JPL's Dawn spacecraft shut down its ion propulsion system today as scheduled. The spacecraft is now gliding toward a Mars flyby in February of next year.

Deayton new host of Comedy Awards (BBC News)

Comic Angus Deayton is named as the new host of this year's Comedy Awards after Jonathan Ross stepped down.

"Countdown" hires Oxford graduate as new Vorderman (Reuters via Yahoo!7 News)

LONDON (Reuters) - A 22-year Oxford maths graduate is to become one of the new hosts of the long-running Countdown television game show in the new year after regular presenter Carol Vorderman steps down, Channel 4 said on Friday.

Charitable giving nationwide is strong, though in New York it has taken a hit (New York Daily News)

As more Americans turn to charity amid worsening economic gloom, operators of food banks and other aid groups are finding that even when times are tough, people still give. Charities in New York, however, whose fates are tied more directly to the stock market, have been hit harder by a decrease in donations this year.

Tourists flying to Costa Rica will have to pay new $15 tax; expected to generate $25M annually (Canadian Business)

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) - Tourists flying into Costa Rica will soon have to pay a new $15 tax. The new tax on plane tickets replaces a 3 percent tax on hotel rooms that generated just $10 million a year and was hard to enforce.