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ALBANY, N.Y. – Aon Corp. (AOC), the world’s No. 2 insurance brokerage, has agreed to pay $190 million and adopt reforms to end a bid-rigging investigation by three states. Under the settlement announced Friday, Chicago-based Aon will provide the money over a three-year period for restitution to policyholders and end …

WASHINGTON – The Senate confirmed Alberto Gonzales (search) on Thursday to be the next attorney general despite strong resistance from Democrats, who argued that the former White House counsel helped contribute to detainee mistreatment at U.S.-guarded prisons abroad. Gonzales was sworn in by Vice President Dick Cheney after the Senate …

This is a partial transcript of “Special Report With Brit Hume ,” Feb. 4, 2005, that has been edited for clarity. Watch “Special Report With Brit Hume” weeknights at 6 p.m. ET (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: They say to me, are you going to have a timetable? …

UNITED NATIONS – Ten years after a landmark United Nations (search) conference adopted a platform aimed at global equality for women, the United States is demanding that a follow-up meeting make clear women are not guaranteed a right to abortion. The high-level U.N. meeting attended Monday by more than 100 …

NEW YORK – A former senior executive at Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (MMC) and two American International Group Inc. (AIG) employees pleaded guilty Tuesday to criminal charges in the state’s probe of bid-rigging and price-fixing in the insurance industry. Joshua Bewlay, 39, of Tuxedo Park, N.Y., a former managing …

NEW YORK – Saying prayers during school hours is a violation of the separation of church and state. But some religious groups say a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court (search) decision clears the way for singing praises in public schools on Sunday mornings. If the city of New York gets its …

LOS ANGELES – They started as an Oscar night joke. A quarter-century later, they’re still a joke, but they come a night before the Oscars. On Saturday, the Golden Raspberry Awards (search), better known as the Razzies (search), will deliver their 25th annual spanking of all things bad in Hollywood. …

Name-brand foods like Oreo cookies, Duncan Hines cake mixes and Raisin Bran cereal are among the thousands of packaged goods on supermarket shelves that are certified as kosher. But it’s not so easy to find kosher-certified (search) over-the-counter medicines, which Rabbi Dovid Heber called “the last frontier.” That may be …

KABUL, Afghanistan – All 104 people aboard an Afghan airliner that hit a snow-covered mountain last week are dead, authorities said Tuesday, confirming the country’s worst air disaster. NATO and Afghan soldiers managed to inspect the crash site, 20 miles east of the capital, on Monday, finding human remains among …

Watch “On the Record” weeknights at 10 p.m. ET According to published reports, the woman accusing Bill Cosby (search) of drugging and groping her, reportedly taped phone calls with him after she reported the offense. We’ll get reaction from our panel of legal eagles: • Jeanine Pirro, Westchester County district …