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WASHINGTON – The Energy Department is prepared to provide oil from the government’s emergency supplies if a refinery requests it because of the disruption of supplies from Alaska, a department spokesman said Monday. “We’re taking a very serious look at this,” said spokesman Craig Stevens, referring to the loss of …

DALLAS – Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced a new public service campaign Monday that will warn teenage girls against posting information on the Internet that could put them at risk of attack by child predators. “Every day, these predators are looking for someone to hurt,” Gonzales said at the 18th …

PHOENIX – The death of a woman who was gunned down while walking has been linked to a serial killer believed responsible for dozens of random shootings across metropolitan Phoenix, police said Thursday. The shooting was linked to earlier cases because of similarities and forensic evidence, said Mesa police Sgt. …

WASHINGTON – Sen. Charles Schumer said Wednesday the alleged plot in England to blow up U.S-bound airliners spotlights weaknesses in domestic safeguards, and the slow pace of adopting high-tech detection equipment in airports. Schumer’s criticism comes as Republicans and Democrats jockey for a political advantage in the wake of the …

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Thousands of would-be American Idols crooned, rapped and wailed their way through auditions for the hit show’s sixth season Monday, with most waiting hours on line only to see their dreams of stardom quickly dashed by curt words from persnickety judges. “I need therapy,” social worker …

JERUSALEM – Hezbollah chief Sheik Hassan Nasrallah warned that southern Lebanon will become a “graveyard” if Israel continues its attacks and attempts to occupy the region. “You won’t be able to stay in our land, and if you come in, we’ll force you out, we will turn our precious southern …

HAVANA – Tropical Storm Ernesto hit Cuba west of the U.S. naval air base at Guantanamo on Monday after killing one person Haiti as it stayed on track toward Florida, where forecasters expect it to strengthen into a hurricane. Cuba ramped up emergency preparations before the fifth named storm of …

KATMANDU, Nepal – Nepal‘s shortest boy is waiting for word from the Guinness World Records, where he has applied to be named the shortest in the world, his supporters said on Wednesday. Khagendra Thapa Magar, 14, is only 20 inches tall and weighs 10 pounds. According to Min Bahadur Thapa, …

MANILA, Philippines – Soldiers found mass graves believed to hold the remains of up to 300 people allegedly killed by communist guerrillas in the 1980s during a purge of suspected spies in the Philippines’ remote east, officials said Thursday. Former New People’s Army rebels and relatives are willing to testify …

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The favored candidate to take Rep. Bob Ney‘s spot on the ticket can legally do so under Ohio law, the state attorney general said Thursday. Secretary of State Ken Blackwell had sought the opinion from Attorney General Jim Petro as Republicans considered how to replace Ney, who …