GLENDALE, Calif. – Actor Henry Winkler took the witness stand Wednesday in a lawsuit over the death of actor John Ritter, telling jurors he had a conversation with his friend just hours before he died. Winkler, who played The Fonz on “Happy Days,” also gave the jury a testimonial to …

HELSINKI, Finland – Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen is suing the publisher of a book his former girlfriend wrote about their relationship, including steamy sauna scenes. He says he and his family have suffered and is seeking damages. The case opened Friday in the Helsinki District Court. Vanhanen is claiming …

LOS ANGELES – A hilltop house in Los Angeles has cracked in half and a dozen people have been evacuated because of fears it may collapse onto other homes. Evacuees were briefly allowed back into their homes Monday to collect belongings. The house in the San Fernando Valley was unoccupied …

HOUSTON – With the Columbus lab now secured to the international space station, the 10 orbiting astronauts rolled up their sleeves on Tuesday for their next big job: getting the lab running. Crew members spent Tuesday morning hooking up power, fluid and data lines linking the new module to the …

LONDON – British singer Amy Winehouse has been questioned about a video that allegedly showed her smoking crack cocaine, police said Wednesday. No charges were filed and an investigation is continuing, police said. Last month, The Sun tabloid ran still images from a video that showed the jazz-pop diva inhaling …

ORANJESTAD, Aruba – An FBI analysis of fabric collected from a crab trap off Aruba showed the material did not match clothing worn by missing American Natalee Holloway, prosecutors said Tuesday. The fabric was recovered in January by divers in about 90 feet of water as they searched for the …

JAKARTA, Indonesia – A powerful earthquake struck western Indonesia on Wednesday, killing at least three people, injuring 25 others, and damaging several buildings, officials said. No tsunami was detected. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 and struck under the island of Simeulue off …

A 7-year-old girl from the U.K., who was born with a menacing birthmark, has gone through an amazing transformation, it is reported. According to the Daily Mail, Becky Prosser was born with a tiny red mark on her forehead. But it wouldn’t stay that way for long. It soon developed …

Last month, technology news sites and blogs breathlessly reported on a Federal Aviation Administration document suggesting that Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner passenger jet may be vulnerable to computer hackers. Boeing now says that the problem was fixed even before the FAA issued its warning. But there may be yet another …

A new laptop computer for just 99 pounds — about $200 — sounds like the kind of offer found in a spam e-mail or on a dodgy auction Web site. But the British company Elonex is launching the country’s first sub-100-pound computer later this month and hopes to be making …