NEW YORK – U.S. consumers and corporations can cope with higher oil prices as long as crude prices stay clear of volatility, market strategists say. In inflation-adjusted terms, oil prices remain well-below the roughly $90-a-barrel peak hit in the 1980s, according to calculations by the International Energy Agency (search). “Oil …

WASHINGTON – Air travelers who have been concerned about the government collecting their personal information from airlines now have a second source to worry about: commercial data brokers (search). The federal agency in charge of aviation security revealed that it bought and is storing commercial data about some passengers — …

WASHINGTON – Mike Tyson’s (search) career apparently ended in a shocker Saturday night when he quit on the stool after taking a beating in a foul-filled sixth round against unheralded Kevin McBride (search). Tyson lost for the third time in his last four fights, and once again he faded badly …

ATLANTA – Forty-nine people and sixteen corporations were charged in indictments unsealed today with supplying ingredients for making methamphetamine (search). The investigation began in early 2004 and focused on convenience stores in six north Georgia counties. Investigators say they had informants go into each of the stores and buy ingredients …

WASHINGTON – Key Senate Republicans are considering gradually raising the Social Security (search) retirement age as high as 69 over several years as they struggle to jump-start legislation that President Bush has placed atop his second-term agenda, officials said Tuesday. Under current law, the retirement age for full Social Security …

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Dutch voters worried about social benefits and immigration overwhelmingly rejected the European Union constitution (search) Wednesday in what could be a knockout blow for a charter meant to create a power rivaling the United States. With nearly all votes counted, the charter lost 62 percent to 38 …

It could be described as an older-mom baby boom. In the U.S. the birth rate among women over 35 has risen steadily over the last two decades, and 40-plus celebrity moms and their babies routinely grace the covers of women’s magazines. While later-life childbirth now seems routine, it is not …

An East Texas college student finally learned why she’d gained weight and was having abdominal pain — she was about to give birth. Annie Cohen was three days shy of 19 on the morning of June 16 when, after a night of tossing and turning, she walked out into her …

WASHINGTON – A congressional inquiry has found New York failed to follow instructions from Congress on the spending of $44 million in Sept. 11 aid (search) and should give the money back or get lawmakers to pass a law allowing the expenditure. A New York official countered Tuesday night that …

LONDON – Prince William (search) learned Saturday that he had achieved a master of arts degree in geography. The 22-year-old son of Prince Charles (search) and the late Princess Diana (search) logged onto the Internet to discover that he had received a 2:1 grade for his four-year course at St. …