WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Blacks still have a much higher death rate from cancer than whites even though U.S. cancer death rates are down overall and among blacks as well, the American Cancer Society said on Thursday.

AP - Abducted teen Shawn Hornbeck was ordered to guard fellow captive Ben Ownby and hide him from police when they were repeatedly left alone in their captor's apartment, an official close to the investigation told The Associated Press on Thursday.

AP - The former boyfriend of a slain dancer testified Friday he found her body drenched in blood in the apartment they shared and tugged at her shirt to see if she was alive.

AP - A fugitive from Ecuador suspected in the death of a prominent politician and two other men was arrested Saturday following a routine traffic stop, authorities said.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Getting children to switch off the television does not guarantee they will exercise more, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who gained national attention by championing same-sex marriage, said on Monday he would seek treatment for alcohol use, an announcement that follows his admission of an affair with his campaign manager's wife.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Frankie Laine, the full-voiced singer who became one of the most popular entertainers of the 1950s with such hits as 'I Believe,' 'Jezebel' and the theme to the TV Western 'Rawhide', died on Tuesday at 93.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two major cigarette makers on Wednesday said they plan to appeal a Louisiana court ruling ordering them to fund a program to help people quit smoking, although the decision reduced the amount of damages they faced.

AP - Private investigators hired by the city to conduct sting operations on out-of-state gun shops could be breaking the law, and the dealers they caught making illegal sales will not be prosecuted, federal officials said Thursday.

AP - A federal judge ruled Friday that California's ban on sex offenders living within 2,000 feet of places where children gather can't be applied retroactively.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (Reuters) - World champion Kimmie Meissner bounced back from one of her worst performances of the season to capture her maiden Four Continents title with a dazzling free skate on Saturday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Women who switch from the breast cancer pill tamoxifen to a newer class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors live longer, Italian researchers reported on Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp. has begun offering credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers, typically illegal immigrants, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

CHICAGO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - When it opens next year, the 54-story Bank of America Tower in New York will be the most environmentally friendly office building in the United States.

AP - Usually a romantic dinner spot with its lace tablecloths and homemade marinara sauce, Spennato's Restaurant was ready for a busy Valentine's Day.

AP - A 16-year-old high school junior has been charged with making bombs in a plan to target classmates in his school, a plot uncovered after a video was discovered on the Internet, police said.

AP - A watchdog group filed complaints Friday alleging Sen. Tom Coburn's campaign broke election law by failing to properly identify some donors before the 2004 election.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A tearful Britney Spears defiantly shaved her head at a Los Angeles hair salon after the owner refused to take part in the embattled pop star's latest extreme makeover, news reports said on Saturday.

AP - Rescuers located three climbers who fell from a ledge on snowy Mount Hood on Sunday, but rescue efforts were being hampered by blinding snow and wind, officials said.

AP - Two dozen firefighters died last year battling wildfires across the nation, a number that has increased in the face of drier summers and increased job pressures.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. spending on prescription drugs, hospital care and other health services is expected to double to $4.1 trillion over the next decade, up from $2.1 trillion in 2006, a government report released on Wednesday found.

AP - DNA taken from a child rape victim cleared a 23-year-old man charged in the case, prompting prosecutors to ask Wednesday for the charges to be dismissed.

AP - A man who pleaded guilty to selling heroin laced with a powerful painkiller that killed two people was sentenced Thursday to more than 30 years in prison.

AP - An Air Force officer admitted in a videotaped interview that he had sex with one of the four men he is accused of raping, but said the man initiated the encounter and threatened to out him if he refused.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - American Nicholas Thompson won the New Zealand PGA Championship after beating Canadian David Morland at the first playoff hole on Sunday.

AP - A commission examining last year's botched lethal injection execution said Sunday it will recommend changes this week aimed at reducing errors in Florida's death row procedures.

AP - Today's college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors, according to a comprehensive new study by five psychologists who worry that the trend could be harmful to personal relationships and American society.

AP - A day before television cameras recorded large gray rats swarming across the floor of a fast-food restaurant, a city inspector found at least 76 fresh rodent droppings in the kitchen and basement, according to her written report.