BANGKOK, Thailand – A Russian arms dealer accused of breaking U.N. arms embargoes by supplying weapons to African war zones was arrested Thursday in Bangkok, Thai police said. Viktor Bout was arrested in the heart of the capital city on a warrant issued by a Thai court, said Police Lt. …

In response to a request by female Muslim students, Harvard University has created women-only workout hours at one of its campus gyms. The decision has angered some students at the Ivy League university. Since Jan. 28, the Quadrangle Recreational Athletic Center has been open only to women from 8 a.m. …

WASHINGTON – The Federal Communications Commission is investigating why an Alabama television station went dark during a Feb. 24 broadcast of a “60 Minutes” installment. The blackout occurred on WHNT-TV in Huntsville, Ala., during a segment on imprisoned former Gov. Don Siegelman that suggested he was the victim of a …

LOS ANGELES – It seems almost everybody wants a piece of Britney Spears, and at least six pieces are officially for sale. Spears’ wardrobe from her guest-starring stint on the CBS television comedy “How I Met Your Mother” will be sold at an online auction to benefit the Natural Resources …

LOS ANGELES – An agreement to sell DreamWorks SKG Inc. marks the end of an 11-year dream for Hollywood moguls Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. The three men had ambitious goals for DreamWorks that once included television, music, films and the Internet. But on Sunday, Paramount Pictures agreed …

WASHINGTON – Domestic spying authorized by the White House “doesn’t uphold our Constitution” and President Bush‘s defense of the practice is “lame,” Sen. John Kerry said Tuesday. The Massachusetts Democrat also said the alleged White House leak of a CIA agent’s identity was more serious than the media’s disclosure of …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Up to 15 million Iraqis — including large numbers of Sunnis, who boycotted the January elections — voted in historic parliamentary elections Thursday to establish a permanent democratic government amid only scattered violence. The polls stayed open one hour later, until 6 p.m. local time (10 a.m. …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A homicide bomber who jumped on a bus after security checks had been completed detonated an explosives belt among passengers heading to a Shiite city Thursday, killing 32 people and wounding 44, officials said. Meanwhile, a U.S. soldier was killed Thursday when a roadside bomb exploded alongside …

MIAMI – A federal judge has scheduled a hearing for next week at which a former business associate of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff could plead guilty to charges arising from the 2000 purchase of SunCruz Casinos’ gambling fleet. Plea agreements in federal criminal cases usually require the defendant to cooperate …

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A federal judge ruled Friday that Illinois’ restrictions on the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors are unconstitutional and barred the state from enforcing the law. State officials “have come nowhere near” demonstrating that the law passes constitutional muster, said U.S. District Court …