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NEW YORK – It is the kind of holiday mail that might have been tossed aside, discarded like any other piece of junk mail: a special gift offer for a facial at a local spa. Only the address on the letter no longer exists. And the woman the letter is …

LITHONIA, Ga. – Two federal agents were shot early Friday at a suburban Atlanta apartment complex while serving search warrant for firearms. The agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and DeKalb County police were met with “numerous rounds of gunfire” after knocking and announcing their presence, …

KABUL, Afghanistan – Several key Taliban leaders and about 50 fighters have been killed in a NATO-led operation to clear militants from Afghanistan’s violence-plagued south, officials said Wednesday. Afghan forces are participating in the offensive in Kandahar’s Panjwayi and Zhari districts, where NATO’s biggest ground battle in its history — …

SEATTLE – The death toll from the Northwest’s worst windstorm in more than a decade climbed to 10 Monday, while nearly a quarter million homes and businesses remained without power in hard-hit western Washington. At least 100 people have developed symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning blamed on the use of …

MIAMI – Timothy Muldowny’s lawyers decided on an unconventional approach to fight his drunken driving case: They sought computer programming information for the Intoxilyzer alcohol breath analysis machine to see whether his test was accurate. Their strategy paid off. The company that makes the Intoxilyzer refused to reveal the computer …

LA PAZ, Bolivia – Bombs exploded inside two low-budget hotels in Bolivia‘s capital overnight, killing two people and wounding seven, police said Wednesday. An American was among those arrested. The explosions occurred Tuesday night and early Wednesday in the historic city center. Police commander Oscar Nina said it was “a …

VIENNA, Austria – Talks between European foreign ministers and Iran over its nuclear ambitions broke up Friday without any agreement, making U.N. Security Council action against Tehran as early as next week appear more likely. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said the European Union had been demanding “full and complete …

LONDON – A former member of Bob Marley‘s band, The Wailers, has taken his fight for a slice of the reggae great’s royalties to a British courtroom. Aston Barrett, who was Marley’s bassist for almost a decade, is suing Universal-Island Records Ltd. for $105 million. His lawsuit was also brought …

PORTLAND, Ore. – A couple sought on drug charges after their rescue from the mountains of southwest Oregon were arrested Tuesday in Washington state, authorities said. Elbert and Becky Higginbotham were stopped without incident near the coastal city of Long Beach, Wash., a Pacific County dispatcher said. The Higginbothams were …

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A powerful storm dumped more than a foot of snow in the Plains, closing schools and roads and forcing residents to man shovels Monday during the first day of spring. Hundreds of schools were closed in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado and South Dakota, and at least five …