French leader Sarkozy expected to be released from hospital after collapsing while jogging

PARIS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy was recovering in the hospital Monday while doctors watched his heart, a day after he collapsed while jogging in hot weather, his office said.

French leader Sarkozy hospitalized after collapsing during jog, staying in hospital overnight

PARIS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy collapsed while jogging Sunday on the lush grounds of the Chateau of Versailles and will stay at a hospital overnight even though tests so far have found nothing wrong, his office said.

French leader Sarkozy hospitalized after feeling unwell on jog, to stay in hospital overnight

PARIS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office says he was rushed by helicopter to a military hospital Sunday after he felt unwell during a strenuous jog on a hot afternoon.

Openly gay congressman joins Air Force Academy’s oversight board

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A Colorado Democrat who last year became the first openly gay non-incumbent elected to Congress took his place Friday on the U.S. Air Force Academy’s supervisory board.

Navy says sailor charged with murder, other offenses in gay seaman’s death in California

SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Navy says a sailor has been charged in military court with murder and other offenses in the shooting death of a gay San Diego seaman.

Former Sen. Bob Dole leaves Army hospital after skin graft on leg in time for 86th birthday

WASHINGTON — Former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole left the hospital Tuesday after undergoing surgery for open sores on his legs.

Gay bashing thrives in Jamaica, homosexuality seen as sin

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Even now, about three years after a near-fatal gay bashing, Sherman gets jittery at dusk. On bad days, his blood quickens, his eyes dart, and he seeks refuge indoors.

Army suicides down; study says a third of vets diagnosed with mental health disorders

WASHINGTON — Suicides reported among soldiers have tapered off from extreme highs of early this year amid intense Army efforts to stem the deaths, but officials are not yet ready to say they have turned a corner on the problem.

2nd Ky. widow settles lawsuit over husband’s death at southern Illinois VA hospital

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — The second of two Kentucky widows has settled her federal lawsuit over surgical care they say killed their husbands at an Illinois Veterans Affairs hospital where major surgeries have been halted for nearly two years after a spike in patient deaths.

Auditors: Women veterans aren’t always ensured privacy at Veterans Affairs hospitals, clinics

WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs Department hospitals and clinics aren’t always making sure female veterans have privacy when they bathe and receive exams, government auditors said Tuesday.

List of nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in their armed forces

British Naval Officer stands up to speak about being a gay and a soldier: Feature Story

LONDON — For more than a decade, he had prepared for that moment.

Gunman surrenders to police at VA medical center in Topeka, Kan., trades ammo for cigarettes

TOPEKA, Kan. — Officials say a gunman who entered a Veterans Affairs medical center in Topeka, Kan., surrendered without hurting anyone and is now a patient at the hospital.

Allies’ experiences draw scrutiny as US debates letting gays serve openly in military

NEW YORK — When it comes to dealing with gay personnel in the ranks, the contrasts are stark among some of the world’s proudest, toughest militaries — and these differing approaches are invoked by both sides as Americans renew debate over the Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

House boosts funding for veterans programs, military base construction

WASHINGTON — Veterans health care programs would receive another big boost under a $132.4 billion measure passed by the House on Friday.

Despite vet’s overdose, VA still gives some resident patients a week’s supply of narcotics

WASHINGTON — Two years after an Iraq war veteran overdosed on medication at a Veterans Affairs facility, the problems blamed in his death have not been corrected at many of the VA’s residential treatment sites, a government study found.

Senate debates homeland security budget as Congress digs into spending bills

WASHINGTON — A House panel Tuesday night voted to require General Motors and Chrysler to restore franchise agreements with their dealers despite their dire financial condition.

AP IMPACT: Some vets find new GI Bill a great deal in some states, a letdown in others

When the new GI Bill kicks in Aug. 1, the government’s best-known education program for veterans will get the biggest boost since its World War II-era creation. But the benefit is hardly the “Government Issue,” one-size-fits-all standard the name implies.

UK orders new inquiry into allegations Iraqis were tortured and killed by British troops

LONDON — Britain’s defense ministry ordered an inquiry Monday into allegations that Iraqi civilians were tortured and killed by British troops following a fierce gunbattle in Iraq in 2004.

Top military officer advises Obama to act in ‘a measured way’ on changing policy for gays

WASHINGTON — The nation’s top military officer said Sunday he has advised President Barack Obama to move “in a measured way” in changing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military.

Colin Powell says US took too long to bolster Iraq forces after Baghdad fell early in war

WASHINGTON — Colin Powell says the U.S. took too long to strengthen its forces in Iraq after Baghdad fell early in the war.

Bomb blast near Roman Catholic cathedral kills 4, wounds 47 in the southern Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Suspected Muslim guerrillas detonated a bomb near a Roman Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippines on Sunday, killing at least four people and wounding 47. Seven were in critical condition.

Can chem prof succeed in mission to guide war-weary veterans back to college?

CLEVELAND — John Schupp pulled his car onto a country road lined with half-grown corn. Dark clouds obscured the sun, and he couldn’t tell which way pointed east or west. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

As new GI Bill swells ranks of vets in college, schools work to ease transition to campus life

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — With a fattened GI Bill covering full tuition and more, the number of veterans attending college this fall is expected to jump 30 percent from last year to nearly half a million. That’s left many universities looking for ways to ease the transition from combat to the classroom.

Navy: Gay sailor’s slaying at Southern California base appears not to be hate crime

SAN DIEGO — The death of a gay sailor who was killed as he stood guard at Camp Pendleton doesn’t appear to be a hate crime, officials said Thursday.

Chair of House Veterans Affairs Committee wants hate crimes probe into killing of gay sailor

SAN DIEGO — The chairman the House Veterans Affairs Committee is calling for a Defense Department and Marine Corps probe to see if the killing of a gay sailor at Camp Pendleton was a hate crime.

Lawyer says veterans waiting, but VA silent on any compensation for colonoscopy mistakes

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — An attorney for veterans potentially exposed to HIV and other infections by colonoscopies at three Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals said his clients are waiting to hear if they will be compensated for mistakes that led to congressional hearings and new VA spending on patient safety.

Muslim rebels claim killing hundreds of Filipino troops; military denies it

MANILA, Philippines — Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines said Thursday they have killed more than 500 government troops in 10 months of fighting since the collapse of peace talks, a claim the military dismissed as propaganda.

Defense chief says he wants to make gay expulsion law ‘more humane’ until repeal

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday he wants to make the law prohibiting gays from serving openly in the armed forces “more humane” until Congress eventually repeals it. He said he has lawyers studying ways the law might be selectively enforced.

Military board says gay NY National Guard officer should be discharged

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A military administrative board recommended Tuesday that a National Guard officer who publicly announced he’s gay should be discharged for violating the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.