A few years ago, a private health-care foundation survey asked how often American men and women saw their doctor. Not surprisingly, adult males were infrequent visitors. In fact, one-third said they didn't even have a regular doctor.   MAN DATES - Generally speaking, men make lousy patients. They often avoid visits to their doctor until things get out of control. CNS Illustration by Cristina Martinez Byvik. Generally speaking, men make lousy patients. They avoid physicians like the ... [full story]

AUSTIN, Texas -- Lawyers for Texas property owners said alternatives to a 670-mile fence on the U.S.-Mexican border may be allowed under a bill passed by the U.S. Congress."It's really a new ballgame at this point," attorney Peter Schey with the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law in Los Angeles, told the Austin American-Statesman. "We think that means having serious consultation with private landowners, (American Indian) tribes, land-grant descendants and private property owners."Language in ... [full story]

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A letter by a 19th-century U.S. vice president sold on an Internet auction site led to the discovery of a larcenous artifact scheme, The New York Times said.Amateur historian Joseph Romito notified New York officials of an obscure handwritten letter by the John C. Calhoun, who was vice president under U.S. Presidents John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson from 1825-32, listed on eBay. Romito said records indicated the letter belonged to the ... [full story]

CANBERRA, Australia -- The Australian government condemned anti-whaling activists who boarded a Japanese ship in Antarctic waters and is considering prosecution, reports said.Australian citizen Benjamin Potts and British citizen Giles Lane, members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, jumped on board the Yushin Maru No. 2 without permission on Tuesday with a letter claiming the vessel was violating international law, and Australian law, by killing whales.Australia sent a customs ship to rendezvous with the Japanese ... [full story]

PERTH, Australia -- Australia's new Labor government, reversing previous policy, said Tuesday it will not sell uranium to India, the Press Trust of India reported.Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's government said as per its election commitment, India must first sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty before any sale can take place.Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told special Indian envoy Shyam Saran at their meeting in Perth, the report said."We went into the election with a strong policy ... [full story]

VICTORIA, British Columbia - Canadian brewers in British Columbia oppose a proposal to tax alcoholic drinks depending on how high the alcohol content is.The tax plan comes from the Center for Addictions Research at the University of Victoria. Advocates say that it would encourage drinkers to slow down and reduce the level of alcohol-related disease, the Vancouver Sun reports.Rob Monk said that he and other craft brewers specialize in heavy strong-tasting brews that tend to ... [full story]

In his State of the Union speech Monday, President George W. Bush urged Congress to "fund new technologies that can generate coal power while capturing carbon emissions." It's a familiar theme for Bush. He's been touting so-called "FutureGen" clean coal technology since 2003. Last month, an industry group announced it would build a $1.75 billion plant to demonstrate that technology in Mattoon, Ill., hard by the southern Illinois coal fields. Apparently, Samuel W. Bodman, Bush's ... [full story]

JEDBURGH, Scotland - A Scottish magistrate told two young men who admitted badger baiting with dogs that they showed a "savage mindset" and then spared them jail terms.Sean Dodds, 17, and Kyle Lawrie, 19, who could have received as much as three years in prison, were both ordered to perform community service, 200 hours for Dodds and 160 for Lawrie. Sheriff Kevin Drummond in Jedburgh Sheriffs Court also barred them from owning dogs for five ... [full story]

BAGHDAD -- Three separate bombings targeting security forces shook Baghdad Tuesday, injuring 18 people but causing no fatalities, Iraqi Interior Ministry officials said.Police said 10 of the injured in two of the blasts were police officers and the rest were civilians, the Kuwait News Agency reported. The third explosion caused no injuries, police said.Northwest of Baghdad in Baquba, morgue director Ahmed Fuad told CNN the bodies of 19 males had been found around Diyala province, ... [full story]

In the back and forth between Clinton and Gingrich and in the elections of 2000 and 2004, I sometimes felt as if I were watching the psychodrama of the baby boom generation - a tale rooted in old grudges and revenge plots hatched on a handful of college campuses long ago - played out on the national stage. Thus did Barack Obama, in his campaign book "The Audacity of Hope," touch on a fundamental problem ... [full story]