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RALEIGH, N.C. – Parents who were charged with child abuse last August have been exonerated and reunited with their children. Charbel Hamaty (search) was charged with sexually assaulting his newborn son, and Teresa Hamaty (search) was arrested for taking sexually explicit pictures. The couple describe the ordeal as a “nightmare” …

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Congress is again preparing to tackle one of the thorniest social issues in contemporary America — what to do about the thousands of illegal aliens attempting to cross U.S. borders every year as well as the millions who are already here. “It is affecting every member …

Wednesday’s finale of “Dancing with the Stars” (search) waltzed off with over 22 million viewers — big numbers for a summer series. “Dancing” led ABC to an easy prime-time victory — and averaged almost 3 million more viewers than CBS, NBC, FOX, UPN and The WB combined. The reality show, …

NANCY, France – Lance Armstrong (search) survived a rain-soaked and crash-marred sixth stage of the Tour de France won by Italy’s Lorenzo Bernucci on Thursday and maintained the overall lead. Armstrong’s advantage over Alexandre Vinokourov narrowed to 53 seconds after the rider from Kazakhstan (search) placed second in the stage …

First there was Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. Then Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake. Now a 70-year-old widowed Englishwoman has beaten them all — by marrying her 31-year-old boyfriend. “She’s turned my life upside down. She is definitely the woman of my dreams,” Simon Martin told the British Press Association …

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – A woman who police say had been drinking heavily before she gave birth was charged with child neglect after the baby was born intoxicated and diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome. Melissa Irene Tanner, 37, had a blood alcohol content of 0.29 percent when she gave birth June …

NEW YORK – The U.S. daily consumption of coffee rose to 53 percent of the population in a 2005 survey, compared with 49 percent in a 2004 survey, the National Coffee Association of USA (search) said Tuesday. The annual survey, based on nationwide random-telephone interviews of nearly 3,000 people, found …

JERUSALEM – Israel’s president warned Monday that Jewish extremists opposed to this summer’s pullout from Gaza and part of the West Bank could assassinate Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (search). President Moshe Katsav (search) issued the warning as settler leaders tried to rein in extremists by issuing a code of conduct …

McLEAN, Va. – A federal appeals court has reinstated a libel suit against the New York Times filed by a former Army scientist who claims one of the paper’s columnists unfairly linked him to the deadly anthrax (search) mailings in 2001. Steven Hatfill (search) sued the Times for a series …

WASHINGTON – Calls for an early withdrawal from Iraq (search) are a mistake that will only embolden terrorists, the House resolved Wednesday. The resolution drew opposition from Democrats, who said it implied that questioning President Bush’s Iraq policies is unpatriotic. The measure, approved 291-137, says the United States should leave …