KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Two gunmen on a motorbike killed the provincial director of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs outside her home Monday in apparent retribution for her efforts to help educate women, officials said. Safia Ahmed-jan was slain outside the front gate of her home in this southern Afghan city …

WASHINGTON – A new Pentagon report knocks down the idea that a secret military unit had garnered intelligence a year before the Sept. 11 attacks that might have stopped the hijackers, a senior defense official said Thursday. Lawmakers were supposed to be briefed Thursday on the Defense Department inspector general’s …

RENO, Nev. – Darren Mack pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder Wednesday in connection with the June 12 attacks that left his estranged wife dead and the judge handling his divorce wounded. Defense lawyer Scott Freeman asked Judge Douglas Herndon to enter pleas for the wealthy …

BOSTON – Massachusetts voters face a historic choice on Nov. 7 that could result in the state’s first black or its first female elected governor, after the primary campaign whittled the major party candidates to Democrat Deval Patrick and Republican Kerry Healey. While independent Christy Mihos and Grace Ross of …

Almost all of the political experts and insiders predict Republicans will suffer losses this November. A number of experts and others think that the Republicans could lose control of the House of Representatives. Democrats need to gain 15 seats to retake control in the House. The climb necessary for Democrats …

WASHINGTON – A day after a Pentagon report described spreading sectarian violence and increasingly complex security problems in Iraq, President Bush painted a rosier picture. “Our commanders and diplomats on the ground believe that Iraq has not descended into a civil war,” Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address. …

SEATTLE – Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) on Tuesday started testing an Internet video-sharing service called Soapbox, the software company’s answer to Web sensation YouTube. Soapbox (http://soapbox.msn.com) is one facet of Microsoft’s strategy to create attractive Internet content to lure away billions of Web advertising dollars from market leaders Google Inc. (GOOG) …

GENEVA – The U.N. refugee chief on Friday warned that Sudanese troops could be preparing for a major military offensive in Darfur and that the worsening violence there threatens the entire region. “Millions of people are already at grave risk,” said Antonio Guterres, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees. “Hundreds …

LITTLE ROCK – A federal jury on Friday rejected an Arkansas woman’s claim that Wyeth and its hormone-replacement drugs, which she took for eight years, were responsible for her breast cancer. Linda Reeves’ lawsuit was the first of about 4,500 against Wyeth to go to court. During the four-week trial, …

NEW YORK – Sharon Stone, who’s spent time on both “best dressed” and “worst dressed” lists thanks to her risk-taking style, will wear high-glamour gowns in an ad campaign for Badgley Mischka. “Our collection represents Hollywood glamour with a modern twist and Sharon epitomizes this look. We have dressed Sharon …