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CHICAGO – The first follow-up of a landmark study of hormone use after menopause shows heart problems linked with the pills seem to fade after women stop taking them, while surprising new cancer risks appear. That heart trouble associated with hormones may not be permanent is good news for millions …

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia – Parents prayed at mass graves for children swept away by last year’s tsunami, and Western tourists returned to palm-fringed beaches to lay wreaths for lost friends. There was a minute of silence in Indonesia on Monday to mark the moment the first tsunami waves struck the …

WASHINGTON – As U.S. beef producers readied their first shipments to Japan in two years, the Bush administration on Monday lifted its ban on expensive Japanese beef. The discovery of mad cow disease in both nations had prompted the trade restrictions. Japan’s action has greater financial significance. The country’s market, …

A holy war broke out on “The View” Tuesday between co-hosts Joy Behar and Star Jones during a discussion about religion. The argument was spurred by a clip of Barbara Walters interviewing a Palestinian extremist in an Israeli jail, who said anyone who is not Muslim will go to hell. …

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – A land mine destroyed a troop truck in northern Sri Lanka Tuesday, killing 10 soldiers in escalating violence that threatens island nation’s shaky cease-fire. The military blamed separatist rebels in the attack. The soldiers had just gone on leave and were heading to an airport when …

BRUSSELS, Belgium – European businesses rushed to sign up for the new “.eu” Internet domain name, putting in 100,000 Web site applications by the end of its first day available, the group in charge of registering the requests said Thursday. Businesses and public bodies were able to sign up for …

NEW YORK – Chris Rock won’t be back cracking wise as the host of next year’s Oscars telecast. “He is not hosting the Academy Awards,” the comedian’s publicist, Matt Labov, said Friday in a brief statement e-mailed to The Associated Press. He did not elaborate. Labov told The New York …

LONDON – April 20 marked the one-year anniversary of sobriety for rock’s seemingly indestructible icon, Ozzy Osbourne (search). Now he’s found a new passion to feed his addictive personality: working out. To get himself in shape for Ozzfest (search), now in its tenth year, the “Mad Man of Rock” is …

NEW YORK – “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” (search) a madcap medieval musical loosely based on the zany British troupe’s film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” led the field with 14 Tony nominations Tuesday, including best musical and bids for its King Arthur, Tim Curry, and Lancelot, Hank Azaria (search). The …

WASHINGTON – Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian (search) Monday launched an offer to buy up to 28 million shares of General Motors Corp. (GM) common stock for $31 each. Kerkorian, who shook up the former Chrysler Corp. with a hostile takeover bid about a decade ago, had said last week that …