MOUNT ORAB, Ohio – A former National Guard captain whose military service was supposed to end seven years ago was sent to Iraq for a year by mistake because of an incorrect discharge date in his records. Jim Dillinger was 43 when he received a letter from the Defense Department …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Two defendants in the trial of Saddam Hussein made their closing arguments Tuesday before the judge adjourned the proceedings for nearly two weeks in an attempt to resolve a boycott of the court by the former Iraqi leader and his lawyers. Chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman said the …

HODE, Ky. – Two eastern Kentucky men are charged with animal cruelty in the deaths of each others’ cats. David A. May, 20, and Arlon K. White, 27 — who each kept a cat at a trailer court in Hode, near the Kentucky-West Virginia border — allegedly killed the animals …

Another American champion was hit with a shocking positive drug test Saturday — Olympic and world 100-meter titlist Justin Gatlin. Gatlin said he has been informed that he tested positive for testosterone or other prohibited steroids — the same violation that, only two days ago, threw Floyd Landis‘ victory in …

WASHINGTON – Police beefed up patrols around national landmarks Wednesday, a day after the District of Columbia’s police chief declared a crime emergency in response to a string of violence that included the killing of a British activist. At least 14 people have been killed in Washington already this month, …

KIEV, Ukraine – The marathon crisis talks to end Ukraine’s four-month political paralysis broke off early Saturday without any agreement between President Viktor Yushchenko and the pro-Russian parliamentary majority that wants to put together the next government in this ex-Soviet republic. Yushchenko spent more than 10 hours in closed-door negotiations …

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanon’s Cabinet issued a statement Sunday saying the country faces “real annihilation” by Israel, and accused the Jewish state of using banned weapons against Lebanese civilians. “We are facing a real annihilation carried out by Israel,” Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said after an emergency cabinet meeting. CountryWatch: …

WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Tuesday he had abandoned plans to attach an estate tax cut to pension-overhaul legislation, removing one of the biggest obstacles to reaching a compromise on that bill. Frist had earlier considered the pensions bill as the most likely vehicle for the estate …

Seriously, dude. No one wants to see that. Before you go baring that beer belly in public, you’d better check to see if your need to be free flies with the locals. This summer’s skyrocketing temperatures have led local lawmakers in the UK to consider bans on public nudity of …

SALEM, Va. – Carbon monoxide leaked into a Roanoke College dormitory early Friday, sickening more than 100 teens and adults attending summer programs. One man was found dead. People staying in the dorm contacted campus police, and one woman later described the scene inside as chaotic. “One woman fell on …