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Pope Benedict XVI leaves office this week, the second pope to resign voluntarily. The first was Celestine V, a hermit who quit in 1294, after a brief and disastrous stint. Some scholars say Dante damned Celestine as a coward in his Inferno. Yet his example, legally and spiritually, played a major role in Benedict's departure.

A Maryland building firm automated its home design process, and now it's looking to use another company to assemble houses on-site from parts. The firm has half as many workers as before the recession.

Also: Some authors are buying spots on bestseller lists; the legacy of Philip Roth; and details of Thomas Pynchon's next novel.

When it comes to protecting the environment and issues like worker well-being and women's rights, 10 of the world's biggest food producers get failing grades from Oxfam, an activist group for the poor.

The Chelyabinsk meteor was part of a group of Earth-crossing objects known as Apollo asteroids, scientists believe.

As Friday's deadline approaches, we're pointing to stories that should help everyone get ready. Today's choices: "Sequester, never heard of it;" "when will the cuts be felt;" and "is Obama telling the truth?"

Many American doctors are nurses are helping to build medical schools abroad, as funding agencies push for this collaborative style of philanthropy. Even former President Clinton is getting involved. He's launched a $15 million initiative to revamp Rwanda's health care system.

The head of the conservative Project on Fair Representation has spent years pursuing legal channels to roll back a key section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. His efforts helped bring the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court, which hears arguments Wednesday.

Rates for female applicants could be up to 40 percent higher under the new pricing policy from Genworth Financial, the country's largest long-term care insurer. The company says women account for two out of every three dollars spent on claims.

A two term Republican senator from Nebraska, Hagel will become the first Vietnam veteran to head the U.S. Department of Defense.