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NEW YORK – Playtex Products Inc. (PYX) on Tuesday said it would cut more than 300 jobs, or about 20 percent of its work force, and outsource some production as part of a move to improve its focus on core products, sending its shares up 4 percent. The company, whose …

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Eight alternate jurors were impaneled Thursday for Michael Jackson’s (search) child molestation trial, completing the jury selection process. Selection of the alternates, which followed Wednesday’s swearing-in of 12 regular jurors, sets the stage for opening statements. Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville (search) scheduled the statements …

LOME, Togo – The president of Togo (search), Africa’s longest-ruling leader, died after suffering a heart attack on Saturday. Hours later, the military announced his son would take his place as head of state. President Gnassingbe Eyadema (search), 69, suffered a heart attack early Saturday in his hometown of Piya …

NEW YORK – Stocks fell Thursday, weighed down by retailers’ stocks after a wave of July sales reports that largely lagged Wall Street expectations. The Dow Jones industrial average (search) fell 87.49 points, or 0.82 percent, to end at 10,610.10. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index (search) slipped 9.18 points, …

WASHINGTON – The federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission has recommended to close the world-renowned Walter Reed Army Medical Center outside Washington, D.C. as part of the Pentagon’s plan to restructure military bases across the country. If the plan is approved, the hospital would move most staff and services to …

WASHINGTON – Backers of a permanent National Mall memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. (search) said Monday they are more than a third of the way toward their $100 million fundraising goal. “He is the foundation and the moral compass for our youth,” Sheila Johnson (search), owner of the WNBA’s …

Women who seek treatment for infertility have a “reasonable” chance of having a baby with their own eggs in their early 40s, but success rates drop to close to zero once they reach age 44, a new study suggests. Researchers reviewed birth outcomes among 1,263 women over the age of …

KAMPALA, Uganda – Rebels in northern Uganda (search) ambushed a truckload of civilians that included school children and killed seven people, prompting an army counterattack that left three rebels dead, officials said Saturday. Guerrillas from the Lord’s Resistance Army (search) staged the attack near Kalongo (search), 235 miles north of …

Giving your preschooler jobs around the house may help them perform better in school as well as make new friends, and rewards may not be necessary. A new study shows that children whose mothers supported their autonomy by giving them responsibilities and offering them choices in kindergarten were better off …

My friend died on Sept. 11. Should his wife establish 529 plans for their kids, even though they’re likely to receive college aid? QUESTION: My friend was a Port Authority police officer who died in the Sept. 11 attacks at the World Trade Center. His wife will receive his pension …