WASHINGTON – President Bush on Wednesday ordered his Cabinet secretaries not to hire columnists to promote their agendas after disclosure that a second writer was paid to tout an administration initiative. The president said he expects his agency heads will “make sure that that practice doesn’t go forward.” “All our …

WASHINGTON – Concerned that all that glitters is not gold, the U.S. Mint (search) wants to crack down on unscrupulous coin dealers passing off fake commemorative coins (search). Mint officials said Tuesday they will seek authority to impose stiff fines on scam artists who are bilking the public by selling …

The brains of very shy children may process facial expressions — especially hostile ones — differently than children who aren’t shy. Researchers say those differences may help explain why shy children feel uncomfortable in certain social situations. The study showed that the brains of very shy children or those with …

Surgery may be a better option for severe hemorrhoids than having them tied off with a rubber band. That’s according to researchers writing in The Cochrane Library. They reviewed three studies comparing the two procedures. A total of 206 hemorrhoid patients participated. The results showed each procedure’s pros and cons. …

ORANJESTAD, Aruba – She’s been a regular on many U.S. television news shows since her teenage daughter disappeared five weeks ago during a high school graduation trip to Aruba. Nearly every day Beth Holloway Twitty (search) takes her daughter’s case to an American news media eager to broadcast her latest …

NEW YORK – U.S. chain store retail sales (search) rose in the latest week, as consumers shopped for clearance items and seasonal goods during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, a retail report said on Wednesday. Sales rose 0.5 percent in the week ended July 2, compared with a 0.6 …

ALBANY, N.Y – Farmers, businesses and state officials are investing millions of dollars in ethanol and biofuel plants as renewable energy sources, but a new study says the alternative fuels burn more energy than they produce. Supporters of ethanol and other biofuels contend they burn cleaner than fossil fuels, reduce …

NEW YORK – Stocks fell after the Federal Reserve raised key U.S. interest rates a quarter point for a ninth straight time and gave no sign a year-long campaign of rate increases was nearing an end. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average (search) dropped 99.51 points, or 0.96 percent, to …

TOKYO – A magnitude-6.0 earthquake shook the Tokyo area Saturday, injuring at least 27 people, rattling buildings across the sprawling capital and temporarily suspending flights and train services. The earthquake struck at 4:35 p.m. (3:35 a.m. EDT) and was centered about 55 miles underground in Chiba prefecture (search), just east …

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Shareholders of Sprint Corp. (FON) and Nextel Communications Inc. (NXTL) gave overwhelming support to the proposed merger on Wednesday, another step toward the $35 billion union that would create the nation’s No. 3 wireless company. Meeting in Reston, Va., more than 70 percent of Nextel shareholders …