ABUJA – OPEC appeared willing on Wednesday to pull back from more oil output cuts, responding to consumer nation calls to hold off until winter has passed to guard against price spikes that would hurt the world economy. OPEC, which produces over a third of the world’s oil, will hold …

CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday praised his opponents for accepting defeat and said his overwhelming re-election victory shows Venezuela supports a radical turn toward socialism. Chavez spoke after a full vote count was released showing he defeated Manuel Rosales with nearly 63 percent of the vote Sunday. …

WASHINGTON – Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that would hold him personally responsible for allegations of torture in overseas military prisons. The lawsuit, filed by two civil rights groups, describes the imprisonment of nine foreigners detained in Iraq and Afghanistan. …

NEW YORK – Did Jessica Simpson succumb to stage fright when she botched Sunday night’s Kennedy Center tribute to Dolly Parton? Video aired Tuesday night by “Inside Edition” shows Simpson clearly flubbing the words to Parton’s classic song “Nine to Five,” and abruptly ending the performance with the words “so …

SUN VALLEY, Idaho – California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger broke his leg while skiing with his family Saturday morning in Sun Valley, Idaho, a spokesman said. Schwarzenegger, 59, was taken to a hospital for X-rays and was discharged with a fracture to his right femur, said Adam Mendelsohn, the governor’s Deputy …

LOS ANGELES – High-potency heroin from Afghanistan is causing a surge in deadly drug overdoses in Los Angeles County, officials said, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. “The rise of heroin from Afghanistan is our biggest rising threat in the fight against narcotics,” Orange County sheriff’s spokesman …

WARNING: Clicking on the link below will redirect you to pictures of Katie Rees, Miss Nevada 2007, that appear on the Web site tmz.com. • Click here to see some of the photos (Viewer discretion is advised).

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 …

WASHINGTON – Sen. Russell Feingold on Tuesday blamed fellow Democrats for inaction on his stalled resolution to censure President Bush for his authorizing the National Security Agency’s electronic terrorist surveillance program. “I’m amazed at Democrats … cowering with this president’s numbers so low,” said Feingold, D-Wis. “The administration … just …

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The top U.S. hurricane expert said Thursday that this year’s hurricane season is likely to be stronger than average, though short of the record 2005 season, the costliest on record. “It would be an unbelievable record to have another season like that, that’s just not …