NEW YORK – Gay-rights leaders are elated that a tale of same-sex love and heartbreak is reaching mainstream filmgoers in the form of acclaimed “Brokeback Mountain,” while some conservatives are dismayed by the film’s glowing reviews and rooting for it to fail at the box office. The story of two …

Trying to dodge heart disease? You may want to consider your family, especially your brothers and sisters. In a nutshell, your brother’s or sister’s heart health might predict your own heart’s future. A study in The Journal of the American Medical Association shows that: ? Middle-aged adults were 45% more …

TUCSON, Ariz. – A study billed by its researchers as the most detailed projection yet of climate change says hotter, drier Southwestern summers will become a reality by the late 21st century if human-caused global warming continues. The number of extremely hot summer days — those in the top 5 …

WASHINGTON – The government is investigating less than 1 percent of accidents at railroad crossings and imposing few fines for defective safety equipment, the Transportation Department’s inspector general said Thursday. Of the 3,045 collisions at rail crossings last year, the Federal Railroad Administration investigated only nine. One-fifth of the collisions …

ROANOKE, Va. – Lynchburg Mayor Carl B. Hutcherson Jr. was indicted over allegations that he looted a church charity of more than $30,000 and defrauded two people of their Social Security disability benefits. Hutcherson was charged with fraud, making false statements to federal officials and bank representatives, and obstruction of …

NEW YORK – Republican Jeanine Pirro said Friday she is staying in the race against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, despite pressure from some leaders of her own party to abandon her struggling campaign. “I said from the beginning I am running for the United States Senate. I am a candidate …

Here’s what is on tap for Thursday: “FOX & Friends First” Starts at 6 a.m. ET A man indicating that he had a bomb in his bag was shot and killed by a federal air marshal at Miami International Airport. Was this a success or failure for airport security? We’ll …

NEW YORK – Matt Damon married girlfriend Luciana Bozan during a private ceremony Friday in New York City, his publicist said. Damon, 35, and his bride exchanged wedding vows during a small ceremony at an undisclosed location, spokeswoman Jennifer Allen said. Bozan’s 7-year-old daughter witnessed the ceremony. In a previous …

TRENTON, N.J. – Upending the conventional medical wisdom, two studies found that birth control pills do not worsen lupus and appear to be safe for the tens of thousands of women with the crippling immune disorder. “For 30 years, we were all wrong,” said Dr. Michelle Petri, lead researcher on …

TORONTO – The eldest son of an accused Al Qaeda financier was arrested in his family’s apartment on a U.S. warrant, weeks after returning to Canada from more than a year of detention in Pakistan, officials said Sunday. Abdullah Khadr, 24, faces extradition to the United States on charges of …