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BAGHDAD, Iraq – Four days after Al Qaeda (search) in Iraq declared all-out war on the Shiite majority, more than 250 people have been killed, 30 of them by a car bomb Saturday outside a produce market in a poor Shiite suburb east of Baghdad (search). The blast underlined one …

SAN ANTONIO – Army Pfc. Lynndie England (search) will abandon her earlier courtroom strategy and fight charges that she was a key participant in detainee abuse by guards at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib (search) prison, her lawyer said. The 22-year-old reservist, who appears in a series of graphic photos taken inside …

UNITED NATIONS – The assembly of more than 170 world leaders to mark the United Nations’ 60th birthday gives Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (search) a unique opportunity to advance U.S. foreign policy goals on several difficult fronts. Success is by no means assured. While the United States is the …

NEW YORK – James Blake’s (search) feel-good story keeps getting better. The American stunned No. 2 Rafael Nadal (search) on Saturday, winning the last five games to cap a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory at the U.S. Open (search) on Saturday. With a pack of childhood friends — “The James …

LAS VEGAS – A veteran air traffic controller was stripped of tower duty at McCarran International Airport (search) while authorities investigated how two commercial airliners nearly collided on a runway, officials said Thursday. No one was hurt in the Sept. 22 incident, and more than 100 feet separated the planes …

NEW YORK – The United Nations is in dire need of reform, an independent commission has found, but whether it’s able to reform itself when some of its top officials are part of the problem remains to be seen. The Independent Inquiry Committee probing the U.N.’s Oil-for-Food (search) program has …

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court (search) on Tuesday agreed to review a campaign finance law in Vermont, where reformers are trying to limit donations and spending in state political races. The Vermont case has been watched closely by campaign finance reform advocates around the country, and by those who argue …

KABUL, Afghanistan – Heavy casualties inflicted by U.S.-led coalition forces have forced Afghan rebels (search) to recruit younger fighters and change their tactics, but the insurgency is far from broken, a U.S. military spokesman said Monday. Four years after U.S.-led forces drove the hard-line Taliban from power, insurgents are no …

PORTLAND, Maine – A week after drawing criticism with comments about Hurricane Katrina evacuees, Barbara Bush (search) focused on the nation’s outpouring of support for those in need. During a ceremony at Maine Medical Center, the former first lady said Wednesday that Americans have shown compassion following the devastation of …

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan soldiers botched a brazen attempt to assassinate the defense minister at the capital’s airport Saturday, while fighting in southern Afghanistan (search) left 30 suspected militants dead, officials said. The violence came as U.S. military commanders warned in an interview with The Associated Press that Taliban (search) …