BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Insurgents killed 19 Iraqi security forces Saturday in clashes around Baqouba, while U.S. and Iraqi forces intensified an offensive in a rebel-infested city that the Americans subdued last year — only to have the Iraqis lose control. Eight policemen died in a pair of shootouts in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of…

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — He didn’t choose to leave New Orleans; Katrina came through and wrecked Jerry Hymel’s native city, driving him away. And now he does not know what to do. He is asking the same questions posed by thousands of others who fled the storm and its aftermath: Should he and his wife…

DALLAS (AP) — Byron and Marsha Hooper agreed that the birth of their first child deserved a hospital room with all the extras: high-speed internet, two flat screen TVs and plenty of space. “I’ve been real comfortable,” said 38-year-old Byron Hooper as he surfed the Web, his newborn son sleeping nearby and his wife resting…

By JIM SCOTT / Associated Press Writer The college football season kicked off with eight games Thursday night, but football fanatics and university coeds have had a full month to enjoy “NCAA Football 2006,” which retains all its charm and adds enough new features to topple “Madden NFL 2006” as the year’s best football game.…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is withholding more information than ever from the public and expanding ways of shrouding data. Last year, federal agencies spent a record $148 creating and storing new secrets for each $1 spent declassifying old secrets, a coalition of watchdog groups reported Saturday. That’s a $28 jump from 2003 when $120…

WASHINGTON (AP) — John Roberts is on track for a seat on the Supreme Court, according to supporters and critics who say the coming confirmation debate will test Senate Democrats as well as the nominee. It was uncertain how the death late Saturday of his mentor, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, would figure into the…

NASHUA, Iowa (AP) — Truckers stop by to say a quick prayer, couples from as far away as Australia come to get married and many visitors are so inspired that they belt out the song that made the “little brown church in the vale” famous. After more than 72,000 weddings and visits from as many…

MIAMI (AP) — Alicia Keys has resurrected “MTV Unplugged.” The singer and pianist has performed an acoustic set for the dormant MTV series, to air Sept. 23 (10 p.m. ET). MTV also announced Tuesday that the show will first premiere on Overdrive, MTV’s broadband network. “I’ve always been a very big fan of the show…

By MATT CRENSON / AP National Writer Katrina may seem like the last word in hurricanes, but there is a very real possibility that another major hurricane may hit New Orleans or some other portion of the 200-mile coastline devastated by Katrina in the weeks to come. “We’re not out of the woods yet,” said…

NEW YORK (AP) — During the second half of his career, Nashville singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell has taken the words of Artie Shaw and Jack Nicholson to heart. Crowell took a six-year hiatus to help raise his children, ending in 2001. Since then, he’s released three discs that are the best of his three decades of…