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JERUSALEM – Ending months of angry opposition, several Jewish settler leaders agreed Monday to sit down with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (search) to discuss Israel’s planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip (search). The meeting, set for Tuesday, was the latest sign that some settlers have come to terms with their …

ROME – The College of Cardinals will meet April 18 to begin the process of electing a new pope, the Vatican said Wednesday as final funeral arrangements for Pope John Paul II (search) continued. Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls (search) said the late pope did not release the name of the …

WASHINGTON – A boss sends a red bra to a former female subordinate who had a falling out with him. Government e-mails distribute profanity and a picture of a partly nude woman. An order to better protect patients in a medical experiment takes two years to complete. All of that …

BAGHDAD – Militants unleashed attacks in a northeastern Iraq city that left four people wounded, officials said Tuesday, as the country hosted U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld (search), a leading architect of the war. Gunmen opened fire late Monday on a police patrol in the city of the city …

During the 26 years of his papacy, John Paul II traveled more than a million miles on more than 100 trips to 129 different countries, readily earning the nickname of “globe-trotting pope.” Here is a list of John Paul II’s trips outside Italy since the beginning of his pontificate in …

DALLAS – Regulators would get clearer authority to override state and local opposition in approving import terminals for liquefied natural gas (search) under new energy legislation drafted by House Republicans. The bill, which lawmakers were beginning to consider in detail Wednesday, mirrors a broad energy package that failed to pass …

DES MOINES, Iowa – Appliance maker Maytag Corp. (MYG) said Friday that profit plunged in the first quarter and slashed in half its full-year forecast. The company said it will take “more aggressive steps” to restructure its manufacturing operations and cut costs, but its shares tumbled more than 25 percent. …

Can men inherit risk for a uniquely male disease from their moms? New research raises that odd possibility. Scientists think they have found a gene that predisposes men to prostate cancer (search) in parts of a cell that come exclusively from mothers, who obviously don’t have prostates. The find gives …

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. General Assembly (search) approved a global treaty Wednesday aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism by making it a crime for would-be terrorists to possess or threaten to use nuclear material. A resolution adopted by the 191-member world body without a vote calls on all countries to …

RALEIGH, N.C. – Multiplatinum-selling singer Clay Aiken (search) will talk about his own experiences with bullying with Dr. Phil McGraw on the syndicated “Dr. Phil” (search) show Tuesday. “He talks about his own experiences being bullied,” says RCA Records publicist Roger Widynowski, who said Aiken isn’t doing any press interviews …