LOS ANGELES – Authorities were investigating an incident in which Britney Spears was photographed driving with her infant son on her lap, but didn’t intend to pursue charges against the pop star, officials said. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Diane Hecht said Tuesday that deputies went to Spears’ home to …

WASHINGTON – A suspension of attacks on Israel would not induce the Bush administration to abandon its boycott of the militant Palestinian group Hamas, a top State Department official said Thursday. “It doesn’t seem to me you can push the pause button on terror,” David Welch, the assistant secretary of …

WASHINGTON – Gifts, travel and promises of lucrative lobbying jobs are topics that should be addressed in the legislation the Senate will soon take up, lawmakers from both parties said Thursday. A group of seven Republicans and four Democrats also said lobbying and ethics overhaul should include greater openness about …

NEW YORK – In a move to make the freely distributed Linux operating system a stronger alternative to Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) Windows, a group of major Linux distributors announced Friday they have united on a standard set of components for desktop versions of Linux. The standard created by the Free …

WASHINGTON – President Bush named Tony Snow to be his White House press secretary on Wednesday in the latest round of staff changes in the West Wing. “I am here to break some news,” Bush told the White House press corps in the briefing room. “I have asked Tony Snow …

VATICAN CITY – At Pope Benedict XVI‘s request, the Vatican is preparing a document about condom use by those with AIDS, a top cardinal said in a published interview. “Soon the Vatican will issue a document about the use of condoms by persons who have grave diseases, starting with AIDS,” …

ORANJESTAD, Aruba – The 19-year-old man released in the case of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway has “no relevant information” about her disappearance and was not involved in that or in drug offenses, his lawyer said. Geoffrey van Cromvoirt was released Monday, nine days after police arrested him, but the Aruba …

SRINAGAR, India – A series of grenade attacks by suspected separatist rebels shook Kashmir’s capital on Friday, killing five people and wounding at least 18, police said. All those killed were civilians — three women and two men who died of their injuries at the main hospital in Srinagar, said …

WASHINGTON – Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) is recalling about 15,700 HP and Compaq notebook computer batteries worldwide for a burn and fire hazard, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Thursday. HP has received 20 reports of batteries overheating, including two in the United States, with one report of a …

ALBUQUERQUE – Years before Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a lawyer during a Texas quail hunt, Cheney himself was on the receiving end of an errant shotgun blast. Carlsbad Mayor Bob Forrest said he doesn’t know for certain if he or his twin brother, Dick Forrest, fired the shot …