CHICAGO – A leading group of pediatricians says teenagers need access to birth control and emergency contraception (search), not the abstinence-only (search) approach to sex education favored by religious groups and President Bush. The recommendations are part of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ updated teen pregnancy policy. “Even though there …

LOS ANGELES – PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. (PHS) said Wednesday it has agreed to be acquired by UnitedHealth Group (UNH), one of the nation’s largest health insurers, in an $8.1 billion deal. PacifiCare will become a subsidiary of UnitedHealth, which provides products and services to more than 55 million Americans. …

LOS ANGELES – Norman Whitfield (search), who co-wrote a slew of R&B hits such as “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” and “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” (search), has been sentenced to six months of home detention and fined $25,000 for failing to report more than $4 million in income …

Sun., July 3 at 9 p.m. ET Hosted by Newt Gingrich Since September 11, 2001 (search), the United States has been on high alert, trying to protect our borders and interests from the next terrorist attack. But as our government does what it can to keep our country safe, a …

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – A Sunday morning sun shimmers over high-end boutiques. Terrence Howard (search) is sitting at a table outside the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, dragging on his cigarette, eyeing the tourists posing across the street, when a bus door opens. “You’re the best actor, my brother!” the driver …

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security is undergoing a major shake-up aimed at centralizing its analyses of terrorism intelligence and giving bioterrorism a higher priority, Secretary Michael Chertoff (search) announced on Wednesday. Chertoff, while calling the actual organizational changes “modest,” specifically called for the creation of an intelligence director …

CHICAGO – Joe Neglia was a retired government intelligence worker with Parkinson’s disease (search) when he suddenly developed what he calls a gambling habit from hell. After losing thousands of dollars playing slot machines near his California home several times a day for nearly two years, Neglia stumbled across an …

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The space shuttle Discovery has a 12-day mission. Following is a schedule that lists all of the crew’s significant activities and televised news briefings and video packages to be broadcast on NASA TV. All times are Eastern Daylight Time. Tuesday, July 26 (Flight Day 1): 12:00 …

KEY WEST, Fla. – Hurricane Dennis (search) dealt a glancing blow to the Florida Keys on Saturday, knocking out power and leaving streets flooded with seaweed as it roared toward the storm-weary Gulf Coast, where nearly 1.4 million people were under evacuation orders. The hurricane, blamed for at least 20 …

WASHINGTON – Counterterrorism officials are taking seriously a claim by a little-known group calling itself “The Secret Organization of Al Qaeda in Europe” that it staged the deadly attacks on the London transit system. Among theories investigators are pursuing is whether the group may be linked to Iraq’s terror chief, …