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Whitney Thompson became the first plus-size woman to win “America’s Next Top Model” on Wednesday night. “People always say you have to be stick-skinny, emaciated and unhealthy and I’ve kind of stood up for [being full-figured] my whole life,” Thompson told the New York Post in her first post-victory interview. …

AMSTETTEN, Austria – Investigators plan to use sonar technology to probe the yard of an Austrian man who held his daughter captive for 24 years to ensure that no more underground dungeons exist on the property, police said Friday. Leopold Etz, chief of homicide investigations for Lower Austria province, said …

BALTIMORE – Big Brown charged to the lead turning for home and then cruised down the stretch to win the Preakness on Saturday, still perfect and squarely pointed toward thoroughbred racing’s first Triple Crown in 30 years. “We should have enough horse to get the job done,” said trainer Rick …

JAKARTA, Indonesia – An inter-island ferry carrying more than 700 passengers and crew caught fire Sunday as it neared port on the island of Borneo, an Indonesian television channel reported. District chief Wahyudi Anwar told MetroTV that rescuers pulled 10 survivors from a river outside the town of Sampit, around …

CRAWFORD, Texas – So close and yet so far: Tiny Crawford is sort of like a bridesmaid at arm’s length from Jenna Bush’s wedding Saturday. All of the action is at President Bush’s 1,600-acre ranch seven miles outside this one-stoplight town. The more than 200 Bush family and friends invited …

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syria rejected Israel’s demand that Damascus cut its ties with Iran and Arab militant groups as a condition for a peace agreement, a state newspaper said Saturday. The announcement comes even as Syrian ally Hamas, a sworn foe of the Jewish state, cast doubt on the Israeli …

CONCORD, N.C. – Kasey Kahne capitalized on yet another heartbreaking Tony Stewart defeat, grabbing the lead from the two-time champion when his tire went flat with three laps to go in the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night. Kahne led 65 laps at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, but forfeited it to Stewart …

MIAMI – Authorities say at least 135 people have been arrested during raids across Florida of suspected marijuana grow houses. Officials say 150 houses with indoor marijuana operations were raided Wednesday, from the Florida Keys to the Panhandle. Miami U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta says about 9,250 plants were seized, …

MIANYANG, China – The children’s faces stare in somber black-and-white photos from newspapers and scribbled posters at relief camps, seeking their parents. Many will never find them. As the first estimate of orphans — more than 4,000 — emerged Thursday from last week’s deadly earthquake, thousands of Chinese are rushing …

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – President Bush said Wednesday that rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan while battles rage is proving difficult, and “we’re learning as we go.” The president looked back to the experience of World War II, the deadliest conflict in history, in again asking the country for patience as the …