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BASEL, Switzerland – Albert Hofmann, the father of the mind-altering drug LSD whose medical discovery grew into a notorious “problem child,” died Tuesday. He was 102. Hofmann died of a heart attack at his home in Basel, Switzerland, according to Rick Doblin, president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, …

ELDORADO, Texas – Texas authorities said Wednesday they have finished taking DNA samples from all the children removed from a polygamist compound more than two weeks ago. Roughly 500 samples were taken at the San Angelo Coliseum where authorities have been holding the children. The state attorney general’s office sent …

BAGHDAD – Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for an end to clashes between his militia fighters and Iraqi troops, saying Friday that his threat of an “open war” applied only to U.S.-led foreign forces. In a sermon read by an aide during Friday prayers in Baghdad’s militia stronghold of Sadr …

WASHINGTON – Inefficient Pentagon management led to cost increases for key weapons programs that often fell short of production goals last year, government auditors said Monday. In its sixth annual report on selected weapons purchases, the Government Accountability Office found that procurement costs came in 26 percent above original estimates …

SAN CARLOS DE BARILOCHE, Argentina – An international Jewish human rights organization is better positioned to find former SS Doctor Aribert Heim following a fact-finding mission in southern Chile and Argentina, the organization’s director said Monday. Efraim Zuroff, who heads the Israel-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, arrived in the region last …

WASHINGTON – The little devils just can’t wait. Faced with an epidemic of cancer that cuts their lives short, Tasmanian devils have begun breeding at younger ages, according to researchers at the University of Tasmania in Australia. “We could be seeing evolution occurring before our eyes. Watch this space!” says …

Actress Katie Holmes has reportedly chopped her short hair even shorter. The U.K.’s Daily Mail has pictures of Mrs. Tom Cruise sporting a straight 1970s look — reminiscent of Olympic skater Dorothy Hamill — and other diverse looks such as a 1930s-style mop top and a “Cagney and Lacey”-era ’80s …

TORONTO – An American national guardsman who refused to redeploy to Iraq was granted a last-ditch reprieve from deportation Wednesday when Canada’s Federal Court said he could stay while it decides whether to hear his case. Sgt. Corey Glass, 25, was the first Iraqi war dodger from the U.S. to …

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia – The president declared a four-day state of emergency in Mongolia’s capital early Wednesday after protesters stormed the headquarters of the ruling party, alleging fraud in weekend parliamentary elections. President Nambaryn Enkhbayar’s decree allowed police to use force in dealing with the thousands of rock-throwing protesters who …

LOS ANGELES – Two photographers suspected of loitering on city-owned property near Britney Spears’ home were arrested Monday. Alexandre Passos of Canoga Park and Eduardo Ravalha of Los Angeles, both 35 years old, were arrested around 6 p.m. Monday after being warned to leave an access road near Mulholland Drive …