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BOISE, Idaho – An Idaho woman blamed mental illness and substance abuse as she pleaded guilty to scalping a teenage girl, saying she only intended to give her a haircut. Marianne Dahle (search), 26, of Caldwell, pleaded guilty to aggravated battery before 4th District Judge Kathryn Sticklen on Wednesday, the …

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – With the countdown for Discovery in its final hours, NASA (search) was dealt an embarrassing setback Tuesday when a window cover fell off the shuttle and damaged thermal tiles near the tail. But the space agency quickly fixed the problem and said it was still on …

NEW YORK – Roll over Beethoven, and tell Tchaikovsky the news: The Rolling Stones (search) announced a new album and world tour Tuesday with a three-song mini-concert at one of Manhattan’s bastions of classical music, the Juilliard School. The familiar crunching riff of “Start Me Up” (search) was greeted with …

“Dark Water” (search) is the latest American remake of a Japanese horror film hoping to scare up an audience this weekend. As if the character played by Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly (search) (“A Beautiful Mind”) doesn’t have enough to deal with in a child custody fight, the divorced mom and her …

LONDON – Police raised the death toll in London’s terrorist bombings to 52 Monday as forensics experts identified the first of the victims — a 53-year-old mother of two from outside London. Prime Minister Tony Blair (search) promised a “vigorous and intense” manhunt for the attackers. As workers searched the …

WETMORE, Colo. – Residents piled children and pets into their cars before dawn Friday and fled as an erratic and fast-growing wildfire burned to within 100 yards of a rural Colorado subdivision. “People were afraid, but it was very orderly. Nobody really panicked,” fire information officer Steve Segin said. “I …

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Appliance giant Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) has offered to purchase Maytag Corp. (MYG) for $1.37 billion in cash and stock, topping an existing buyout offer for the maker of Hoover vacuums and the Jenn-Air brand. Whirlpool said late Sunday that its offer of $17 per share for …

The following are key facts about the suspects in the July 7 London attacks: SHAHZAD TANWEER — Suspected bomber. — 22-year-old son of Pakistani-born businessman. — Converted to Islam a few years ago. — Forensic evidence links Tanweer to the blast on the Underground train near Aldgate. — Strongly opposed …

Comic-book movies are a big focus at Comic-Con (search) these days, with another one, “The Fantastic Four,” just crossing the $100 million mark. But the movie that had everyone buzzing at this year’s comic convention was “Superman Returns,” (search) the highly anticipated film from “X-Men” director Bryan Singer scheduled to …

WASHINGTON – First lady Laura Bush (search) on Friday applauded teenagers for reaching out to the children of Iraq and to their own communities. “You’re turning youthful idealism into practical ideas,” she told nearly a thousand teens and adult organizers from around the country at the fourth National Youth Summit …