DES MOINES, Iowa – The first widespread snowstorm of the season plodded across the Midwest on Thursday, as whiteout conditions sent drivers sliding over slick roads and some travelers were forced to scramble for alternate ways to get to their holiday destinations. The storm, which dumped a foot of snow in parts of Iowa and […]

Most of the 500 annual cases involve an object left inside a patient or the wrong operation entirely.

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. General Assembly unanimously approved a resolution Thursday calling for a global ban on female genital mutilation, a centuries-old practice stemming from the belief that circumcising girls controls women’s sexuality and enhances fertility. It has also been linked to religious and cultural practices, although Muslim and Christian leaders have spoken out […]

JOHANNESBURG – Nelson Mandela was seriously ill but has steadily improved over the last few days after being diagnosed with a lung infection and undergoing gallstone surgery, South African President Jacob Zuma said Thursday. It was the first official acknowledgement that Mandela’s condition had been grave, and came 13 days after the anti-apartheid icon was […]

TRIPOLI, Libya – Four people were killed Thursday when a protest outside a base for security forces in eastern Libya turned violent less than a week after suspected Islamic militants killed four policemen at the same compound. A police official in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi said protesters and suspected Islamic militants had gathered […]