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PHILADELPHIA, Miss. – The jury deliberating the fate of an 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klansman (search) accused of masterminding three murders exactly 41 years ago returned to work Tuesday, the morning after they told the judge they were split 6-6. After a few hours of work, panelists ended their first …

SAN FRANCISCO – Network computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) said on Thursday it agreed to buy Storage Technology Corp. (STK) for $4.1 billion in cash, bolstering its presence in the fast-growing market for data storage. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sun will pay $37 per share for Louisville, Colo.-based Storage Technology, …

ORANJESTAD, Aruba – When a white teenager from Alabama disappeared, the search drew people from every shade of the rainbow-hued population on Aruba, a Dutch Caribbean island where 52 ethnic groups coexist relatively peacefully and four of every 10 people are immigrants. Still, the case brought questions about Aruba’s race …

CANBERRA, Australia – Indonesia’s embassy in Australia was closed Wednesday after a package containing what authorities described as a “biological agent” was delivered there. Officials linked the incident to outrage over the conviction in Bali of an Australian woman on drug charges. Prime Minister John Howard (search), who apologized to …

SAN FRANCISCO – Kirk Reynolds (search) made just the kind of offensive guffaw he’d preached to the 49ers (search) players about avoiding. San Francisco’s well-liked public relations director is suddenly on his way out of the organization after producing a controversial in-house video meant to prepare players for dealing with …

LAS VEGAS – Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. (HET) is one step closer to regaining its title as the world’s largest gambling company. The Federal Trade Commission said Harrah’s could move forward with its $5.2 billion acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Inc (CZR). An FTC (search) spokesman had no comment but the Las …

WASHINGTON – The government has asked a federal judge to require cigarette makers to fund a $10 billion quit-smoking program and $4 billion for an anti-smoking education campaign to remedy decades of alleged fraud by the industry. Lawyers for the Justice Department (search) told U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler in …

WASHINGTON – Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean (search) on Wednesday defended his recent harsh criticism of Republicans, including his observation that they are “pretty much a white, Christian party.” Dean noted that he, too, is a white Christian. But he said the GOP is too narrow in its scope and …

ATLANTA – For the first time since the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, more than a million Americans are believed to be living with the virus that causes AIDS (search), the government said Monday. The latest estimate is both good and bad news — reflecting the success …

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Southern Baptists ended an eight-year boycott of the Walt Disney Co. (DIS) for violating “moral righteousness and traditional family values” in a vote on the final day of the faith’s annual convention Wednesday. “We believe for the boycott to be effective, it had to have a beginning …