CHICAGO ― A new minimally invasive procedure designed to shrink the prostate could offer an alternative to surgery for a benign condition that affects millions of men in America.However, doctors cautioned that the benefits found in the small clinical trial presented here need to be duplicated in a bigger, more rigorous study.“The main thing they are showing is that it is safe,” said William Rillin

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― A cocktail of three drugs, including a new class of antiviral agent, has shown encouraging results in treating hepatitis C, a disease which attacks the liver, a study said Wednesday.“This study represents a remarkable advance and a potential cure for people with hepatitis C who have not responded to previous therapy,” said co-author Stuart Gordon, from the Henry Ford Hospital in

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― A website that sold Beatles songs online for 25 cents apiece before they became legally available has agreed to pay record companies nearly $1 million to settle a federal lawsuit.U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton Tucker signed off on the settlement between BlueBeat.com and music companies EMI Group PLC, Capitol Records and Virgin Records America on Friday. The judge ruled in

CONCORD, New Hampshire (AP) ― Before becoming a bride eight times over, Elizabeth Taylor was a 17-year-old starlet scribbling letters to her first fiance, charting on pale pink stationery his progression from her one-and-only to the one who got away.“I’ve never known this kind of love before ― it’s so perfect and complete ― and mature,” Taylor wrote to William Pawley on May 6, 1949. “I’ve never lo

LOS ANGELES ― If the music to the Season 9, Episode 5 installment of Fox’s animated sitcom “Family Guy” had a relaxed feel, maybe it was because of the 104-degree mineral water.Glenn Morrissette helped orchestrate the score after a leisurely soak last October in the natural hot springs in the tiny northwestern Wyoming town of Thermopolis.Morrissette did his work from his recording studio on wheels

WARSAW (AFP) ― Six letters written by 19th century composer and pianist Frederic Chopin, thought to have been lost since World War II, were Thursday revealed by the Polish museum dedicated to the musical icon.Warsaw’s Chopin Museum said that it spent almost a decade trying to obtain the letters and dozens of other documents related to the composer after getting wind of them in 2003.The paper trial

IN THE SERENGETI, Tanzania ― The lion isn’t sleeping tonight, and neither are most of the people around him.The eerie calls of male lions echo throughout the Serengeti at night.In a tent, even a luxury one, it is an unsettling sound, but the workers at the comfortable Kirawira Lodge in the western Serengeti smile reassuringly and insist that lions can’t work the zippers on the tent flaps. But even

The way you prepare your food can be just as important as what food you eat. Is there any point in eating broccoli, for example, if you cook the life out of its natural carcinogen killers? On the other hand, some foods, such as tomatoes, may offer more benefits when they’re cooked.Fortunately, nutrition experts know a few tricks to help you get the most nutrients out of your food.EggsThe process:

LONDON (AFP) ― The 2011 edition of the Edinburgh International Festival will be a celebration of “vibrant and diverse” Asian culture, from traditional Indian music to a Chinese adaptation of Shakespeare, organisers said Wednesday.The festival, one of several that take place in the Scottish capital each summer and which together form the biggest cultural event in the world, will present three weeks

MOSCOW (AFP) ― A new drama film set in Chernobyl opens in Russian cinemas this week, recalling the trauma of the world’s worst nuclear accident just ahead of the 25th anniversary of the catastrophe.The Russian film’s release comes after the quake-damage to a nuclear power plant in Japan brought fears of a nuclear explosion on the scale of Chernobyl and suspicions of another Soviet-style cover-up b

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AFP) ― Seafood industry players from around the world grappled here Monday with ways to net the most elusive catch of all: a solution to the problem of feeding growing appetites with ever fewer fish.The annual International Boston Seafood Show gathered nearly 900 exhibitors from 130 countries including restaurant buyers and hotels, wholesalers, processors and brokers.With demand surging, they have the luxury of working in a booming market.The United States imports 83 perce

NEW YORK, New York (AP) ―Bacon. It’s everywhere. U.S. fast food chain Wendy’s features it in the “Baconator” and Paula Deen crumbles it into quiche. Ditto for those deluxe cupcakes top-heavy with frosting. Is there a bakery or supermarket that doesn’t sell them?Bacon and cupcakes ― like sliders, bubble tea, popsicles, food trucks and chipotle ― have caught on from coast to coast.But how?Food fads

NEW YORK (AP) ― A judge on Tuesday rejected a deal between Internet search leader Google and the book industry that would have put millions of volumes online, citing anti-trust concerns and the need for involvement from Congress while acknowledging the potential benefit of putting literature in front of the masses.U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan said the creation of a universal library

NEW YORK, New York (AP) ― Flat-heeled shoes have stepped up their game to emerge as a hot fashion trend for the spring-summer season.The detailed and embellished ballet flats, sandals and peep-toes have been elevated to become a serious alternative to the high heels that some women still feel are needed for dressy or business occasions.In fact, the flat-shoe shape might be a better complement to t

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― A song by a California teenager that has been mercilessly panned by music critics has topped 30 million views on YouTube and rocketed up Apple’s iTunes charts.“Friday,” sung by 13-year-old Rebecca Black, was uploaded to YouTube last month by Ark Music Factory, a Los Angeles-based company that was hired by the girl’s parents to produce the song for their daughter.“It’s Friday, Fr

HONG KONG (AFP) ― South Korea’s finest in film celebrated after blitzing the annual Asian Film Awards on Monday, bolstering the country’s growing reputation as the pre-eminent force in the region.South Korean movie stars and filmmakers dominated the glitzy ceremony in Hong Kong, now in its fifth year, snapping up awards for best director, best screenplay, best actor, best supporting actress and be

NEW YORK (AP) ― Sometimes it’s a fast-moving ooze: A street becomes a stream, grows into a river and then a raging mountain of moving debris. Sometimes, it’s a wet curtain of water crashing over a shoreline, tossing trees, ships and cars casually aside as a child would a stack of Legos.Until a week ago, a tsunami was one of the most mysterious of natural events, its devastating power usually evide

LOS ANGELES ― When pop stars Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Nelly Furtado and 50 Cent recently said they’d renounced millions of dollars they’d received for performing for members of Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi’s family, they drew attention to a growing and controversial cultural phenomenon: celebrity artists being hired by rich, powerful and sometimes disreputable clients to play at private or semi-

Spring’s hottest shape in sunglasses is the circle. Reminiscent of John Lennon’s signature specs, round frames have been popping up on more than a few celebrities over the last year, but this season round will be the frame du jour.In February, Ray-Ban launched the exact style Lennon used to wear ($145). These are obviously the most authentic in style and shape and would work for anyone who consist

RALEIGH, N.C. ― For the past three years, American consumers have been on a shopping diet. They cut nonessentials from their shopping lists. They’ve made do. They’ve thought twice before buying.And yet, they’ve continued to open their wallets for natural and organic products.Many shoppers say that natural and organic items remain on their shopping lists because they’re concerned about their health