SALT LAKE CITY – After rushing to write a ban on gay marriage into the state constitution, Utah (search) legislators are stepping back to repair some of the damage the law could deal other kinds of domestic partners. Taken literally, Utah’s provision could deny hospital visitation or survivor’s property rights …

VANCOUVER – Photographs from the camera of a Canadian couple killed in Asia’s tsunami (search) include their final shots of a huge wave as it rushed toward them at their beach resort in Thailand. John and Jackie Knill of North Vancouver, frequent visitors to the popular Thai resort, Khao Lak …

ASPEN, Colo. – Hunter S. Thompson (search), the hard-living writer who inserted himself into his accounts of America’s underbelly and popularized a first-person form of journalism in books such as “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” (search) has committed suicide. Thompson was found dead Sunday in his Aspen-area home of …

SAN FRANCISCO – Gap Inc. (GPS) on Thursday said earnings for the second quarter rose 39 percent, but the retailer warned of a weak sales performance so far this month and lowered its profit forecast for the year. Net income increased to $272 million, or 30 cents per share, from …

NEW YORK – Saying “I am a businesswoman and I am a homemaker,” Martha Stewart (search) served up details of the two upcoming series that mark her return to TV and call on those two roles. The studio full of reporters and photographers on Thursday got to take stock of …

A lot of Dems think they have George W. Bush on the ropes. They think he has lost the confidence of the American people on the war, they think he has lost the forbearance of the American people on his inability to articulate — to sell — the reasons for …

TUCSON, Ariz. – An 83-year-old woman is recovering after being stung 400 times by bees, authorities said. The woman, whose name was not released, was attacked Friday by bees coming from the wall of a storage building outside her home, said Fire Department Capt. Paul McDonough. A handyman sprayed her …

Readers of Consumer Reports have rated their health insurance plans for the magazine. Here are the scores of the five HMOs (health maintenance organizations) ranked highest by readers for overall satisfaction: — Kaiser Permanente, Northwest (Ore., Wash.): 84 — Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan (N.Y.): 83 — Independent Health (Western …

WALLINGFORD, Conn. – Following protests from students, former presidential adviser Karl Rove has withdrawn as this year’s commencement speaker at a prestigious prep school, the school’s headmaster said Monday. The choice of Rove as speaker for the June commencement at Choate Rosemary Hall had led some students to plan to …

LONDON – Britain’s Home Office says it will not deport a gay Iranian teenager back to his homeland. The U.K. Border Agency said on Tuesday that Mehdi Kazemi will be allowed to remain in Britain. Kazemi came to England to study English in 2005. He discovered his boyfriend had been …