SAN DIEGO – The third-place finisher in San Diego’s mayoral election endorsed former Police Chief Jerry Sanders (search) on Thursday, throwing his support to a fellow Republican in a runoff against a Democratic city councilwoman and surf shop owner. Steve Francis (search), a businessman who poured about $2 million into …

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Linda Blair (search) has been turning heads in this small central Pennsylvania town. Blair, best known for her role as a demonically possessed 12-year-old in 1973’s “The Exorcist” (search), is working on an independent film written, produced and directed by Lewisburg natives Todd G. Beiber and Juliana …

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans planned to push ahead with legislation regulating the treatment and interrogation of terrorism suspects in U.S. custody, despite a White House veto threat. The Bush administration, led by Vice President Dick Cheney, is working to kill amendments that GOP Sens. John McCain (search) of Arizona and …

WASHINGTON – U.S. troops interrogating terrorism suspects don’t know which techniques are permitted and Congress owes it to them to establish clear standards, Senate Republicans said Wednesday, opening a politically volatile debate over the treatment of detainees. The White House (search) opposes legislation that would impose restrictions on the Pentagon’s …

NEW YORK – ABC News said Monday it will replace Ted Koppel (search) on “Nightline” with the three-anchor team of Martin Bashir (search), Cynthia McFadden (search) and Terry Moran (search) and heavily revamp the show’s format. Koppel, the late-night news show’s only anchor since it began in 1980, leaves ABC …

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. – A man described as one of the nation’s leading senders of spam says an FBI raid on his home office has halted his e-mail operation. Warrants unsealed last week show that a September raid on Alan M. Ralsky’s (search) home in a Detroit suburb included the …

ZURICH – Drugmaker Novartis (search) has agreed to buy the remainder of U.S. vaccine maker Chiron Corp. (CHIR) that it does not already own for $5.1 billion, or about $600 million more than an original bid rejected as inadequate. The Swiss company, which already owns 42 percent of Chiron, raised …

BURBANK, Calif. – Marlon Brando’s son, a key figure in the wrongful death case of his former lover and Robert Blake’s (search) wife, refused to answer questions in court Tuesday. Christian Brando’s (search) lawyer stood next to the witness box and repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment on behalf of his …

WASHINGTON – “Dirty bomb” suspect Jose Padilla (search) has asked the Supreme Court (search) to limit the government’s power to hold him and other U.S. terror suspects indefinitely and without charges. The case of Padilla, who has been in custody more than three years, presents a major test of the …

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (KKD) will “vigorously defend” itself against a lawsuit filed by its largest franchise that claims company executives misappropriated marketing money and billed for phony charges, the company said Thursday. Richard Reinis and Roger Glickman, two partners in Los Angeles-based Great Circle Family Foods …