RAMALLAH, West Bank – The Israeli military has rounded up 379 militant activists, including dozens of electoral candidates from Hamas (search), prompting accusations that Israel is using a weekend truce breach as an excuse to crush the Islamic terrorist group before upcoming Palestinian elections. The arrest sweep in the West …

RAFAH, Gaza Strip – Israel (search) and the Palestinian Authority on Thursday said they fear Al Qaeda terrorists will infiltrate into Gaza through the open Gaza-Egypt border, where Palestinians and Egyptians have been crossing largely unfettered since Israel withdrew from the area four days ago. In a deal worked out …

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (search) has stopped short of reassuring illegal immigrants victimized by Hurricane Katrina (search) that they can seek help from relief agencies without fear of arrest — a promise the federal government made after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Spokeswoman Joanna Gonzalez refused to …

BOSTON – A Massachusetts teenager who reportedly hacked into Paris Hilton’s (search) cell phone account has been sentenced to 11 months in a juvenile facility. Celebrity phone numbers stored in Hilton’s cell phone were posted online when her account was hacked earlier this year. A Washington Post report on Wednesday …

HAYWARD, Wis. – A jury on Friday convicted an immigrant truck driver of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of six deer hunters during a confrontation over trespassing, rejecting his claims that he fired in self-defense after one hunter used racial slurs and another shot at him. Chai Soua Vang …

WASHINGTON – Four people may have died of a waterborne bacterial infection circulating in Hurricane Katrina (search)’s flood waters, and health officials took steps Tuesday to stem spread of a diarrhea-causing virus among refugees in Houston’s Astrodome. The deaths appear to have been caused by Vibrio vulnificus (search), a germ …

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Panicked by rumors of a bomber, thousands of Shiite (search) pilgrims broke into a stampede on a bridge during a religious procession Wednesday, crushing one another or plunging 30 feet into the muddy Tigris river. About 950 died, mostly women and children, officials said. Hundreds of lost …

Yes, you can tap into your 401(k) before you retire. Here’s how. Loans These days, about 82% of 401(k) plans have loan provisions. That means you can borrow money from your nest egg and pay it back to yourself without incurring penalties. Typically you’re allowed to borrow up to half …

LANCASTER, Pa. – A 14-year-old girl who ran off with her boyfriend after he allegedly shot her parents to death did not know that he was going to kill them, her lawyer said Tuesday. “Absolutely not,” the attorney, Robert Beyer, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. Beyer …

HARRISBURG, Pa. – A black bear bit and clawed a hunter who had just shot it four times in what game authorities said appeared to be a first for the state. Samuel H. Beauchamp, 47, said he was approaching the downed 320-pound bear in Rothrock State Forest in central Pennsylvania …