ARIES (March 21 - April 19): Cooperation in business or personal partnerships is a key ingredient. Take steps to resolve tension and to facilitate a happy and a harmonious exchange. TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): You can learn a great deal this week from mistakes or errors. Rise above embarrassment or criticism. Master the lessons that are presented. GEMINI (May 21 - June 21): Safety and security are hot topics of discussion, especially where ... [full story]

Q: During the last several years our dog has had several bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. We have not worried too much about this since she is allowed to run free outside and we know that she often eats garbage and other stuff left along our road. We have always assumed that this is what dogs do. However, more recently we have noticed that our dog's stools are gray and have a very bad odor. ... [full story]

After his resignation was announced last Monday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales spoke with San Diego Union-Tribune editorial board member and columnist Ruben Navarrette Jr. Q: President Bush said today that you were a talented and honorable person whose name was dragged through the mud. Do you think your name was dragged through the mud? A: I think that Washington is a very difficult town, and many of the things that happen - not just in ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Not long ago, Poway, Calif., defense contractor Brent Wilkes was an ordinary businessman heading a start-up company with one employee and few prospects for the future. But in a few years, his company, ADCS Inc., was raking in millions of dollars in government contracts. Wilkes was living in a $2.4 million house, had a private plane at his disposal and stayed at resorts. His rapid ascent to wealth was kindled by ... [full story]

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Bulgaria’s head of state said a weak judicial system, organized crime and poverty have added to an annual trafficking of some 10,000 women out of the country.Addressing a conference in Sofia discussing ways to contain women trafficking, Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov said the government should invest more money and efforts to stop the rising number of women being smuggled to other countries, the Sofia News Agency reported Friday.Parvanov said Bulgaria had carried ... [full story]

SEOUL - South Korea's defense chief said Friday North Korean leader Kim Jong Il believes it is too soon to discuss disarmament of the Demilitarized Zone.South Korean Defense Minister Kim Jang Soo, discussing the results of this week's inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, said Kim Jong Il rejected an offer from South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to discuss removing troops and weapons deployed by both countries along the border, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported Friday."The ... [full story]

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - South African officials said they have suspended operations at the gold mine where 3,200 miners were stranded to determine the cause of the mishap.The officials said one day after the accident at the Elandsrand mine that it would be closed for up to six weeks while investigators work to determine the cause of the incident, the International Herald Tribune reported Friday.Amelia Soares, a spokeswoman for the mine's owner, Harmony Gold, said ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - An El Cajon plumber who had a garage full of guns and deadly snakes, and an alligator in his living room, must stand trial on a variety of weapons and animal charges, a judge ruled Thursday. Christopher Shawn Hendry Jr. had 27 poisonous snakes in his garage, including two cobras and four rattlesnakes, which police happened upon while investigating what at first seemed like a routine domestic violence case, officers testified. ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - In the seven months since Carol Lam was forced to resign as the U.S. attorney in San Diego - ostensibly because she was not prosecuting enough cases - criminal case filings have increased significantly in the federal courthouse. And if the current pace continues, more cases will be filed this year in the southern district of California than in any year since 2001. Filings were up 70 percent in August, compared ... [full story]

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - German Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday urged rapid deployment of a joint peacekeeping force to war-ravaged Sudan.Merkel pledged her country's support while emphasizing "the central responsibility for peace, stability and security lies within Africa itself," Deutsche Welle reported.Merkel spoke at a news conference in South Africa during a five-day tour of African nations to reiterate Germany's commitment to human rights and to offer help to Ethiopia and Eritrea to resolve their border ... [full story]