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OSAKA, Japan – Soaring oil and food prices are emerging as serious threats to global economic growth, finance ministers from the world’s top industrialized nations said Saturday, while vowing to work together to address the problem. The world economy faces uncertainty and inflationary pressures because of the recent rise in …

SAN FRANCISCO – Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin fell in love at a time when lesbians risked being arrested, fired from their jobs and sent to electroshock treatment. On Monday afternoon, more than a half-century after they became a couple, Lyon and Martin plan to become the first same-sex couples …

MADRID, Spain – Gas stations in Madrid and the northeastern Catalonia region began running out of fuel Monday as an indefinite strike by truckers began to bite. The protest over soaring fuel costs began at midnight Sunday. Antonio Onieva, president of Madrid’s station owners organization, told reporters that by 5:30 …

PINOS ALTOS, N.M. – Medical investigators have confirmed that a mountain lion was responsible for the death of a man who had been reported missing. Relatives of Robert Nawojski, 55, said he liked to bathe and shave on a rock ledge about 60 yards from his home. The state Department …

LOS ANGELES – A whopper of a fight has escalated over who should benefit from the proceeds of California’s popular whale tail license plate. Artist Robert Wyland, who created the image and gave it to the state to help raise funds for marine programs, said he would announce at a …

Guymon, Okla. – Farmers are cutting back on crops and ranchers are selling off livestock in the Oklahoma Panhandle as the area is undergoing its severest drought in decades. The Panhandle is going through its second driest year on record, with the current year being drier than the Dust Bowl …

ANKARA, Turkey – A popular transsexual Turkish singer went on trial Wednesday on charges of trying to turn the public against military service. Bulent Ersoy could face more than two years in prison for saying during a live television show that if she had children, she would not want them …

“American Idol” judge Paula Abdul and restaurant owner J.T. Torregiani have broken up after a year together, her rep told Us Weekly. The couple parted ways two months ago, and Torregiani has moved out of Abdul’s Los Angeles home, the magazine reported. The couple met in April 2007 when Torregiani, …

It almost sounds too good to be true. A drug that could make painful situations comfortable for those who suffer from shyness might be right around the corner, London’s Evening Standard reported Sunday. Scientists believe that oxytocin, a hormone that the body naturally produces during childbirth and lovemaking, might be …

This piece is part one of a two-part discussion on abortion. On abortion, a large gap exists between John McCain and Barack Obama. The National Right to Life Committee as well as Pro-choice America agree that Obama has a perfect 100 percent pro-choice voting record. McCain is pro-life, and the …