Mercury, the messenger of the zodiac, lines up with Mars, the warrior, to stir the pot and add some zesty spice to it, too. Heated words will be exchanged. Some will dish it out and others will be getting served. But the best person to be is the one who witnesses the controversy and, as seductive and dramatic as it may be, decides to stay away. All should be resolved by Thursday's healing conjunction of ... [full story]

ALL MY CHILDREN: Zach refuses to help Reese fight Bianca for custody of Gabrielle. Reese turns to Ryan, who wants nothing to do with her. Kendall agrees to help Bianca fight Reese simply because she wants Bianca to take Gabrielle and leave town. Not wanting to put Gabrielle in the middle of a war, Reese tells Bianca that she'll sign away her parental rights to Gabrielle and hopes that Bianca will forgive her one day ... [full story]

UNICE, La. - Police in Louisiana said three people have been arrested after they allegedly planned to trade $175 cash and a $1,500 cockatoo for two children. Brandy Romero, 27, and Paul Romero, 46, were each charged with one count of aggravated kidnapping after they allegedly agreed to give up the money and the bird in exchange for a 4-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy, the (Opelousas, La.) Daily World reported Friday. The Romeros were ... [full story]

The increase in the number of people receiving food stamps in Oregon during the past year is greater than the population of Medford; workers continue to scramble to help struggling Oregonians. January 2009 brought the biggest increase of the recession in the demand for temporary cash assistance and food stamps in Oregon - - and the need continues at record levels, the Oregon Department of Human Resources recently reported. The number of families receiving cash ... [full story]

JERUSALEM - Investigators questioned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Friday about accusations he received an illegal discount on some Jerusalem real estate. It was the 16th question-and-answer session Olmert had with detectives from the National Fraud Investigation Unit who are looking into corruption charges, Ynetnews reports. Recently, the probe has focused on appointments Olmert made to the Small Business Authority during his tenure as Industry, Trade and Labor minister. He is also accused of double- ... [full story]

PHILADELPHIA - One charge of a task force on the middle class is examining how investing in green jobs will strengthen that U.S. demographic, Vice President Joe Biden said. The White House Task Force on Middle Class Families, meeting for the first time Friday in Philadelphia, is charged "to asses current polices and develop new ones aimed at helping the middle class, the economic engine of this country," Biden wrote in a commentary published Friday ... [full story]

DALLAS - A 6-pound chunk of metal that smashed through the roof of a Dallas home came from a nearby wood chipper, police say. Dallas police spokesman, Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse, said the metal chunk was a "grinding bit" from a wood chipper but didn't elaborate on how the debris was launched from the tree service machine, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram said Friday. "It has been confirmed that the object that struck the house ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - Combat brigades deployed in Iraq will be removed over the next 18 months, U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. "Let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," Obama told the applauding audience. The top priority during the drawdown will be the safety and security of U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians, he said. "We will proceed ... [full story]

Last month, police in Charlotte, N.C., charged a would-be bank robber with first-degree murder after he burst into the house of a 79-year-old woman, resulting in her death. After botching an attempted robbery, 20-year-old Larry Whitfield broke into and hid out in the home of Mary Parnell. Whitfield did not touch Parnell, but the woman died after suffering a heart attack. Prosecutors say Whitfield is guilty of murder because he, in effect, scared Parnell to ... [full story]

MOSCOW - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Friday that protests in his country shouldn't be restricted as long as they are conducted legally. While meeting with top members of the ruling United Russia party Friday, Putin said all legal forms of protest wouldn't face restrictions in Russia in the future, RIA Novosti reported. "Our legitimate political forces have been acting responsibly and I hope that this will continue. We cannot, we should not, and ... [full story]