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MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina – Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez (search), emboldened by thousands of anti-American protesters, is getting a rare chance to stand up to his adversary, George W. Bush (search), with promises to keep the president from reviving talks on a free trade area stretching from Alaska to Argentina. …

NEW YORK – Uncle Sam wants you to pay your taxes — simply. The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday launched a national campaign to urge individuals, tax preparers and small businesses to pay taxes electronically via the government’s Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, or EFTPS. Don Hammond, the Treasury’s fiscal assistant …

PHILADELPHIA – Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), the world’s largest software maker, has emerged as the lead suitor for a stake in Time Warner Inc.’s (TWX) Internet unit America Online (AOL), according to a report by The New York Times. Microsoft aims to fold its MSN Internet service (search) into a venture …

LOS ANGELES – Actress Brooke Burns was hospitalized after diving into her backyard pool and hitting her head, her agent said Monday. Burns broke a bone in her neck and required “minor surgery,” said Paradigm spokeswoman Jennifer Glassman. The former “Baywatch” star and host of “Dog Eat Dog” has been …

Day by day, James Keith became more obsessed with the BTK serial killer (search). Just one more clue, he thought, and he could crack the case that had baffled authorities in Wichita, Kan., since the 1970s. “I was going 24 hours a day, even in my sleep, trying to figure …

COLUMBIA, S.C. – In a stinging rebuke to the Bush administration, a federal judge ruled the case of “dirty bomb” suspect Jose Padilla (search) is a matter for law enforcement — not the military — and ordered the government to charge him or let him go. Padilla’s more than 2½ …

WASHINGTON – Cities are not getting all the protections President Bush ordered last year to detect a biological terrorism attack, the Environmental Protection Agency’s internal watchdog said Thursday. The report from EPA Inspector General Nikki L. Tinsley’s office said the agency hasn’t ensured the reliability, timeliness and efficiency of air …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena arrived back in Rome on Saturday, the day after being freed and subsequently sustaining injuries when her car was fired upon by American troops. Among those on hand to greet her at the airport was Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. On Friday, U.S. …

The amount spent per pupil in public elementary and secondary school systems by state in the 2002-03 school year, according to the Census Bureau. The figures do not account for school construction costs or other capital needs. State Spending ($) Ala. 6,395 Alaska 9,919 Ariz. 5,672 Ark. 6,408 Calif. 7,691 …

A look at the anointing of the sick, one of Roman Catholicism’s seven sacraments: The anointing of the sick is often misunderstood as signaling that a patient is about to die. That’s because of its popular nickname — “last rites.” (search) The ritual is performed to confer divine strength, peace, …