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DENVER – A man accused of raping or beating 10 people in the Denver area, including two 11-year-old girls and their grandmother, confessed Wednesday before a judge who handed him a prison term of more than 1,300 years. Brent J. Brents (search), 36, took responsibility for attacks — including sexual …

MIAMI – Tropical Storm Franklin threatened the Bahamas (search) with wind and rain, but Florida and the rest of the southeast U.S. coast were likely to be spared unless its expected track shifts, forecasters said Friday. The storm, which formed Thursday, had sustained winds near 50 mph by late Friday …

BALTIMORE – Baltimore (search) police say a missing 12-year-old girl has been found. City police spokesman Troy Harris says Raven Randal (search) is alive and safe. He had no further details. The girl was reported missing by her 15-year-old brother, who told police the pair were abducted this week and …

JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (search) ordered that Gaza Strip (search) settlements be closed to all nonresidents on Wednesday to keep out protesters opposed to Israel’s planned withdrawal from the communities, according to Israeli media and government officials. The government had announced plans to seal off the settlements …

BRIANCON, France – Lance Armstrong (search) took it easy during a tough mountain stage at the Tour de France. It was a sure sign the six-time defending champ was in total control. While Alexandre Vinokourov (search) outpaced Santiago Botero (search) to the finish line in Wednesday’s 11th stage, Armstrong saved …

This is a partial transcript from “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” July 11, 2005, that was edited for clarity. NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: You know, in the middle of nature’s fury taking hold of some Florida’s most expensive real estate and, as you just heard from AccuWeather’s Joe Bastardi, this could …

WASHINGTON – President Bush celebrated Tuesday’s launch of the space shuttle Discovery (search), applauding the mission after watching the crew’s takeoff on television and wishing them “a safe and successful mission.” “I thank the men and women of NASA who have dedicated themselves to putting our space program back on …

LOS ANGELES – Desperation? The housewives on Wisteria Lane should take a day trip to the equally picturesque but even more problematic TV town of Agrestic, California. That’s the setting of the new Showtime series “Weeds,” (search) which had its premiere Tuesday night on the Paramount Pictures lot. The weekly …

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – For the first time since the Columbia tragedy, NASA’s countdown clocks were ticking down the hours, minutes and seconds to launch, heightening the anticipation for a Wednesday liftoff of Discovery. The countdown for the first space shuttle (search) flight in 2½ years began Sunday evening as …

NEW YORK – JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) expects to be profitable for the rest of the year, its chief executive said in an interview on Thursday, even as record oil prices threaten to push its rivals into bankruptcy. The New York-based discount airline should prosper compared with rival carriers thanks …