SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Billy Joel got a standing ovation from nearly 5,000 Syracuse University graduates Sunday after he serenaded them and urged them to do what they love in life. “Don’t do it for security or status, prestige, money, or, for crying out loud, don’t do it for somebody else,” …

WASHINGTON – They’re bombarded with electronics starting in infancy, from the new “Sesame Street” for 6-month-olds to game-playing laptops for toddlers. But when does being a multimedia youngster help — and when does it hurt — children’s malleable brains? The claims vary widely, from proponents who say TV and baby …

WASHINGTON – Demonstrators would be barred from disrupting military funerals at national cemeteries under legislation approved by Congress and sent to the White House Wednesday The measure, passed by voice vote in the House hours after the Senate passed an amended version, specifically targets a Kansas church group that has …

The rings have been exchanged. Now what does a man need to know about pleasing his bride? Neil Chethik, author of “VoiceMale: What Husbands Really Think About Their Marriages, Their Wives, Sex, Housework and Commitment,” offers three pithy points: First, “carry your weight around the house.” (Husbands, keep reading, it …

NEW YORK – Phelps Dodge Corp. (PD) on Monday said it would acquire Canada’s Inco Ltd. (N) and Falconbridge Ltd. (FAL) for about $40 billion in a blockbuster deal to create the world’s largest nickel miner and second-largest copper producer. Phelps Dodge said it would buy Inco for C$80.13 per …

SOLO, Indonesia – A reputed leader of the Al Qaeda-linked terror group blamed for deadly bombings across Indonesia on Thursday accused President Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard of waging wars against Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. Militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir also called on Bush and Howard to …

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced his plan Tuesday to withdraw troops from Iraq at a ruling party meeting, a party official said, moving to end Japan‘s largest military mission since World War II. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of party protocol, said Koizumi …

PARIS – French President Jacques Chirac urged consumers not to panic Saturday, hours after the government announced the European Union‘s first outbreak of deadly bird flu in commercial poultry. Chirac said chickens and eggs remained safe to eat as he munched a piece of the famously succulent chicken from the …

NEW YORK – Are hedge funds now investments for the masses? Not so fast. Long reserved for the ultra-rich and the institutional investor, these private and risky investments have grown explosively in the past few years, in part because it’s become much easier for the typically wealthy investor to participate. …

LOS ANGELES – A man was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to robbing “Girls Gone Wild” creator Joe Francis and forcing him at gunpoint to pose for a demeaning videotape as part of an extortion attempt. Darnell Riley, 28, was sentenced after he pleaded …