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OGDEN, Iowa – An Iowa National Guardsman who was killed in Iraq was remembered Tuesday for his contagious laughter and love of pool. Sgt. Daniel Sesker, 22, of Ogden, was killed April 6 when a bomb exploded near his Humvee, military officials said. He was manning a gun aboard the …

WASHINGTON – President Bush‘s approval ratings hit a series of new lows in an AP-Ipsos poll that also shows Republicans surrendering their advantage on national security — grim election-year news for a party struggling to stay in power. Democratic leaders predicted they will seize control of one or both chambers …

ANKARA, Turkey – One victim is a 5-year-old boy who fell critically ill after killing a duck for New Year’s dinner. Another is his 12-year-old sister, who died last weekend. Three were siblings who succumbed in rapid succession, leaving their grieving parents with just one surviving child. Just as in …

NEW YORK – If you’ve got gifts for loved ones that you haven’t sent yet, the U.S. Postal Service has some advice: Mail them…now. Monday marked the busiest mailing day of the year in the U.S., according to the Post Office, with over 280 million letters, cards, packages and other …

BALTIMORE – Republican Michael Steele called Thursday for a higher minimum wage and more federal action to fight poverty at a fundraiser headlined by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. Steele, Maryland’s lieutenant governor, told a crowd of about 300 at a posh evening reception that the government should put more focus …

NEW YORK – ABC newswoman Elizabeth Vargas and her husband, singer Marc Cohn, are parents again, of another boy. Vargas and the baby, named Samuel Wyatt, are “doing incredible,” said ABC representative Alyssa Apple, in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Wednesday. Vargas and Cohn’s other son is 3-year-old …

OMAHA, Neb. – At least three homes were destroyed and at least three others were damaged by one of the six wildfires burning in the Nebraska Panhandle. About 700 firefighters were battling the fires, which have scorched more than 62 1/2 square miles and continued to be fueled by triple-digit …

SHANGHAI – Hollywood studio Warner Bros. is taking on the pirates in China’s film market, using lightning-fast home-video release and low prices to beat DVD counterfeiters at their own game. Warner’s China film-making joint venture released its first picture, a low-budget film called “Crazy Stone,” in cinemas on June 30, …

CAIRO, Egypt – Extra security guards around churches in Egypt and Lebanon. Armed officers surrounding at least one. With the tensions over Pope Benedict XVI‘s remarks on Islam still high, many in the Mideast’s large Christian communities are worried about a backlash. “We are afraid,” said Sonia Kobatazi, a Christian …

President Clinton and a phalanx of Clintonistas from the old days have rolled out of the barracks and are putting up a fierce fight over a movie. The complaint from the Clinton troops is that the movie “The Path to 9/11,” which ABC will air this weekend, contains scenes that …