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Some brands of vaginal lubricants commonly recommended to couples undergoing fertility treatments may actually damage sperm and reduce the chance of conception. A new study shows three brands of vaginal lubricants, FemGlide, Replens, and Astroglide, damaged sperm integrity and activity (motility) in laboratory tests. But a fourth brand of vaginal …

SAN FRANCISCO – Workers may face new tradeoffs in their 2006 health-care decisions as high-deductible plans take their place among traditional programs offered by employers. Conventional coverage such as health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs) are still the dominant plan types. But more employers for the first …

WASHINGTON – Outside the blind trusts he created to avoid a conflict of interest, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (search) earned tens of thousands of dollars from stock in a family-founded hospital chain largely controlled by his brother, documents show. The Tennessee Republican, whose sale this summer of HCA Inc. …

WASHINGTON – The national Democratic and Republican parties are pouring millions of dollars into the New Jersey and Virginia governors’ races, hoping the November elections will determine more than the top state government executives in those states for the next four years. National party operatives on both sides of the …

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan – Trucks carrying more than 100 American soldiers and the U.S. Army’s only remaining MASH (search) unit trundled into this quake-ravaged city Monday on a mission Washington hopes will help generate goodwill among Pakistanis. The Oct. 8 earthquake (search) killed an estimated 79,000 people. Many of the injured …

HARTFORD, Conn. – After receiving their civil union license Saturday, Lidia Agramonte and Maria Gomez had all the same rights as a married couple in Connecticut. But they couldn’t find words to describe their union. “The hardest thing is, what do you call yourself, civilized?” said Agramonte, 47, a social …

This is a partial transcript from “On the Record,” October 26, 2005, that has been edited for clarity. GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: Harriet Miers (search) — was she pushed out or bowed out and is this fair and right? After a month of attacks from both sides of the aisle, …

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – A military court convicted six air force personnel in an assassination attempt against Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf (search), sentencing four to death and two to life in prison, an air force spokesman said Wednesday. The six men were arrested in connection with the attack on Musharraf’s motorcade …

KIZIKSA, Turkey – Police searched cars entering this western Turkish village Thursday and warned people not to touch chickens or turkeys after the European Union confirmed that a virulent strain of bird flu had been detected in poultry there. The Turkish government said it has contained the outbreak of the …

LOS ANGELES – Firefighters gained ground against three wildfires burning across Southern California, but worried that hot winds forecast over the next few days will undo their efforts. A 1,091-acre fire in Burbank was 67 percent contained Sunday after firefighters aided by cooler breezes made significant progress, according to Burbank …