline in minority enrollment at state universities. At issue is whether the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will overrule itself because of a new Supreme Court case.

The son of a communist revolutionary hero who was later imprisoned, Xi Jinping is set to become China's next leader. Family members and friends paint a portrait of a humble man with an appetite for knowledge, who is an efficient administrator and an open-minded politician.

David Walker, one-time head of the Government Accountability Office, pointed out something that isn't news but still has the power to disturb when you actually take the time to mull it over: Congress has gotten in the habit of not passing spending bills on time or budget resolutions at all.

Senegal's president, 85-year-old Abdoulaye Wade, is seeking a third term in elections this month. But his challengers — and many Senegalese — say it is against the constitution, and that it's time for him to step aside.

All wars bring innovation — primarily in weapons and medicine. But today's conflicts are also bringing advances in house design, to accommodate wounded veterans. On an Army post in Virginia, two new houses are being hailed as breakthroughs.

A new report finds that about one in eight U.S. voter registrations are invalid or inaccurate. While there are few documented cases of voter fraud, the study finds that cooperation among states could improve the accuracy of voter registration lists nationwide.