WILMINGTON, N.C. – A doctor may have performed the wrong type of gastric bypass surgery (search) on more than 50 patients at a Wilmington hospital, officials said. Dr. Steven E. Olchowski (search) performed the surgeries between December 2000 and the spring of 2002 at New Hanover Regional Medical Center (search), …

LOS ANGELES – Singer Courtney Love (search) pleaded no contest Thursday to an assault charge related to an incident at the home of an ex-boyfriend. Later in the day, she pleaded guilty to a drug count stemming from an earlier break-in at the residence. In April 2004 Love allegedly found …

When U.S. and Soviet leaders once met, high-stakes negotiations focused on reducing the threat of nuclear war. The language spoken, often in initials rather than words, differed greatly from today’s talks. ——— ABM Treaty: In 1972, President Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty that …

The U.S. surgeon general has a strong message for women who are pregnant or likely to become pregnant: Don’t drink alcohol. In an advisory issued on Monday, Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH, warns that no amount of alcohol can be considered safe during pregnancy. “When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, …

NEW YORK – Investigators probing alleged corruption at the United Nations Oil-for-Food program are scrutinizing thousands of pages of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan‘s (search) documents, including e-mail and phone records, to determine whether he exerted influence in securing a contract for a Swiss company that employed his son. Paul Volcker …

This is a partial transcript of “Special Report With Brit Hume,” August 15, 2005, that has been edited for clarity. Watch “Special Report With Brit Hume” weeknights at 6 p.m. ET JIM ANGLE, GUEST HOST: Sunday night, conservative political and religious figures gathered in Nashville to criticize judges who many …

NEW ORLEANS – An irate New Orleans judge, miffed by pop star Michael Jackson’s (search) failure to be represented at an earlier hearing in a federal civil case, fined the singer $10,000 Wednesday. Jackson was a no-show and had no lawyer present at a July procedural matter in a case …

LONDON – British Prime Minister Tony Blair (search) proposed several new anti-terror measures on Friday in the wake of July’s terror attacks on London’s mass transit system. Here are the main points of the new proposals: — Expanded grounds for deporting foreigners, including fostering hatred, advocating violence to further a …

HAVANA – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (search) criticized the United States for recent remarks about his role in Latin America, saying in a Sunday broadcast from Cuba that it is the policies of the U.S. government that are harming the world, not his own. Chavez spoke alongside Cuban President Fidel …

With racial health gaps persisting in the U.S., a new study shows that media content may contribute to the problem. The study, published in BMC Public Health, tracked health-related ads in 12 magazines for three summer months. The magazines were a mix of mainstream publications (Woman’s Day, Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ …