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PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia police were intensively searching the area of Cobb’s Creek Park Thursday for clues to the whereabouts of a pregnant woman missing since early last week. LaToyia Figueroa (search), 24, is five months pregnant and has a 7-year-old daughter. She was last seen on July 18th walking from …

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Lee County officials said Thursday the two parents who reportedly abducted their week-old baby from his maternal grandmother may have been intoxicated. Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ileana LiMarzi said the baby was taken from the grandmother who had custody of baby Jessie. The spokeswoman said the father, Jessie …

DENVER – Nike is using photos of Kobe Bryant (search) for the first time since his arrest two years ago for an alleged assault on a female employee at a Colorado resort. “Nike agrees with most NBA observers that Kobe ranks among the very best players in the NBA (search), …

NEW YORK – As if Beyonce (search) wasn’t enough to satisfy audiences, now the secret of “Sasha” is out. That’s the name Beyonce has given her stage persona, according to the November issue of Vanity Fair (search). “I always held back in Destiny’s Child (search), because I was comfortable in …

MIAMI – Wilma, the record-tying 21st tropical storm of the season, formed in the Caribbean on Monday, and forecasters warned it could become a powerful hurricane (search) and hit somewhere along the U.S. Gulf Coast as early as the weekend. “I think the message is that the season is certainly …

ATLANTA – A federal judge Tuesday blocked Georgia from enforcing a new state law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. In issuing the preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy (search) said the law amounts to an unconstitutional poll tax because the state is not doing enough …

WASHINGTON – A new way to grow the flu virus, a step which might speed up production of vaccines generally, has been developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin. Reverse genetics is one of many processes used to create viruses that in turn are made into vaccines. The process …

LONDON – A rush hour train packed with dozens of commuters derailed in Liverpool (search) on Wednesday, police said. No injuries were immediately reported. The underground train, thought to be carrying about 90 passengers, came off the track about 6 p.m. as it traveled toward the city’s Central Station, according …

TUSKEGEE, Ala. – More than 200 people linked arms and marched through Rosa Parks’ (search) hometown to pay tribute to the late civil rights pioneer. Organizers said Wednesday’s march represented the 50,000 who took part in the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott after Parks’ historic act of defiance sparked the modern …

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The judge in the second Vioxx trial Thursday denied Merck & Co.’s (MRK) request for a directed verdict in its favor, saying evidence presented by the plaintiff in the product-liability trial justifies a continuation of the court battle. The decision by New Jersey Superior Court Judge …