The Justice Department is building a massive database that allows state and local police officers around the country to search millions of case files from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal law enforcement agencies, according to Justice officials.

Tuberculosis did not take the day off to mark Christmas. Neither did cancer. Or arthritis. And so neither did Rama Raghunandan, a scientist in Rockville.

NEW YORK -- As an online shopper, Claudia Race knows she must look out for scams. So as an Internet entrepreneur working out of her home in New Braunfels, Texas, Race wants to use all the tools available to assure customers they can trust the vacation-rentals service she is about to launch.

LOS ANGELES - Shoppers are standing in lines to snap up Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii video game consoles as they become available, and some analysts do not expect shortages to ease until March or later.

If only the some-assembly-required phase of computer ownership ended when you'd figured out what plugs go where, a new PC would be no harder to set up than a new DVD player -- not that manufacturers should take any pride in that accomplishment.

The online greeting card, or e-card, seems a natural progression of our increasingly wired society that ditches newspapers for blogs, television for YouTube and handwritten letters for e-mail. The new media is cheaper, customizable and on-demand. But for the holidays, some say it's better to forgo convenience for the sentimentality of a paper card....

Consumer advocates and others have complained bitterly in recent years that the Food and Drug Administration has veered from its scientific roots, making decisions on controversial matters -- such as the emergency contraceptive "Plan B" -- on political rather than scientific grounds.

With all the buzz over the new Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3, there's been little mention of one new feature available in both game consoles: Tucked into the interface of each are content-filtering software tools designed to give parents control over whether their children can play violent video games....

Call it the "year of computing dangerously." Computer security experts say 2006 saw an unprecedented spike in junk e-mail and sophisticated online attacks from increasingly organized cyber crooks. These attacks were made possible, in part, by a huge increase in the number of security holes identified in widely used software products. ...

Ten years ago, the Loudoun County school system was "limping along" when it came to equipping students with the latest technology, said Assistant Superintendent Sharon D. Ackerman. So school officials pushed up their sleeves and drafted a plan to invest $22 million in technology improvements.

Judging by its Web site, Michelle Ford, a 35-year old loan adjuster from Charlotte, said Fairview Lending Group looked like a reputable company. Over two months, she sent Fairview $2,856 in collateral for a $20,000 loan that never materialized.

I have been trying to rent an apartment. I have been taken aback by the information requested on application forms. I would like to know what information landlords have the right to acquire, what information it is prudent to provide, and what responsibility landlords bear to keep this information secure.

To catch up with two electronic music visionaries -- one an '80s synth-pop innovator, the other a '90s trance pioneer -- we're using nothing but the most advanced technology: a crackly speaker phone in a dressing room at Georgia's 1,000-seat Center Stage Atlanta, where "An Evening With BT and Thomas Dolby" is about to play to a full house....

Secure Flight, the U.S. government's stalled program to screen domestic air passengers against terrorism watch lists, violated federal law during a crucial test phase, according to a report to be issued today by the Homeland Security Department's privacy office.

WebMethods announced yesterday that it has chosen a new chief financial officer, its first major first hire after a two-year exodus of top managers and recent disappointing earnings.

The gift card made its mark as the all-purpose present -- functional but not that much fun. Until now.

This week, gift-wrapped presents are strewn around the streets of Paragon City. Open one up, and you'll probably get a nice little surprise from the makers of the online, superhero-themed computer game City of Heroes, like a Santa hat or a new superpower. But open the wrong one and snow monsters...

The cancellation of a high-profile contract to produce 75 million doses of a new anthrax vaccine leaves federal health officials years away from a replacement for the version now in use but could raise the prospects for an alternative being developed by a British competitor.

A divided Federal Communications Commission yesterday approved a measure aimed at helping telephone companies move into cable television markets by significantly limiting what local officials can demand in return for franchises.

Virginia authorities have launched a massive review of the state's DNA database after discovering that thousands of felons may have skirted a legal requirement to submit genetic samples, partly because local and state agencies may have failed to make them do so.

Perot Systems Corp. doubled its government business this week when it announced plans to acquire QSS Group Inc., a federal government information-technology services company based in Lanham.

Here's a way to test your Web savvy: Have you searched for the word Bebo?

Federal health officials yesterday scuttled the largest piece of the Bush administration's two-year program to counter bioterrorism, canceling an $877.5 million contract with VaxGen to develop an anthrax vaccine after the company missed a deadline to begin human testing.