TORONTO – Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin dissolved the House of Commons Tuesday and elections were set following Parliament’s vote of no confidence in the government. Martin went to the official residence of Governor-General Michaelle Jean, representative of head of state Queen Elizabeth, and announced that she had granted his …

NEW YORK – U.S. consumer confidence improved in November as gasoline prices eased and the drag on sentiment from Hurricane Katrina abated, a report showed on Wednesday. The University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment recovered from a two-month slump to 81.6 this month from 74.2 in October, just above …

BEIJING – The death toll in a coal mine explosion in northeast China rose to 161 late Wednesday after emergency workers pulled more bodies from underground, state media reported. At least 10 miners were missing, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The blast, which occurred Sunday at the Dongfeng Coal …

MIAMI – Little ghosts and goblins in cities across South Florida were stuck inside Monday night as officials urged parents to cancel this year’s trick-or-treating because of the damage from Hurricane Wilma. The power was still out in many places, and storm debris made some streets and sidewalks hazardous. “In …

OAKLAND, Calif. – Police in California (search) are checking into a report of a possible child abduction on Halloween night. Oakland (search) police say two trick-or-treaters reported seeing a child wearing a costume yanked off a bicycle and forced into a van. They are investigating the incident as a possible …

Here’s what is on tap for Wednesday: “FOX & Friends First” Starts at 6 a.m. ET President Bush (search) reassures the nation that there’s no reason to fear the bird flu yet. But could an outbreak in America be on the horizon? We’ll ask Dick Thompson, spokesman of the World …

Watch “Hannity & Colmes” weeknights at 9 p.m. ET! November 16: Why are conservatives pointing to Bill Clinton to defend the Bush administration on the investigation into pre-Iraq war intelligence? Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House and FOX News contributor, weighs in. Then, did Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller …

It’s not just another biopic. This weekend’s new movie “Walk the Line,” which chronicles “Man in Black” Johnny Cash’s life from childhood to his rise to fame in Memphis, is garnering critical acclaim and strong Oscar buzz for Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the country music icon, and Reese Witherspoon, who …

LONDON – Actress Kate Hudson has launched legal action over photographs she claims wrongly portrayed her as having an eating disorder, her lawyers said. Hudson asked the London law firm Schillings to take action on images she said were misleading. Hudson, 26, has starred in more than a dozen films, …

NEW YORK – Jude Law and Sienna Miller are on again. And they couldn’t have been farther off: Earlier this year, Miller reportedly dumped Law after he confessed to cheating on her with his children’s nanny. Then, just as they seemed to be getting back on track, Miller allegedly had …