GOOD NEWS FOR U.S. HOMES, MARS WHEELS

SALES OF existing homes rose in July, and prices continued to climb from a year ago - the latest signals that the nation's housing market has begun to slowly regain its footing.

Data released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors showed that existing-home sales rose 2.3 percent in July, to an annual rate of 4.47 million units. Nationally, the median price of resold homes was $187,300, up 9.4 percent from a year earlier.

Distressed homes - including foreclosed-on homes and short sales that are sold at steep discounts - accounted for 24 percent of sales in July, down slightly from the previous month. Meanwhile, first-time buyers accounted for more than a third of purchasers in July, up from the previous month but still below historical averages.

Regionally, sales of existing homes rose most in the Northeast during July, at 7.4 percent. Sales also rose slightly in the South and the Midwest but were virtually unchanged in the West, though even there they remained higher than a year ago.

PASADENA, CALIF. - Curiosity took its first test drive around the gravel-strewn Martian terrain Wednesday, preparation for the ultimate road trip to find out if life could have existed on the red planet.

The six-wheel NASA rover did not stray far from the spot where it landed more than two weeks ago. It rolled forward about 15 feet, rotated to a right angle and reversed a short distance, leaving track marks on the ancient soil.

Mission managers were ecstatic that the maiden voyage of the $2.5 billion mission was glitch-free.

Curiosity landed in Gale Crater near the Martian equator Aug. 5 to explore whether the environment once supported microbial life. The rover's ultimate destination is Mount Sharp, a towering mountain that looms from the ancient crater floor. Signs of past water have been spotted at the base, which provides a starting point to hunt for the chemical building blocks of life.

INDIANAPOLIS - A prison inmate ran a drug ring involving at least three Indiana prisons that sold heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs around the state using cellphones smuggled in by guards, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday that charges 40 people in connection with the scheme.

Among the inmates charged is alleged ringleader Oscar Perez, who's serving time for murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors allege that he coordinated drug sales on city streets and once conference-called, using smuggled cellphones, with two other inmates housed in different prisons about "pooling their financial resources" to get a discount on heroin.

At least 17 people appeared in court Wednesday in Indianapolis after about 300 FBI agents fanned out across the state and made arrests. Prosecutors said that the defendants were flight risks, and the judge ordered them to remain in custody.

FRESNO, CALIF. - The federal government and McDonald's Corp. suspended purchases of meat Wednesday from a California slaughterhouse, Central Valley Meat Co., under investigation for animal cruelty and possible health issues.

The suspensions occurred after an animal-welfare group's covert video showed cows that appeared to be sick or lame being beaten, kicked, shot and shocked in an attempt to get them to walk to slaughter.

"There are behaviors in the video which appear to be unacceptable and would not adhere to the standards we demand of our suppliers," McDonald's said in a news release.

Federal officials say that nothing they have seen so far in the video shows that meat from cows that may have been sick made it into the food supply, but interviews with employees were ongoing.

The video was shot in June and July by an undercover operative for the group Compassion Over Killing who worked at the plant and also gave a written statement to the USDA about events not on tape.

It's against the law to slaughter a non-ambulatory animal for food out of concern that it could be infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease. The Hanford slaughterhouse is in the same city where a dairy cow at a rendering plant was discovered in April to have mad cow disease.

DALLAS - Leaders of the pilots' union at American Airlines raised the threat of a strike, and also met Wednesday with the CEO of US Airways, which is pursuing a labor-backed merger with American.

The Allied Pilots Association said that it would hold a strike-authorization vote as soon as American tries to use the bankruptcy process to throw out its contract with pilots and impose new pay and work rules.

The airline said that a strike would be illegal.

A hearing on American's request to cancel the pilots' contract is scheduled for Sept. 4 before a federal bankruptcy judge in New York.

Federal law makes it difficult for airline unions to legally strike. In 2007, a federal appeals court blocked a planned strike by flight attendants at Northwest Airlines after the airline threw out the union's contract as part of its bankruptcy case.

NEWARK, N.J. - A passenger on a Newark-bound flight dozed off wearing headphones and awoke to find the hands of the stranger seated next to her inside her blouse and shorts, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

The woman, whose name is being withheld by prosecutors because of the nature of the charges, told authorities she woke up to find the man had one of his hands inside her shirt touching her breasts and the other in her shorts molesting her, according to the complaint. The man was breathing heavily and repeatedly asked the woman to kiss him.

- Daily News wire services