The deadly meningitis outbreak linked to contaminated pain injections has prompted calls for tighter federal regulation of compounding pharmacies, which have periodically been blamed for crippling and sometimes fatal injuries. But this isn't the first time Congress has pushed for more authority over the industry.

Such efforts stretch back to the 1990s, and after vigorous pushback by compounding pharmacists, they have left a patchwork of incomplete, overlapping laws, contradictory court rulings and overall uncertainty about how much power the Food and Drug Administration has to regulate compounders.

Rocking a pompadour and glittery jacket reminiscent of Houston's stage costumes from the 1980s, Hudson belted out a medley of Houston's hits Thursday at the Nokia Theatre for "We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Salute to Whitney Houston," which will air as a TV special next month.

"She has been a huge part of my life musically," Hudson said. "She's just been like this outline, this blueprint for myself."

Bieber tweeted to his nearly 29 million followers he and his tour manager were victimized during the show Tuesday night at the Tacoma Dome. But questions were raised Friday about the authenticity of Bieber's claim.

Another Twitter user alluded to having the laptop and footage of the pop star. The account, though, linked to Bieber's new music video, which starts with text saying personal footage was stolen and uploaded "illegally."

The U.N. Security Council on Friday unanimously approved a plan to back an African-led military force to help the Malian army oust Islamic militants who seized the northern half of the country and are turning it into an al-Qaida terrorist hub.

The French-sponsored resolution expresses alarm over the infiltration by "al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), affiliated groups and other extremist groups," and condemns "the abuses of human rights committed in the north of Mali by armed rebels, terrorist and other extremist groups."

At its prime, the space shuttle Endeavor cruised around the Earth at 17,500 mph, faster than a speeding bullet.

In retirement, it's crawling along at a sluggish 2 mph, a pace that rush-hour commuters can sympathize with.

ABC's Robin Roberts has come home from the hospital three weeks after undergoing a bone marrow transplant.

After thanking her doctors and nurses and singing "Amen," the "Good Morning America" host began the next stage of recovery from MDS, a blood and bone marrow disease. Her sister was the donor for her bone marrow.

U.S. retail sales of new video-game hardware, software and accessories fell 24 percent in September.

The falloff marked the 10th-consecutive month of declining sales as the gaming world holds off buying ahead of the release of Nintendo's Wii U console next month

The University of Nottingham says that Keith Campbell, a prominent biologist who worked on cloning Dolly the sheep, has died at 58.

University spokesman Tim Utton said Thursday that Campbell, who had worked on animal improvement and cloning since 1999, died last Friday. Utton did not specify the cause of death. Campbell had worked at the university until recently.

The world now has nearly as many cell phone subscriptions as inhabitants.

The U.N. telecom agency says there were about 6 billion subscriptions by the end of 2011 — roughly one for 86 of every 100 people.

In a move bound to provoke U.S. prosecutors and entertainment executives, indicted Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is planning to launch a replacement of his shuttered website and a new online music service by year's end.

The file-sharing site that Dotcom started in 2005 was one of the most popular online sites before U.S. prosecutors shut it down and filed racketeering charges against Dotcom and six other Megaupload principals in January.