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NEW YORK – Medical device maker Guidant Corp. (GDT) on Monday sued to force Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to complete an agreed $25.4 billion takeover, and also reported a slump in earnings and a widening probe by federal investigators. J&J replied by saying product recalls and related regulatory investigations have …

PARIS – France declared a state of emergency Tuesday to quell the country’s worst unrest since the student uprisings of 1968 that toppled a government, and the prime minister said the nation faced a “moment of truth” over its failure to integrate Arab and African immigrants and their children. The …

MEXICO CITY – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused Mexican leader Vicente Fox of being a “puppy” of President Bush and said: “Don’t mess with me, sir.” Fox shot back on Monday that “we have dignity in this country” and demanded an apology. Now the two nations are withdrawing their ambassadors. …

WASHINGTON – Contending that the Supreme Court has undermined a pillar of American society, the sanctity of the home, the House overwhelmingly approved a bill Thursday to block the court-approved seizure of private property (search) for use by developers. The bill, passed 376-38, would withhold federal money from state and …

This week, Gail breaks down proposed changes to the tax code and how they will affect homeowners, small businesses and consumers. “If the money spent every year on tax preparation and compliance was collected — about $140 billion each year or over $1,000 per family — it could fund a …

CANNELBURG, Ind. – Amish farmers tracked down missing cattle and surveyed what remained of their barns Wednesday as residents across three Midwestern states began cleaning up the debris left behind by a deadly storm and its nearly three dozen tornadoes. One tornado swept through two counties between Evansville and Bloomington …

WASHINGTON – The debate over the timing for bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq resumed on Sunday with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld saying it may be possible to reduce the number of U.S. troops there from nearly 160,000 to fewer than 100,000 by the end of next year. But Rumsfeld …

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations reinstated the only U.N. official who was fired over the Iraq Oil-for-Food scandal, after an internal appeals body ruled that he had done nothing wrong, according to a letter made public Tuesday. The decision was made Monday and Joseph Stephanides, fired May 31, received …

PHILADELPHIA – A former University of Pennsylvania (search) professor and noted researcher in brain injury was sentenced to house arrest Wednesday for drugging a woman and then having sex with her against her will. Prosecutors had sought a prison term of at least five years for Tracy McIntosh, former head …

ALPHA, Fla. – The Calhoun County (search) sheriff’s office says a man in the Florida Panhandle murdered his grandmother and may have abducted his 12-year-old uncle and a teen girl. The sheriff’s office has issued an amber alert for 12-year-old Jonathan Sampson (search) and 17-year-old Loretta Swearingin (search). Both children …