Thousands of workers protested in four Dutch cities on Saturday against a government decision to increase the state retirement age from 65 to 67 by 2025.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Anti-Castro Cuban-Americans are donating more money to Democratic lawmakers in hopes of blunting momentum in Congress to lift the U.S. trade embargo of the Communist-ruled Caribbean nation, a report said on Monday.

Obama: US diversity strength to country, cites women's rights key to nations' successes. President Barack Obama says one of the United States' strengths is its diversity and a family gathering in his home "looks like the United Nations."

Calif. lawyers reap financial benefits from voting rights law they wrote. Every lawsuit filed or even threatened under a California law aimed at electing more minorities to local offices ? and all of the roughly $4.3 million from settlements so far ? can be traced to just two people: a pair of attorneys who worked together writing the statute, The Associated Press has found.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American squeamishness about talking about sex has helped keep common sexually transmitted infections far too common, especially among vulnerable teens, U.S. researchers reported Monday.

Nonprofit report: Pro-Cuba embargo money on the rise to congressional campaigns. Supporters of tough U.S. sanctions against the Cuban government have given more than $10 million to congressional campaigns over the last seven years, according to a study released late Sunday night by a group supporting campaign finance reform.

It looked like a stunning reversal: the same church that helped defeat gay marriage in California standing with gay-rights activists on an anti-discrimination law in its own backyard.

Arrest at Walmart for alleged line cutter leads to charges of racism, ongoing court case. Nearly three years after Heather Ellis switched checkout lines at a southeast Missouri store and touched off what she calls a racially charged dispute with white customers and authorities, the young black schoolteacher faces a trial that could send her to prison for 15 years.

A Memphis, Tennessee gay center has been targeted for vandalism a second time. A Memphis, Tennessee gay center has been targeted for vandalism a second time. Last week, two men attempted to destroy the rainbow flag that flies outside the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC). Plain clothed police officers witnessed the pair as they attempted to set fire to the rope that runs the flag pole of the center. A scuffle broke out when the police approached the men, who managed to escape. Officers received minor cuts and scrapes from the altercation. One man, Ross Burton, 23, was collared by police about an hour later and charged with aggravated assault and vandalism under $500. The second suspect remains at large. The center received national attention when one of its five billboards promoting National Coming Out Day, the October 11 event during which gay men and lesbians are encouraged to come out to a friend, family member or co-worker, was destroyed. The billboard featured openly

California State Attorney General Jerry Brown was honored Saturday night by gay rights group Equality California. California State Attorney General Jerry Brown was honored Saturday night by gay rights group Equality California, the 'San Diego Union-Tribune' reported. Brown has adamantly maintained that Proposition 8, California's 2008 voter-approved gay marriage ban, is unconstitutional. Equality California, the state's largest gay rights advocate, honored Brown with the group's Equality Leadership Award. Brown has refused to defend the gay marriage ban in ongoing litigation and has joined in a federal lawsuit that calls the ban unconstitutional. ?There's progress here,? he said, referring to attitudes about gay marriage. ?We're getting there, but there's going to be a struggle.? Brown, a former California governor, has emerged as the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor of the Golden State in 2010. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newson, a long-time gay community all

When student Hemnecher Amen joined a protest outside the White House recently, it was the latest visible opposition here to US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hardly anyone took notice.

When student Hemnecher Amen joined a protest outside the White House recently, it was the latest visible opposition here to US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hardly anyone took notice.

Nonprofit says Pro-Cuba embargo money flows to congressional campaigns, influences votes. Supporters of tough U.S. sanctions against the Cuban government have given more than $10 million to congressional campaigns over the last seven years, according to a study released late Sunday night by a group supporting campaign finance reform.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Slow walking may not only mean getting to your destination later, according to a new study by French scientists: Older people who walk slowly are almost three times more likely to die of heart disease and related causes than older people who walk faster.

Pa. dog breeder pulls animal cruelty guilty plea; officials say 189 dogs were living in filth. A former eastern Pennsylvania dog breeder is scheduled to go on trial on animal cruelty charges after withdrawing his guilty plea.

Washington Blade, the oldest newspaper in the United States for gays and lesbians, said Monday it was shutting down.

Washington Blade, the oldest newspaper in the United States for gays and lesbians, said Monday it was shutting down.

Libya's Gadhafi tries to convert 200 young Italian women, paid by modeling agency, to Islam. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi hosted a soiree in Rome for some 200 young Italian women, but instead of the party they expected the women were given a lecture on Islam and copies of the Quran, a news report said Monday.

Buenos Aires marriage license is a first for same-sex couples in Latin America. Two men were granted a marriage license in Argentina's capital on Monday, breaking ground in a country and region where laws ban gay marriage.

Latin America's first gay marriage will be held on World AIDS Day on December 1, the Argentine couple, who are both HIV positive, said Monday.