The debate over spanking goes back many years, but the essential question often evades discussion: Does spanking actually work? In the short term, yes. You can correct immediate misbehavior with a slap or two on the rear end or hand. But what about the long-term impact? Can spanking lead to permanent, hidden scars on children years later? On Sept. 25, a sociologist from the University of New Hampshire, Murray Straus, presented a paper at the International ...

Nikolay Davydenko avenged last year's Tennis Masters Cup final defeat by Novak Djokovic to upset the world No. 3 in the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters on Saturday. The Russian sixth seed triumphed 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-1) in a three-hour epic to earn a showdown with world No. 2 Rafael Nadal, who had an easier passage into the final when Feliciano Lopez became the tournament's ninth injury victim. Davydenko, beaten by Djokovic when the Chinese city held the season-ending finale ...

Marian Cilic will face second seed Novak Djokovic in the final of the China Open on Sunday after handing world No. 2 Rafael Nadal his first defeat in Beijing. Top seed Nadal, who won the tournament in 2005 and also claimed the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics, lost 6-1 6-3 to the eighth-seeded Croatian wildcard entry to end his 14-match winning run in the Chinese capital. Djokovic defeated French Open finalist Robin Soderling 6-3 6-3 to set up a ...

Qualifying for the 2010 World Cup finals is reaching its climax, with footballing heavyweights such as Italy, Germany, Argentina, France and Portugal still battling to be in the hat when the draw is made in Cape Town on December 4. Top seed Nadal, who won the tournament in 2005 and also claimed the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics, lost 6-1 6-3 to the eighth-seeded Croatian wildcard entry to end his 14-match winning run in the Chinese capital. Djokovic defeated ...

Roger Federer has earned another Grand Slam finals appearance after beating Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open men's semi finals. The Swiss champion beat his Serb opponent 7-6 7-5 7-5, and will now meet Juan Martin del Potro in the final, according to the Press Association. Del Potro reached his first grand slam final after he crushed third seed Rafael Nadal in their U.S. Open semifinal on Sunday. The sixth seed from Argentina blew Nadal away at the ...

Third seed Rafael Nadal of Spain overcame a first set tiebreaker loss to cruise through the next three sets and beat Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 in the U.S. Open fourth round. Although Monfils, seeded number 13, on Tuesday had the faster serve -- his fastest being 131 mph (211 kph) compared to Nadal's 119 mph (192 kph) -- he also double-faulted four times, while Nadal had none. Nadal, the six-time Grand Slam winner and reigning ...

World number two Andy Murray handily beat U.S. wildcard Taylor Dent 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in third-round action at the U.S. Open. Murray had more than three times as many aces -- seven compared with Dent's two -- and half Dent's unforced errors -- 13 compared with 27 Sunday night. The match was a vindication of sorts for Murray, who won his earlier match over former training partner, Chile's Paul Capdeville, ranked 87 in the world, after losing a second set. ...

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both crashed out of the Montreal Masters at on Friday night as the world's top eight contested the quarte-finals at the same event for the first time in tennis history. But number one Federer and second-ranked Nadal both flunked their lines, admittedly returning to tournament action after layoffs. Federer, who has not played since winning Wimbledon after becoming the father of twin girls, let a 5-1 lead in the final set slip as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ...

Dr. Conrad Murray was suffering financially with nearly $435,000 in judgments and liens against him over the past two years, according to court documents. Then he decided to leave his practice and work for Michael Jackson, getting paid $150,000 a month. Before working with the King of Pop, Murray spent most of his time operating clinics in both Nevada and Texas after graduating from Meharry Medical College, a historically black school in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1989. He spent his internship ...

Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, administered a powerful drug that authorities believe killed the singer, a source close to the Jackson family and with knowledge of the investigation confirmed to CNN on Monday.