LANSING, Mich., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said the bill she signed into law Friday will protect people from second-hand smoke by banning smoking in most workplaces.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. political activist Ralph Nader gave President Obama an "F" for his first year in office, saying he thought the president's performance was desultory.

MARALINGA, Australia, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The last part of an Australian area used for British nuclear tests was returned Friday to its aboriginal owners.

NEW YORK, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A man shot and killed two members of a family and fatally stabbed a third before accidentally falling to his death from a New York apartment, police say.

BRISBANE, Australia, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A large dust storm blanketed a rural area in northeastern Australia early Friday.

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Madagascar will hold elections in early 2010 to choose the members of the country's Parliament, the African country's military-backed leader says.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Washington Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said signing a bill Friday that legalizes same-sex marriage is a "leap forward" for the District of Columbia.

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- NATO officials said Friday they will work with Afghan officials to investigate reports of civilian casualties from a military operation in Kandahar province.

AUSTIN, Minn., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Authorities in Freeborn County, Minn., Friday said the man who was driving a bus that crashed in November, killing two people, will not face criminal charges.

OTTAWA, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Canada's Supreme Court Friday denied a man a $200,000 insurance award, saying a rare side effect of genital herpes that paralyzed him was not an accident.

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The Canadian province of Saskatchewan's law banning biker gangs from wearing their "colors," or insignia, in public places is unconstitutional, a judge ruled.

NEW MADRID, Mo., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of Friday's 3.1-magnitude earthquake in the Midwestern United States was outside New Madrid, Mo.

ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A judge in Orange County, Fla., ruled Friday that prosecutors can seek the death penalty against Casey Anthony, mother of slain 2-year-old Caylee Anthony.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, Friday ripped the Senate majority leader's haste to push healthcare reform to a vote before Christmas.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Broader research is needed in the area of healthcare utilization in regards to minorities in the United States, an expert says.