BOGOTA, Colombia – Ousted Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutierrez (search) said Thursday he was renouncing his asylum in Colombia and would return to his own country — where he faces arrest — and attempt to regain power. “I will use all legal and constitutional means to retake power,” Gutierrez told a …

JERUSALEM – Israel prepared Wednesday to lock down for Yom Kippur (search), the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, when borders close, streets empty of traffic and Jews fast, pray and ask for forgiveness. In a sweep through West Bank (search) towns before the holy day, Israeli forces arrested six …

NEW YORK – DuPont Co. (DD), the No. 2 U.S. chemicals maker, on Tuesday posted better-than-expected quarterly results before items on stronger pricing and set a $5 billion share buyback. Third-quarter sales improved across DuPont’s five business, and prices rose 4-percent, offsetting record energy costs and the effect of Hurricanes …

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico – The outer bands of Hurricane Otis (search) lashed the coast of western Mexico Saturday as the storm crawled toward the Baja California peninsula, forcing hundreds of families to evacuate their homes and flooding roads in this resort city. Weakening somewhat, the storm was still expected …

UNITED NATIONS – Oil-for-Food is the biggest scandal ever to hit the United Nations (search), but it is just one of many scandals erupting at the world body – all symptoms of trouble at the core. The latest shocker intersects with Oil-for-Food (search), but centers on separate activities in the …

LONDON – In an unusual show of agreement, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern (search) and the Rev. Ian Paisley (search), the top Protestant politician in Northern Ireland (search), called Wednesday for the outlawed IRA to disarm and disband. Ahern and Paisley — a hard-liner who opposes Irish involvement in Northern …

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Shop at Home cable network is serving up chef Emeril Lagasse (search) with a menu of prime-time specials and a weekly series. The star of the Food Network’s top-rated show “Emeril Live” will get a chance to demonstrate his recipes and tout his utensils on Shop …

SOLVANG, Calif. – Michael Jackson (search) was taken to an emergency room Sunday for treatment of a back problem that has plagued him throughout his molestation trial, a spokeswoman said. Jackson, accompanied by a bodyguard, arrived at the Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital (search) about five miles from his Neverland …

LOS ANGELES – Kristin Davis (search) is surprised as anyone that she’s gone from “Sex and the City (search)” to playing moms in the movies. Davis plays a mother in two new family films: “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D (search),” and a remake of “The Shaggy Dog …

ST. LOUIS – Monsanto Co. (MON), the maker of RoundUp herbicide and bioengineered seeds, said Wednesday its third-quarter earnings fell 81 percent from last year due to a $248 million write-off of research and development related to acquisitions. The St. Louis company also issued a full-year earnings outlook for fiscal …