Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday he will consider running again to reclaim the presidency — one of the strongest signals yet that he may contend Russia’s top office in 2012. Putin made the statement during an electric four-hour solo performance on live television. The question-and-answer show on TV …

Six companies are recalling millions of window blinds and shades, following the deaths of three children who got caught in cords that help the coverings move up and down. The recalls, announced Wednesday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, involve some big-name companies, including Pottery Barn Kids and IKEA as …

JERUSALEM – Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was indicted on corruption charges Sunday, becoming the first Israeli premier to go on trial and highlighting a series of cases that have shaken the public’s faith in the political system. The charges likely end the three-decade career of a man who just …

WHITEHALL, Ohio – An Ohio police department says it has received scores of calls from around the country complaining about a YouTube video showing an officer taking an 84-year-old woman to the ground. Police Chief Richard Zitzke in the Columbus suburb of Whitehall says the officer did what she had …

Children whose mothers had morning sickness during pregnancy may go on to have sharper minds than their peers, a small study suggests. Researchers found that among 121 Canadian children between the ages of 3 and 7, those whose mothers had suffered morning sickness scored higher, on average, on certain tests …

MIAMI – The Atlantic hurricane season will be less active than originally predicted, government forecasters said Thursday, after the first two months of the half-year stretch passed without any named storms developing. Updating its May outlook, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said a warmer weather pattern called an El …

Lucy the Labradoodle scoots along the ground to grab a bone. At only 5 years old, she’s unable to walk, crippled by rheumatoid arthritis that has rendered her back limbs unusable. However, her owners say she has improved. She no longer yelps or whimpers in pain, and she needs far …

CAMDEN, N.J. – Officials say a cocoa processing center in New Jersey was operating illegally when a worker fell into a vat of melting chocolate and died. Camden cited Lyons & Sons Inc. for not having a business license after Vincent Smith II died Wednesday. Authorities say the 29-year-old was …

LOS ANGELES – An elite squad of guinea pigs has worked its own brand of magic at the box office, taking the No. 1 spot from boy wizard Harry Potter. The 3-D “G-Force” was the top movie at the box office this weekend, opening with $32.2 million, according to studio …

An armed man allegedly trying to rob an Alabama food store reportedly walked away empty-handed after a non-English-speaking clerk couldn’t understand his demands for money. Hispanic immigrant Angelina Geronimo was alone in the Asia Market owned by her husband when the masked man entered the store, the Press-Register reported. “There …