JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Thousands of college students and parents are clogging phone lines and rushing to Internet sites in a scramble to refinance college loans before a sharp interest rate increase this weekend. An almost 2 percentage point interest rate increase for federal student loans kicks in Saturday, and …

LOS ANGELES – Fueled by real-life romantic splits and hookups, Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn’s “The Break-Up” pulled an upset over the mutant world of the “X-Men.” “The Break-Up” debuted more strongly than expected with $38.1 (euro29.7) million to take over as the No. 1 weekend movie from “X-Men: The …

WASHINGTON – Former Bush administration official David Safavian acknowledged Monday that he gave advice and some “nonpublic information” about federal properties to Republican influence-peddler Jack Abramoff but denied trying to conceal that from government investigators. The defense concluded its case after a second day of cross-examination in U.S. District Court, …

NEW YORK – When Boy George allegedly violated the terms of his probation on a drug charge, he incurred the wrath of a judge who demanded the singer show up in court or face arrest. That court date was Monday. Boy George, whose real name is George O’Dowd, was under …

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The first pictures showing a live specimen of a rodent species once thought to have been extinct for 11 million years have been taken by a retired Florida State University professor and a Thai wildlife biologist. They took video and still photographs of the “living fossil,” which …

Not enough Americans have access to methods that could help millions of smokers quit the habit, a government report concluded Wednesday. Experts say that quitting methods are available that could triple generally low quit rates for nearly 45 million adult Americans who still smoke. But a lack of awareness of …

WASHINGTON – A piece of fruit coming into the United States is more likely to get government attention than a ligament or heart valve taken from a cadaver and destined for transplant. While demand for donor tissue is booming, government inspections have fallen. In 2001, the Food and Drug Administration …

HONOLULU – For 60 years, Nancy Kenney wondered what happened to her father. The submarine that William T. Mabin was in disappeared while he and his crewmates were on a mission to attack a Japanese convoy in the last months of World War II. Now, the Navy says a wreck …

CHARLESTON, S.C. – After splashing ashore in Florida without much punch, the remnants of Tropical Storm Alberto churned northward Wednesday, bringing much-needed rain to the Southeast but also spawning damaging tornadoes. By early Wednesday, Alberto had weakened from a tropical storm to a tropical depression over the Carolinas and all …

WASHINGTON – Prosecutors can use statements made by victims to 911 operators or police during emergencies if the victims do not testify at trial, the Supreme Court ruled in a pair of cases Monday. In a case out of Washington state, justices voted 9-0 that a defendant’s right to confront …