Having a big belly in your 40s can boost your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia decades later, a new study suggests. It’s not just about your weight. While previous research has found evidence that obesity in middle age raises the chances of developing dementia later, the new …

WASHINGTON – For President Bush, who expresses disdain for e-mail, the White House system of electronic record-keeping is a good match. Even if Bush used e-mail, it might get lost in the problem-plagued White House computer system. “I don’t want you reading my personal stuff,” the president explained to newspaper …

VATICAN CITY – A group of Muslim scholars who have called for greater dialogue with Christians began two days of talks Tuesday with Vatican officials to prepare for what church officials have said would be a historic audience with Pope Benedict XVI. The group includes representatives of 138 Muslim scholars …

LOS ANGELES – Horton hears a hit. Family audiences boosted 20th Century Fox’s animated tale “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” to a $45.1 million debut, the best opening so far this year, according to studio estimates Sunday. Featuring the voices of Jim Carrey and Steve Carell in an adaptation …

LIMA, Peru – Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of an ancient temple, roadway and irrigation systems at a famed fortress overlooking the Inca capital of Cuzco, according to officials involved with the dig. The temple on the periphery of the Sacsayhuaman fortress casts added light on pre-Inca cultures of Peru, …

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – A British teacher is facing up to six months in jail after being convicted of defamation for comments she made in exposing pedophiles at a children’s charity in Ethiopia 10 years ago. Jill Campbell and her husband Gary Campbell compiled evidence in 1999 that helped convict …

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan’s embattled President Pervez Musharraf said Sunday that an “era of democracy” has begun, a day after his political foes named their candidate to lead a coalition government united against him. The U.S.-backed leader spoke early Sunday at a military parade celebrating Pakistan’s national day. Flatbed trucks …

CHAKLALA AIR BASE, Pakistan – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he doubts that Usama bin Laden is in position to assert full command over the Al Qaeda terror network. Rumsfeld, who arrived Wednesday morning local time for an unannounced visit to Pakistan, said he found it interesting that bin …

CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez‘s governing party won full control of the 167-National Assembly, claiming a sweeping victory in congressional elections boycotted by major opposition parties. Official results of Sunday’s election were still being tallied Monday, but leading lawmaker Willian Lara said candidates of Chavez’s Fifth Republic Movement party …

DETROIT – Ford Motor Co. (F) said Wednesday it completed the sale of car rental company Hertz Corp. to a private equity group and it plans to report a fourth-quarter pretax gain from the transaction of $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion. The cash infusion comes as Ford faces a deepening …