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Work fatigue and overtime hours may raise the risk of gaining weight, new research shows. Does that mean that people are seeking solace at the vending machine for their job frustrations? Are they too exhausted to exercise and cook healthy meals in their free time? Do extra pounds mean it’s …

GEORGETOWN, Texas – Molly Daniels (search) spent weeks surfing the Internet, gathering information for a bizarre and grisly plot of deception. She learned how to burn a human body beyond recognition. She sought clues on ways to deceive arson investigators, and took meticulous steps to create a new identity for …

WASHINGTON – A woman accused Pennsylvania Rep. Don Sherwood (search) of trying to choke her during an encounter at the congressman’s Capitol Hill apartment last fall, but police found insufficient evidence to file charges. According to the police report, the incident involving Sherwood, 64, a married four-term Republican congressman, and …

NEW YORK – Retailers will take the spotlight next week as investors mull whether high energy costs have pinched consumers and clogged America’s economic engine. Retailers and their customers have received added attention lately amid concerns about a softer U.S. economy. About two-thirds of U.S. economic growth is fed by …

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s hard-line Guardian Council (search) on Saturday approved a law that puts pressure on the government to develop nuclear technology that could be used to build atomic weapons, state run radio reported. Parliament had passed the bill on May 15 and sent it to the Guardian Council …

Trans fatty acids. Hard to believe these three little words could launch a snack food revolution. But that’s exactly what’s happening as fast-food makers scramble to come up with viable alternatives for the once highly prized partially hydrogenated oils — the source of most dietary trans fat. The reason for …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – An important Sunni cleric urged Iraq’s new president Friday to buck U.S. pressure and free thousands of suspected rebels, a sign the religious group most often associated with the Iraqi insurgency might be willing to work with the new government. But there was no letup in violence, …

WASHINGTON – Buffeted by rising energy prices and weakened consumer and business spending, the economy grew at an annual rate of just 3.1 percent in the first quarter. It was the slowest pace of expansion in two years, offering fresh evidence that the economy has hit another “soft patch.” The …

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed (search) married Julia Hart in a ceremony at the United States Military Academy, the senator’s alma mater. The 55-year-old Democrat, a former Army Ranger (search), wed 39-year-old Hart on Saturday in a ceremony officiated by the Rev. Raymond Malm of St. …

JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (search) said Monday he favors a three-week delay in Israel’s planned pullout from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements this summer, ostensibly because of a Jewish mourning period marking the destruction of the biblical temples. A postponement could give the ill-prepared government …