NEW YORK – TomKat‘s daughter, Suri, hasn’t been seen in public since her April 18 birth. But a second sighting has been reported, this time by Jada Pinkett Smith. “She’s one of the sweetest babies I’ve ever met in my life,” Pinkett Smith tells People magazine. “She’s an absolute beauty …

NEW YORK – It’s one way to assure order in the court. The New York state Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics has ruled that it is permissible for judges to pack a pistol beneath their robes while on the bench. “From an ethical standpoint, there is no prohibition … barring …

WASHINGTON – Sales of existing homes fell in June for the eighth time in the past 10 months while home prices edged up at the slowest pace in more than a decade — more signs that the housing market has slowed dramatically. The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that …

BEIJING – Heavy rain from Tropical Storm Kaemi collapsed a levee in southern China on Wednesday, threatening to flood the homes of 20,000 villagers as soldiers filled the breach with sandbags and tree stumps. The storm brought an onslaught of torrential rain and winds that killed at least nine people …

WASHINGTON – Former CIA officer Valerie Plame and her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, said Friday they decided to sue Vice President Dick Cheney and presidential adviser Karl Rove because they engaged in a “whispering campaign” to destroy her career. Plame told a news conference that “I and my former …

WASHINGTON – The Bush administration’s deal with Senate Republicans over detainee treatment drew protests Monday from former diplomats, lawyers and a GOP committee chairman. They oppose a provision that would strip federal courts of jurisdiction over cases in which detainees have not been charged with war crimes. Leading the charge …

– Armed militants storm U.S. Embassy in Syria: — Four people were killed including three of the assailants. — Militants used: — Automatic rifles. — Hand grenades. — At least one van rigged with explosives. INJURIES: — Police officer. — Two Iraqis. — Seven people employed at nearby technical workshop. …

NEW YORK – Pfizer Inc. said Friday that the European Commission has approved anti-smoking pill Champix. Champix will be available with a patient support plan which smokers can customize to address their individual behavioral triggers as they try to quit smoking. Champix is believed to work by reducing the severity …

WASHINGTON – Movie stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are giving gifts of $1 million each to two humanitarian organizations, an adviser to the couple said Wednesday. The recipients are Global Action for Children and Medecins sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders. “In the most troubled parts of the world — places …

When setting up a new college student’s first dorm room, a parent imagines all the necessities for living that his child enjoys at home and tries to fit them into a 10-by-15-foot box. Mom and Dad figure that bedsheets, microwave ovens and throw pillows are going to be required, but …