JERUSALEM – Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that Israel plans to separate from most of the Palestinians in the West Bank and this would require withdrawing from some of the territory. It was the first time Olmert, who took over from ailing Ariel Sharon a month ago, has …

HELSINKI, Finland – Conan O’Brien finally met his match. The “Late Night” jokester, who ran a mock ad campaign endorsing the re-election of Finnish president Tarja Halonen — because of her strong resemblance to him, red hair and all — had a face to similar face meeting with her Tuesday …

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – Alan Shalleck, who collaborated with the co-creator of “Curious George” to bring the mischievous monkey to television and a series of book sequels, was found dead outside his home, and police were treating the death as a possible homicide. The bloodied body of Shalleck, 76, was …

SAN FRANCISCO – Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Friday’s session are Oracle Corp., MetLife Inc., McAfee Inc. and Visteon Corp. Arch Coal Inc. (ACI) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 29 cents a share, according to analysts polled by Thomson First Call. …

The St. Cloud Times reports that a county commissioner in Minnesota is in hot water for referring to the local human rights commission as a “tar baby,” a term some in town interpreted as racially insensitive. During a discussion about the panel, Stearns County Commissioner Leigh Lenzmeier said of the …

LONDON – Oil prices fell nearly 2.5 percent Monday after OPEC promised to keep pumping near maximum capacity, but losses were limited as the cartel conceded that it could not cool the red hot market. U.S. light crude fell $1.84 cents to $73.33 a barrel, distancing itself from the $75.35 …

The following is a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder aboard United Airlines Flight 93. All times are in EDT on Sept. 11, 2001. Text in parentheses was translated from Arabic. “Unintelligible” indicates that the tape couldn’t be transcribed. ——— 09:31:57 — Ladies and gentlemen: Here the captain, please sit …

KATMANDU, Nepal – Nepal‘s King Gyanendra broke his silence Friday after more than a week of pro-democracy protests in which four people have died, calling for dialogue with opposition political parties. Thousands have filled the streets daily calling for the restoration of democracy and ouster of Gyanendra 14 months after …

MERCED, Calif. – Deputies evacuated about 100 homes early Wednesday because of a storm-weakened earthen dam that appeared close to rupturing. Two levees had broken a day earlier in the Central Valley, and homes were evacuated near San Francisco because of a threat of landslides from the heavy rain. The …

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A judge ruled Thursday that convicted child-killer Lionel Tate is competent to understand legal proceedings against him despite new revelations that Tate may be suffering mental illness from abuse as a child. Broward County Circuit Judge Joel T. Lazarus said after listening to testimony from three …