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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida lawmakers agreed Wednesday to shut down the state’s juvenile boot camps after the death of a 14-year-old boy who had been kicked and punched by guards. The move, agreed to by House and Senate negotiators, is part of a state budget agreement that still requires both …

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman, who once occupied the lofty No. 2 spot on his party’s presidential ticket, is too Republican for some Democrats. The three-term lawmaker, a strong advocate of the Iraq War, proponent of some GOP policies and recipient of a kiss from President Bush, …

This is a partial transcript from “The O’Reilly Factor,” April 11, 2006, that has been edited for clarity. Watch “The O’Reilly Factor” weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and listen to the “Radio Factor!” BILL O’REILLY, HOST: “Factor Follow-up” segment tonight: Although some left-wingers in the media deny …

SOMERS, Conn. – Condolences and flowers came in from all over the world. Gene Pitney, 66, who died last week while touring in Wales, was remembered during funeral services Wednesday as a friend and neighbor who, regardless of where he traveled, cherished coming back home to be with his wife …

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – They grew up in privileged surroundings in the suburbs of New York City. Collin Finnerty of Long Island and Reade Seligmann of New Jersey both come from a world of golf courses and multimillion-dollar homes and were educated at exclusive all-boys Catholic prep schools. Their paths …

WASHINGTON – Fueled by a rapidly expanding Hispanic consumer market, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses is growing much faster than the national rate for other companies. Hispanics owned nearly 1.6 million businesses in 2002, a 31 percent increase from five years earlier, according to a report Tuesday by the Census …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Iraqi tribunal confirmed Sunday that the chief judge in Saddam Hussein’s trial has asked to resign but said no decision has been made on whether to allow it. Meanwhile, the international team assessing the Dec. 15 parliamentary election said it would release its final report Thursday. …

IPSWICH, England – Police pursuing the killer of five prostitutes arrested a second man Tuesday, searched his home in Ipswich’s red light district and hauled away his car for further forensic examination. Meanwhile, a court gave police permission to hold the man arrested Monday for an additional 36 hours while …

GENEVA – Researchers have developed a video-display technology that can produce an unlimited range of colors by flexing tiny artificial “muscles” that generate different shades by expanding and contracting in response to electricity. The flexible material allows individual pixels — the dots that make up an image on a screen …

BANGKOK, Thailand – The suspect in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey said he loved the 6-year-old beauty queen “very much” and is “very sorry for what happened.” In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, John Mark Karr said that he contacted JonBenet’s mother, Patsy, before she died of cancer …