By LISA CORNWELL / Associated Press Writer Betty Zink stands on the site of a new kindergarten thru 12th grade school under construction on the east side of Cincinnati, Monday, Feb. 2, 2004. (AP Photo/Al Behrman) CINCINNATI (AP) — Betty Zink and all four of her children dropped out of school by the 10th grade.…

By LEIGH STROPE / AP Labor Writer BAL HARBOUR, Fla. (AP) — Faced with questions about organized labor’s relevance in politics and the workplace, union leaders are revving up for November’s election in what many view as the fight of labor’s life. Union chiefs are planning labor’s largest multimillion-dollar effort to mobilize working Americans they…

WASHINGTON (AP) — If Democratic voters had their say, John Edwards would be the choice as John Kerry’s running mate, according to a poll released Monday. Edwards, the North Carolina senator who dropped out of the presidential race last week, was the choice of 30 percent of voters who are Democrats or lean Democratic, according…

By LIZ SIDOTI / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush’s re-election campaign says it will ask the Federal Election Commission to investigate a Democratic-leaning group that will air $4.5 million worth of TV ads against Bush, beginning Wednesday. The Media Fund’s initial two-week ad run in 17 competitive states will include commercials that…

By MIKE GLOVER / Associated Press Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — John Kerry says he no longer considers Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to be a statesman, but rather “an outlaw to the peace process” in the Middle East who has been rightly shuffled aside. In a 1997 book, Kerry described “Arafat’s transformation from outlaw to…

By JENNIFER LOVEN / Associated Press Writer HOUSTON (AP) — President Bush, in painting his Democratic presidential rival as someone who waffles on national security issues, says John Kerry “is trying to have it both ways” on matters of intelligence. At a re-election fund-raiser Monday, Bush contrasted the Massachusetts senator’s oft-stated support for intelligence gathering…

By JOHN SOLOMON / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI’s DNA database, filled with genetic samples from prison inmates nationwide, has helped local authorities identify suspects in more than 11,000 cases in what is becoming the 21st century equivalent of fingerprinting. The database, known as the Combined DNA Indexing System or CODIS, has…

By JOHN PORRETTO / AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — For the first time in a quarter century, new vehicles from Detroit automakers on average have surpassed those from European competitors in terms of reliability, although the most reliable cars and trucks continue to be built by Asian companies, according to a new survey from…

By DANIEL Q. HANEY / AP Medical Editor NEW ORLEANS (AP) — How low should cholesterol go? For victims of recent heart attacks, the answer appears to be rock bottom. A major study released Monday found that especially aggressive treatment with statin drugs, intended to drive cholesterol far below current standards, prevents new heart problems…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — The state is suing Knox County and Knoxville officials over debts it claims the two local government entities have failed to pay. The office of Tennessee Attorney General Paul Summers filed the lawsuit in Knox County Chancery Court on behalf of the state and the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental…