VISTA, Calif. – “American Pie” star Chris Klein (search) pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge, was fined $1,800 and ordered to perform 150 hours of community service. San Diego County sheriff’s deputies arrested the 26-year-old actor Feb. 5 in Encinitas. Authorities said he had a blood-alcohol content …

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI (search) said Monday he felt like a “guillotine” was coming down on him when it appeared he might be elected pontiff, saying he prayed to God to be spared but that “evidently this time he didn’t listen to me.” Benedict’s playfulness during an audience …

This is a partial transcript from “On the Record,” April 5, 2005, that has been edited for clarity. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SUZANNE VITADAMO, TERRI SCHIAVO’S SISTER: You, Mom, are the one I ache for most. A mother deserves to love her children and to have them love her back without …

CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt said Friday that a bomb blast that rocked a Cairo bazaar (search) popular with foreigners may have been carried out by a man working alone as the death toll rose to three after an American tourist died of his wounds. Another three Americans were among the …

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican on Thursday excommunicated two bishops ordained by China’s state-controlled church without the pope’s consent, escalating tensions as the two sides explore preliminary moves toward improving ties. The Vatican also excommunicated the two bishops who ordained them, saying church law mandates excommunication for bishops involved in …

SAN FRANCISCO – Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Friday’s session are Univision Communications Inc., Warner Music Group Corp. and Washington Post Co. El Paso Corp. (EP) is expected to report first-quarter earnings of 27 cents a share, according to analysts polled by Thomson …

WASHINGTON – Anyone who’s ever taken a preschooler to the doctor knows they often cry more before the shot than afterward. Now researchers using brain scans to unravel the biology of dread have an explanation: For some people, anticipating pain is truly as bad as experiencing it. How bad? Among …

VIENNA, Austria – A delegate on the outer fringes of Austria’s far-right party on Sunday took his leave from the party’s convention with “heil” — the greeting associated with Adolf Hitler. The head of the party said he had no problem with the word. “I’d like to end my short …

NEW YORK – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed a surprise letter that Iran‘s president sent to President Bush on Monday, saying it did not seriously address the standoff over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program. In an interview with The Associated Press, the top U.S. diplomat said the letter from Iranian …

WASHINGTON – President Bush stepped into the Justice Department’s constitutional confrontation with Congress on Thursday and ordered that documents seized in an FBI search of a congressman’s office be sealed for 45 days. “The Department of Justice’s search was part of an important investigation of alleged public corruption. At the …