WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Thursday that the Justice Department will fight to overturn a federal court ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance can’t be recited in public schools because it contains a reference to God. Gonzales said the pledge is one of several expressions of national identity and patriotism that mention…

COCOA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — This city has been linked to “I Dream of Jeannie” ever since a jingle in the opening of the TV show’s first season in 1965 told how a genie followed Capt. Tony Nelson “back to Cocoa Beach, a mythical town in a mythical state called Florida.” Now, in an arms-crossed…

By MARTHA IRVINE / AP National Writer More women — particularly those in their late teens and 20s — are experimenting with bisexuality or at least feel more comfortable reporting same-sex encounters, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey, released Thursday by the CDC’s National Center for…

NEW YORK (AP) — Bridget Jones is untying the knot. Renee Zellweger, who played the lovelorn Brit in “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” and country music star Kenny Chesney will have their four-month-old marriage annulled, Chesney’s publicist, Holly Gleason, and Zellweger’s Los Angeles-based publicist Nanci Ryder, confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday. People magazine first reported…

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — President Bush promised Thursday night the government will pay most of the costs of rebuilding the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast in one of the largest reconstruction projects the world has ever seen. “There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again,” the president said.…

By WILL LESTER / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON — Eight in 10 people say it’s important for Americans now driving sport utility vehicles to switch to more fuel-efficient vehicles to reduce the nation’s dependence on oil, a poll found. With gas prices hovering around $3 a gallon nationally and the price of natural gas rising…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rates on 30-year mortgages rose for the first time in five weeks as investors awaited word from next week’s meeting of the Federal Reserve on the future direction of mortgage rates. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the nationwide average for rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose slightly this week to…

NEW YORK (AP) — For Kim and James Merly, the home equity line of credit came in very handy — it helped pay for their son’s college education, a car and renovations of two rental properties. Recently, the Fairfield, Conn., couple noticed their interest rate had jumped to 6 percent from the 4 percent they…

WASHINGTON (AP) — A total of 68,000 Americans who lost their jobs due to Hurricane Katrina filed for unemployment benefits last week, pushing these applications up by the largest amount in nearly a decade. The Labor Department reported that claims for benefits rose by 71,000 last week, with 68,000 of that total attributed to layoffs…

NEW YORK (AP) — The marquee columnists for The New York Times’ Op-Ed page — including Thomas L. Friedman, Maureen Dowd and Frank Rich — generate lots of interest and discussion online. Now, the paper is hoping they’ll also generate something else: cash. Beginning Monday, the Times will begin charging $49.95 a year to people…