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NEW YORK – A police detective and a woman forced a 13-year-old runaway to work as a prostitute at parties around the city, telling her that if she tried to escape the officer would make her sell herself on the streets, prosecutors said. Wayne Taylor, 35, and Zelika Brown, 29, …

SINGAPORE – Oil prices are likely to decline gradually this year and next as record crude prices weaken demand, the World Bank projected Wednesday. “If you look at the fundamentals, there is scope for lower oil prices,” said Hans Timmer, co-author of the bank’s annual “Global Economic Prospects” report, at …

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Nationwide power outages shut down basic services across Zambia and Zimbabwe as anger mounted in South Africa over power cuts that have wreaked havoc in the continent’s economic hub. There was no immediate explanation for Saturday night’s blackout, which hit Zambia and neighboring Zimbabwe almost simultaneously in …

KODIAK, Alaska – At least 19 bald eagles died Friday after gorging themselves on a truck full of fish waste outside a processing plant. Fifty or more eagles swarmed into the truck, whose retractable fabric cover was open, after the truck was moved outside the plant, said Brandon Saito, a …

CHESTER, Calif. – A Northern California mother is mourning the loss of her son and daughter in separate weekend tragedies, after her son died in the hospital Tuesday morning. Christina Chavira, a spokeswoman for Enloe Medical Center in Chico, says 20-year-old Billy Carrigan died from injuries suffered in a weekend …

KAMPALA, Uganda – Rebels have seized dozens of children in recent weeks — including 100 during a raid in the Central African Republic and 30 on the Sudan-Congo border, a senior military official said Tuesday. The raids by suspected Lord’s Resistance Army rebels occurred despite peace talks to end the …

LONDON – Save the Children UK says in a report released Tuesday that it has uncovered evidence of widespread sexual abuse of children at the hands of peacekeepers and international aid workers in war zones and disaster areas. The report said more than half the children interviewed knew of cases …

BANGKOK, Thailand – Oil prices rose above $135 a barrel for the first time Thursday, with supply worries, global demand and an ever weakening U.S dollar driving crude futures up. The world’s top energy watchdog is preparing a sharp downward revision of its oil-supply forecast, according to a report in …

WASHINGTON – The Senate late Wednesday approved and sent to the White House legislation directing President Bush to temporarily halt oil shipments into the government’s emergency reserve, hoping to lower energy prices. Final approval came without debate after Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada received assurances from other senators, including …

MARY ESTHER, Fla. – Even with his arms stuck in a piece of machinery, one northwest Florida man was able to call 911 using his big toe. Police say the unidentified man was at the DRS Technologies building early Thursday morning when he became trapped in a press-like machine that …