CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - A commercial rocket has blasted off with a load of supplies for the International Space Station. The SpaceX company's Falcon 9 rocket took flight at 3:44 a.m. today from Cape Canaveral, opening a new era of spaceflight. It carried a capsule named Dragon that is packed with 1,000 pounds of space station provisions.

This is the first time a private business has launched a vessel to the space station. That's something only major governments have done - until now. The real test comes Thursday when the Dragon gets close to the space station. It will undergo practice maneuvers from more than a mile out. If all goes well, the docking will occur Friday.
NASA and SpaceX stress that this is a demonstration

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - The jury at the trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards is set to deliberate his fate for a third day. The jurors ended their talks Monday shortly after requesting
access to a second set of exhibits they wanted for a closer look, including a handwritten note from Rachel "Bunny" Mellon.

The 101-year-old heiress provided most of the nearly $1 million in
secret payments prosecutors say Edwards used to help hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. The jury began its deliberations Friday after nearly four weeks of testimony in the case. Edwards has pleaded not guilty to six felony counts related to campaign finance violations. He faces up to 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines if convicted on all counts.

A Lexington, Kentucky high school student claims she was barred from prom because she planned to bring a date of the same sex.

Hope Decker, 18, says administrators at Lexington Catholic High School sat her down Friday and told her she could not attend with her girlfriend, Tiffany Wright, who is also a student at the school.

"What I experienced in the Dean's Office was blatant homophobia," said Decker, a senior at the school. "We were told that this school has Catholic principles and so they couldn't let it happen."

"At first I was really upset," said Tiffany Wright, Decker's date for the dance. "I mean, we both cried and then I was like, this is ridiculous. There's gotta be something we could do about this."

Decker, Wright, and dozens of their friends still dressed up for the occasion and even attempted to get into the school for prom.

When turned away, they decided to have their own outdoor version outside of the school.

"I just think it's ridiculous that a school that claims to foster love and equality is doing something like this to its own students," said Wright.

The group of students said they have started a petition they plan to send to the school's president and principal, along with the bishop, in the hopes their situation might lead to change for future couples.

They said they have already received more than 100 signatures from other students opposed to what happened.

The school's assistant principal said he could not comment on the situation, but added that Lexington Catholic adheres to the guidelines set forth by the Catholic Church.