SAN DIEGO - A man being pursued after he illegally crossed into the United States from Mexico was run over by a freight train late Thursday morning as he tried to escape a Customs agent near the San Ysidro crossing, federal authorities reported. The man lost several some fingertips of his right hand and had his left foot severed. He was taken to a San Diego hospital. There was no word on his condition. The ... [full story]

CHICAGO - Barry Bonds certainly has the right to hoard remnants of every steroid he "accidentally" has used, every piece of body armor he has donned and every mirror he has smooched. And I certainly have the right to deny him - and the Baseball Hall of Fame - Home Run Ball No. 756 if I catch that sphere-shaped winning Lotto ticket. What's his is his, what's mine is mine and ne'er the twain shall ... [full story]

  A kyphotic spine can leave a patient with a hunched posture. In addition to loss of height, vertebral fractures create pain, poor mobility and a host of other side effects including depression and weight loss. Balloon kyphoplasty is a procedure to repair the fracture and improve quality of life. [full story]

MILAN, Italy - A part owner of the Boston Red Sox was one of 130 prosecution witnesses named Friday for an upcoming Milan kidnapping trial of U.S. and Italian agents. Prosecutors said they will call Philip Morse, a minority owner of the Red Sox, and allege his Gulfstream jet was used to transport Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Omar Hasr from Italy to Germany, ANSA reported. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and Italian agents are charged with ... [full story]

Q: I work part time at home and really need a little desk somewhere besides our bedroom. It's no fun to wake up and see all the papers I have to deal with! Downstairs there's the front-hall closet I've been eyeing, but then we'd always be throwing our coats - and our guests' coats - over the stair railing or somewhere. My husband thinks I should buy an armoire for an "office," but then I'd ... [full story]

LOS ANGELES - While sticking by his conclusion that Lana Clarkson's death was a homicide, a coroner testified in the Phil Spector murder trial on Wednesday that based on medical findings he cannot tell whether the actress was holding the gun that killed her. In Dr. Louis Pena's second day on the witness stand, defense lawyer Christopher Plourd tried to pick away at the credibility of the coroner's homicide conclusion, which the coroner said he ... [full story]

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - A marathon pretrial hearing began Wednesday for the commander whose Marines are accused of committing the worst atrocity of the Iraq war. Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, former commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, is charged with violation of an order and dereliction of duty. His hearing at Camp Pendleton is expected to last at least nine days and include dozens of witnesses. Chessani is the highest-ranking of four ... [full story]

Q: After nearly three years of widowhood and attending our senior center community activities, church and other social outings, I still have not been able to find a new partner. Two of my friends have said I've been trying too hard and if I relaxed maybe the right man would come along. I am healthy and can take care of my own finances. I need your suggestions as to what to do next. A: It ... [full story]

Many, if not most, people who drive by or enter their local Pep Boys shop have little idea of its long and interesting history, both as a business and as an advertising vehicle, although the familiar caricatures of Manny, Moe and Jack - the actual originators of the firm - live on in the collective imagination. Actually, it should have been Manny, Moe, Moe and Jack, to truly represent the founders. The story begins in ... [full story]

If modern life is a series of trade-offs, American workers seem to be swapping their well-being for the "busyness" of their lives. That is demonstrated in two findings from a recent survey by Yahoo! HotJobs that reports 45 percent of workers left unused vacation days on the table in 2006 and 36 percent say today they have too much work to take a vacation. Too much work to take a vacation? Something has gone terribly ... [full story]