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WASHINGTON – Efforts to curb class action lawsuits (search) advanced Thursday as backers of legislation pushed by the Bush administration and the business community foiled initial attempts to alter a carefully crafted compromise. The Senate Judiciary Committee (search) left intact language that would send many class action lawsuits from state …

WASHINGTON – Scientists have identified the “come hither” scent that female German cockroaches (search) use to lure males, a discovery that may help control one of the world’s most troublesome and resistant household pests. Female cockroaches emit a pheromone (search), or chemical attractant, to let males know they are ready …

CHICAGO – Sara Lee Corp. (SLE) on Thursday said it would spin off or sell businesses representing 40 percent of its revenue and promoted President Brenda Barnes (search) to chief executive as it tries to jump-start sluggish profits. Shares of Sara Lee, which is known for its baked goods, rose …

NEW YORK – Shares of Sharper Image Corp. (SHRP), the personal and home electronics retailer, dropped as much as 16 percent Friday, a day after it forecast a first-quarter loss and declining sales. Company Chairman and Chief Executive Richard Thalheimer (search) told analysts in a conference call late on Thursday …

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The parents of Terri Schiavo (search) won another reprieve in their fight to keep the brain-damaged woman alive after a judge extended an emergency stay keeping her feeding tube in place. The stay had been set to expire Wednesday afternoon, but Pinellas Circuit (search) Judge George Greer …

ALEY, Lebanon – Syrian soldiers stationed in the mountains overlooking Beirut and in northern regions went about their daily chores Friday, exercising, manning posts — and even doing laundry — one day after announcements that Syrian forces would begin to withdraw eastward to areas close to the Syrian border. The …

SPRINGDALE, Ark. – A developer who claims sales in a subdivision stopped after a sex offender and his wife bought a home has sued the couple and the real estate company that arranged the purchase. NGI Rental (search) filed the $2 million lawsuit Friday against Randall Dee Collins (search) and …

WASHINGTON – Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) on Tuesday said it received a $55 million order from Britain for its new Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), the first international sale of the new weapon. Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed said the initial contract calls for GMLRS rockets with the Dual Purpose Improved …

AUSTIN, Texas – A decorated Marine (search) enrolling in college was shocked to learn his Texas driver’s license, car registration and bank records weren’t enough to get the lower resident tuition rates. Carl Basham (search) said officials at Austin Community College recently told him that he lost his Texas resident’s …

Obese adults who reach age 70 are no more likely to die than their thinner counterparts, according to a new study. But they are, however, much more likely to spend their remaining years disabled. Researchers found obesity had little effect on life expectancy after people reached age 70, but it …