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SAN FRANCISCO – A priest who admitted sexually abusing a 12-year-old altar boy fled to Mexico after his bishop failed to immediately report the confession to authorities, a law enforcement official said. The Rev. Xavier Ochoa was suspended April 28 after admitting to the abuse to the Roman Catholic bishop …

FORT LUPTON, Colo. – An explosion at an EnCana natural gas pumping station injured one employee Sunday afternoon near Dacono and southwest of Fort Lupton. Weld County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Margie Martinez said the gas line feeding the station was shut down and the fire was burning itself out. The employee, …

WASHINGTON – U.S. home sales will drop in 2006 as mortgage rates climb and house prices inch up at rates far below those notched last year, a trade group said on Tuesday, noting the long-awaited housing slowdown has begun. The outlook from the National Association of Realtors came shortly after …

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – As if dogs and furballs aren’t bad enough, now your pet cat might have to worry about the estate tax. A bill passed in the Maryland Senate Thursday would allow pet owners to leave money to their animals through trusts. Essentially, the legislation would grant animal beneficiaries …

NEW YORK – This the story with edit related for production

ATLANTA – More than a third of breast cancer survivors gradually stop getting annual mammographies, according to a new study. The results may indicate women grow complacent about medical screening once they get past the medical scare, said the study’s lead author, Dr. Chyke Doubeni of the University of Massachusetts. …

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI urged Catholics on Wednesday to go to confession during Holy Week, Christianity’s most solemn period, when the faithful recall the last days of Christ’s life and his resurrection on Easter. “A good confession before Easter remains an obligation that should be fully valued and …

CHICAGO – McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) Thursday said sales at hamburger restaurants open at least 13 months rose 5.3 percent in March and forecast first-quarter earnings in line with analysts’ estimates. Three Wall Street analysts had expected a March same-store sales rise of 2.3 percent to 4 percent, according to research …

BISTRET, Romania – Thousands of residents have been evacuated from two Danube villages in western Romania and thousands more are under threat as the river hit near-record levels in Romania and Bulgaria Tuesday. More than 3,000 people were evacuated from the village of Rast after a dike collapsed Sunday, while …

PITTSBURGH – A school security guard accused of sex crimes with a teen runaway was ordered Thursday to stand trial after the woman described how he allegedly kept her in a small room in his house for a decade. Thomas Hose and a neighbor and friend, Judith Sokol, are charged …