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TRENTON, N.J. – For the first time, it appears that more than half of all insured Americans are taking prescription medicines regularly for chronic health problems, a study shows. The most widely used drugs are those to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol — problems often linked to heart disease, …

Iraqi militants apparently used a teenage girl as a homicide bomber, killing an Iraqi army captain and injuring four more soldiers. According to an Iraqi Army spokesman the girl was strapped with explosives and detonated by remote control as she approached the captain in Youssifiyah, south of Baghdad, Sky News …

PARIS – Teachers, postal workers and other public servants staged a one-day strike and tens of thousands marched through French cities Thursday, a widespread protest against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s planned job cuts. Schools were shut around the country as nearly half the teachers stayed away from work, while about 15 …

Cody Hall was born with a hemangioma, a tumorous birthmark that distorted the shape of her face and grew larger as she got older. Click here to view photos. When she was 1-year-old, her doctors in England told her parents that nothing could be done about her condition, so her …

ALEXANDRIA, La. – An investigation into possible drug activity in an Alexandria, La., neighborhood led city police to an abandoned car with 53 marijuana plants growing in it. Sgt. Newmon Bobb said the plants, which would have an estimated value of $53,000 when fully grown, were seized, and two people …

A man in Brisbane, Australia is suing an American contact solution manufacturer, claiming the solution caused his partial blindness, the Australian Associated Press is reporting. Advanced Medical Optics recalled its Complete Moisture Plus solution in May 2007 after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked the solution to …

WASHINGTON – Federal prosecutors should open a criminal investigation into the deaths of nine people in a Utah mine collapse last year, a leading House Democrat said Thursday. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, said he made a criminal referral to the Justice …

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Democratic Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has tapped the dean of the Ohio State University law school to serve temporarily as attorney general after a sexual harassment scandal forced out the previous attorney general. Strickland says Nancy Rogers will lead the office for about six months but has …

LONDON – A British official says European Union nations have agreed in principle to freeze the assets of Iran’s largest bank. Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s spokesman, Michael Ellam, said Monday an agreement is in place over the assets of Bank Melli. Ellam has said following talks in London between Brown …

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Inmates in black-and-white striped uniforms were rescued from jail by boat Wednesday as the raging Cedar River flooded a small city’s downtown and forced evacuations in another town downstream. On the East Coast, officials revealed the weekend heat wave had claimed 17 lives. From Wisconsin to …