LAPORTE, Ind. – A yellow ribbon was tied around a tree Wednesday outside the home of a businessman believed abducted in Iraq, and an American flag fluttered on a pole. Jeffrey Ake’s (search) family and the company he runs made no immediate public comments about reports of his kidnapping. The …

Warning that the path to obesity can start during toddler-hood, pediatric experts say parents should make sure 3- and 4-year-olds get an hour of active play each day along with five fruits and vegetables. “We think that may be a vulnerable period to start excess weight gain,” said Dr. Stephen …

WASHINGTON – The Interior Department abruptly halted delivery of mustangs (search) to buyers while it investigates whether the slaughter of 41 wild horses in the West this month violates a federal contract requiring them to be treated humanely. By enlisting last-minute financial help Monday from Ford Motor Co. (search) — …

NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip – The Israeli military began removing shipping containers from a base in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the army’s first concrete step toward a planned pullout this summer. A crane lifted the containers onto flatbed trucks, which drove out of the base of the Southern Brigade …

MIDLAND, Mich. – Seven workers were taken to a hospital as a precaution and the rest were quarantined after a white powder was discovered in a letter sent to a newspaper. Health officials said it apparently was not anthrax (search). John Telfer, editor of the of the Midland Daily News …

Tom Cruise (search) has a new girlfriend — actress Katie Holmes (search). Cruise, 42, and Holmes, 26, have been dating a few weeks, Cruise’s publicist and sister, Lee Anne DeVette, said Wednesday. The pair were photographed this week together in Rome, where Cruise on Friday will receive a lifetime achievement …

BOULDER, Colo. – A 14-year-old girl who claimed she shot her father to death to help him commit suicide has been charged with second-degree murder. Margaret Rich (search) was charged as a juvenile on Friday, but prosecutor Colette Cribari (search) asked a judge to designate the girl an aggravated juvenile …

CANBERRA, Australia – A surfer fought off a 7-foot shark with his board at an Australian beach Saturday — then continued surfing, a life guard said. The surfer, Simon Letch (search), returned to Sydney’s Bronte Beach (search) 30 minutes after surviving the attack with a replacement board, despite the beach …

From the April 5, 2005 edition of “The O’Reilly Factor”: I’d like to send a public message to [ABC News anchor] Peter Jennings, who has been diagnosed with lung cancer. Keep fighting the good fight, sir. I am praying for you and so are millions of others. Mr. Jennings helped …

LOS ANGELES – As prices continue to soar at the pump, critics are pointing fingers in many directions, citing big oil’s giant profits or China’s increased oil consumption, among other things. But some experts say it’s the United States’ own fault for not refining black gold into gasoline faster. Crude …