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BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - U.S. video game magnate Richard Garriott blasted off into space aboard a Russian rocket on Sunday watched by his father, a NASA astronaut who went into space at the height of the Cold War.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Cuban soccer players have defected from their national team before the World Cup qualifying game on Saturday night against the United States, Cuban and U.S. media reported.

HARTFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - Connecticut's highest court on Friday unexpectedly struck down a ban on gay and lesbian marriage, making the New England state the third in the nation to allow full-fledged marriage for same-sex couples.

BOSTON (Reuters) - The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriage on Friday in a victory for gay-rights advocates that will allow couples to marry in the New England state.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amtrak set a ridership record for the year ended September 30 with 28.7 million passengers, and also reported on Friday that revenue on its flagship line rose more than 14 percent.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA needs more money to resolve problems with its next Mars mission and keep it on track for launch next year, and is gambling that the U.S. Congress will find the extra funds, officials said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The financial crisis could yield a bumper crop of U.S. military recruits if the recent plunge in stocks translates into job losses and an even weaker economy, defense officials said on Friday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With just 25 days to the U.S. presidential election on November 4, a union of New York City teachers filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to overturn a rule that forbids teachers from wearing campaign buttons in school.

HARTFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - Connecticut's highest court on Friday unexpectedly struck down a ban on gay and lesbian marriage, making the New England state the third in the nation to allow full-fledged marriage for same-sex couples.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former chief executive of the Duane Reade Holdings Inc drugstore chain pleaded not guilty on Friday to securities fraud, conspiracy and charges of making false statements to securities regulators.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - YouTube said on Friday that it had started running full-length TV shows from CBS Corp's archive in the popular video-sharing site's latest step to build its advertising business with professional programming.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration said on Friday it would take further steps to support the student loan market for the 2009-2010 school year.

BOSTON (Reuters) - The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriage on Friday in a victory for gay-rights advocates that will allow couples to marry in the New England state.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oliver Stone's film portrait of U.S. President George W. Bush was always going to be controversial given the director's liberal leanings.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Former President Jimmy Carter said on Friday the "atrocious economic policies" of the Bush administration had caused the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - Richard Garriott, a U.S. space tourist due to travel to space on a Russian spaceship on Sunday, said he was unfazed by the prospect of a bumpy ride back to Earth, saying he expected to land safely.

OSLO (Reuters) - Finland's former president Martti Ahtisaari won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for a long career of peace work from Namibia to Kosovo.

OSLO (Reuters) - Finland's former president Martti Ahtisaari won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for a long career of peace mediation work including a 2005 accord between Indonesia and rebels in its Aceh province.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans may like to make fun of girls who are good at math, but this attitude is robbing the country of some of its best talent, researchers reported on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Security Agency said on Thursday it was investigating allegations that intelligence officials listened to personal phone calls from military officers, journalists and other Americans living outside the United States.