Home videos of children’s birthday parties may validate what many parents of autistic children have suspected in retrospect: Children who seemed normal in their first year of life may regress and develop symptoms of autism by their second birthday. A new study analyzed home videos of first- and second-year birthday …

SAN DIEGO – The U.S. government is launching two new media campaigns to try to stop immigrants from attempting clandestine border crossings (search) and trying to sneak children into the country in car trunks, engines and even gasoline tanks. One ad unveiled Thursday shows a young girl gasping for air …

WICHITA, Kan. – At least 10 relatives of the victims of BTK (search) serial killer Dennis Rader (search) are expected to come to Wichita (search) for his three-day sentencing hearing, which begins Wednesday. The family members are receiving help with their travel and lodging expenses from a fund set up …

WASHINGTON – A new constitution will not end all the violence in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld (search) said Tuesday, acknowledging that the continuing turbulence “has to be a be a heart-wrenching thing” for the families of U.S. forces still fighting insurgents there. “The process has been delayed a …

WASHINGTON – Americans in the Middle East and North Africa were warned Thursday they may be targets of terrorists using biological weapons as well as conventional arms. Seaborne vessels traveling in the southern Red Sea (search) are among the possible targets, the State Department said in alerting Americans to ongoing …

Planning to succeed in business? Then you need good public-speaking skills. Here’s how to tap into your inner extrovert. FOR MORE THAN 10 years, Janet Esposito, 48, a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist, lived in fear of public speaking — something she had to do frequently for her job. …

OLYMPIA, Wash. – An unemployed mother fighting to remove Spokane Mayor James E. West (search) from office can start collecting signatures for her recall petition. The state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Shannon Sullivan’s recall effort can proceed, meaning supporters can begin collecting the required 12,600 valid signatures following a …

SEATTLE – Time is running short for a group hoping to make the boyhood home of acid-blues-rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix (search) the centerpiece of a community music center. King County Superior Court Judge Palmer Robinson on Thursday refused to extend a temporary restraining order that barred the city from demolishing …

KISSUFIM CROSSING, Israel – Israel (search) lowered a road barrier sealing the Gaza Strip (search) to Israeli civilians at midnight Sunday — signaling the start of a historic withdrawal that will end its 38-year occupation, redraw borders and reshape prospects for Mideast peace (search). But several hundred settlers vowed stay …

Drinking lots of milk might slightly raise a woman’s risk of ovarian cancer, a new study suggests. But even if the risk is real — which is not yet proved — the study authors say there’s no reason for women to avoid dairy foods. Susanna C. Larsson, MSc, a researcher …