World/Nation

• U.S. businessman held in Bolivia returns home

CARACAS, Venezuela - A New York businessman detained more than two years in Bolivia without charge in a money laundering investigation arrived in the United States on Monday, the State Department said, the latest twist in a saga that led to prosecutors alleging high-level corruption in the Andean nation.

A State Department official, who agreed to discuss the matter only if not quoted by name because she was not authorized to release details, confirmed only that Jacob Ostreicher had left Bolivia. The agency would give no details on his departure or travel to the U.S., the official said.

Family members had contacted The Associated Press earlier Monday saying they hadn't heard from Ostreicher in a few days and feared he had been kidnapped. Later, a brother, Aron Ostreicher, called saying Ostreicher might be in the U.S. The brother then stopped answering his phone and email.

Ostreicher's daughter, Gitty Weinberger, said Monday evening in a phone interview from her home in New Jersey that she had been informed of her father's safe arrival in the U.S. but the two had not yet spoken.

Bolivian government officials said they didn't know whether Ostreicher had left the country, but were aware of the report.

• UN issues record funding appeal for refugees

BEIRUT - The exodus of millions of people from Syria in one of the largest refugee flights in decades is pushing neighboring countries to a breaking point, and thousands of lives are threatened with the onset of a bitter winter.

The crisis prompted a record appeal by the United Nations on Monday for $6.5 billion to help displaced Syrians and their host countries, with hundreds of thousands more refugees expected as the civil war rages.

With less than a month to go before internationally brokered peace talks by Syria's warring sides are to begin, the U.N. chief demanded a cease-fire for the discussions to have any chance in succeeding.

"We must have cessation of hostilities before we begin political dialogue on Syria in Geneva," Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York.

• GOP, hard-right groups in midst of bitter divorce

WASHINGTON - Republican leaders and several hard-right groups are displaying the classic signs of a political divorce, including bitter name-calling and reprisals against one another.

The recent eagerness of House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to lash out at groups that have given them fits has unshackled others in the Republican ranks to publicly question the motivation of organizations like the Senate Conservatives Fund, Heritage Action, Madison Project and Club for Growth.

Such organizations disparage Republicans they accuse of following the path of least resistance in Washington and vow to replace them in primaries with conservative purists.

"I think there's a growing recognition around here that many of the outside groups do what they do solely to raise money, and there are some participants inside Congress who do the same," said Sen. Bob Corker. He said that some of the newer senators have caught on to "the disinformation, getting people to call offices, send in small donations to a website."

• No evidence anti-bacterial soaps stop germs

WASHINGTON - After more than 40 years of study, the U.S. government says it has found no evidence that common anti-bacterial soaps prevent the spread of germs, and regulators want the makers of Dawn, Dial and other household staples to prove that their products do not pose health risks to consumers.

Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration announced Monday that they are revisiting the safety of triclosan and other sanitizing agents found in soap in countless kitchens and bathrooms. Recent studies suggest triclosan and similar substances can interfere with hormone levels in lab animals and spur the growth of drug-resistant bacteria.

The government's preliminary ruling lends new support to outside researchers who have long argued that the chemicals are, at best, ineffective and at worst, a threat to public health.

"The FDA is finally making a judgment call here and asking industry to show us that these products are better than soap and water, and the data don't substantiate that," said Stuart Levy of the Tufts University School of Medicine.

• Judge revokes Chris Brown's probation

LOS ANGELES - A judge on Monday revoked Chris Brown's probation after his recent arrest on suspicion of misdemeanor assault in Washington, D.C., but the ruling will not alter the singer's requirements to complete rehab and community labor for his 2009 attack on Rihanna.

Superior Court Judge James R. Brandlin cited details contained in an arrest report as his reason for revoking Brown's probation for the second time this year. He ordered Brown to return to court Feb. 10 for an update on his progress in rehab.

Prosecutors did not request that Brown be sent to jail.

- The Associated Press