ATLANTA (AP) – The gap in cancer death rates between college graduates and those who only went to high school is widening, the American Cancer Society reported Friday.

Among men, the least educated died of cancer at rates more than 2 1/2 times that of men with college degrees, the latest data show. In the early 1990s, they died at two times the rate of most-educated men.

For women, the numbers aren't as complete but suggest a widening gap also. The data, from 2007, compared people between the ages of 25 and 64.

People with college degrees are seeing a significant drop in cancer death rates, while people who have spent less time in school are seeing more modest improvements or sometimes none at all, explained Elizabeth Ward, who oversees research done by the cancer society.

The cancer society estimates there will be nearly 1.6 million new cancer cases in the United States this year, and 571,950 deaths. It also notes that overall cancer death rates have been dropping since the early 1990s, but the decline has been greater for some groups more than others.

Experts believe that the differences have to do with education, how much people earn and where they live, among other factors. Researchers like to use education as a measuring stick because death certificates include that information.

"Just because we're measuring education doesn't mean we think education is the direct reason" for the differences among population groups, Ward said.

That said, the cancer death rate connection to education is striking.

For all types of cancer among men, there were about 56 deaths per 100,000 for those with at least 16 years of education compared to 148 deaths per 100,000 for those with no more than 12 years of school.

For women, the rate was 59 per 100,000 for the most educated, and 119 per 100,000 for the least educated.

The gap was most striking when it comes to lung cancer.

People with a high school education or less died at a rate four to five times higher than those with at least four years of college education, the new report said.

More than a third of premature cancer deaths could have been avoided if everyone had a college degree, cancer society officials estimated.

Studies have suggested that less educated people are more likely to do risky things with their health.

They are more likely to smoke, drink and overeat, leading to obesity. All those things raise the risk for various cancers.

As for survival after diagnosis, the least-educated are often poor people without good health insurance. Studies have found that people with no health insurance are more likely to be diagnosed when their cancer is advanced stage, and they are also less likely to receive standard treatment.

LOS ANGELES - Nicolas Cage starred in a courthouse drama Tuesday that included negotiating sessions with a judge and ended with the actor settling a multimillion dollar lawsuit with an ex-girlfriend.

The Oscar-winning actor spent more than six hours at a downtown courthouse, repeatedly meeting with the judge who brokered an end to the case filed over payments and a house that Cage's ex-girlfriend claimed she was promised.

Dressed in black suit and tie, Cage faced off with his ex, Christina Fulton, throughout the day. Flanked by deputies he hurriedly walked past her in a hallway when he arrived Tuesday morning and both were apparently present for a final meeting with Superior Court Judge Teresa Sanchez-Gordon that solidified the deal.

He did not speak to reporters when he left just as the courthouse was closing at 4:30 p.m.

Fulton sued Cage in December 2009, claiming he owed her $13 million, had ruined her finances and broke a promise to give her a house in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood of Hancock Park. The payments, Fulton claimed, were in exchange for raising for the couple's son, who is now 20 years old.

Fulton's attorney, K. Lee Crawford Boyd, said the arrangement allowed Cage to become a megastar.

"If Nicolas Cage had to step in and be a parent, he could not be Nicolas Cage," she told the judge.

The actor denied wrongdoing and his attorneys pointed out that the actor paid Fulton $3 million annually to support her and their son.

Tuesday's marathon settlement discussions came after Sanchez-Gordon ruled Tuesday that Fulton couldn't sue Cage for breaching an oral contract to transfer ownership of the Los Angeles house to the former actress, saying the claim was barred by a statute of limitations.

The issue of ownership of the house was one of Fulton's main claims against Cage, although she could have still pursued negligence claims against the actor that he and his former business manager ruined her finances by obtaining credit in her name.

The "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Con Air" star has had his own share of financial woes, with tax liens and other debts forcing him to sell homes and other property.Sanchez-Gordon urged the parties to reach an agreement, saying it was the "best option for everybody involved."

Boyd said she could not comment on the settlement, but that the case was ended to the "mutual satisfaction" of all parties.

"We're happy it's been resolved," said Cage's attorney, Thomas Dunlap.

GENEVA – The Arabian Oryx, whose distinctive horns are widely believed to have given rise to the unicorn legend, is back from the brink of extinction in the deserts of the Arabian peninsula.

About 1,000 of the wild Arabian or White Oryx now exist owing to nearly three decades of successful breeding, the International Union for Conservation of Nature said Thursday.

The global environmental network said efforts to breed captive oryx and release them back into the Arabian Peninsula, the only place this species is found, began in Oman in 1982, a decade after the last one was apparently shot in the wild.

It said the breeding program demonstrated that captive oryx could adapt to harsh wild conditions, first in Oman and later in the deserts of Saudia Arabia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and, most recently, in Jordan.

"To have brought the Arabian Oryx back from the brink of extinction is a major feat and a true conservation success story, one which we hope will be repeated many times over for other threatened species," said Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, director general of the UAE government's Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi.

The Arabian Oryx — a large species of antelope with two long horns — is known locally as Al Maha, and figures heavily in Arabic poetry and paintings.

The creature can smell water from miles away, has wide hooves that let it easily navigate shifting sand and lives in small herds of eight to 10 animals.

When its long, narrow horns that curve slightly at the tip are viewed in profile, they can appear as one, like the fabled unicorn. But another antelope species, the Saola of Southeast Asia, is also seen as a possible source of the unicorn legend.

The improvement by the Arabian Oryx is reflected on the Gland-based conservation union's "Red List" of thousands of endangered plants and animals. The group operates in more than 160 countries, and has assessed the condition of 59,508 species.

This year it was reclassified as "vulnerable," the best improvement to date for a species once thought to be extinct in the wild.

SAN FRANCISCO,  -- Attention guys, a new survey from Zoosk, one of the world's most popular social dating communities, shows women aren't as excited about those naughty photos of you as you think they are. Today, Zoosk polled more than 5,000 members of its community to uncover how singles feel about receiving unexpected naughty photos. The majority of ladies (61%) agree that it would be "creepy" to receive a lewd photo from a guy. The majority of guys (74%), on the other hand, say they would find it "sexy" to receive a naughty photo unexpectedly from a woman.

"On the heels of two U.S. Congressmen allegedly sending shirtless or other naughty photos of themselves to women they don't know, we were wondering if these guys knew something that the rest of us don't – namely that women would actually be attracted to that kind of behavior," said Alex Mehr, co-founder and co-CEO of Zoosk. "Zoosk's survey reveals that what men find to be sexy isn't so sexy to women."

Zoosk conducted the poll on its Facebook page on June 7, 2011. It attracted 5,165 responses in the first hour from over 3.8 million Facebook users who 'Like' Zoosk.

Is it "cheating" to send a naughty or flirtatious photo to someone other than your partner? Again, the sexes are split. Last month, Zoosk conducted a survey to uncover singles' perspectives on monogamy and found that the majority of women polled (62%) said they consider sending flirty text messages or emails to be "cheating." Only 42% of men feel the same way.

Zoosk is one of the world's most popular social dating communities, with millions of singles from around the globe using the service each month. Zoosk provides a safe and fun online dating experience that users can easily access from Zoosk's website, social networking applications, mobile services, and downloadable desktop application. Zoosk is available in 25 languages and has subscribers in more than 60 countries. The service enables users to join, browse, and send a limited number of messages for free. Zoosk users can upgrade to a premium subscription for full access or purchase virtual currency to buy select features and virtual gifts. Founded in 2007 by Shayan Zadeh and Alex Mehr, the company is based in San Francisco and backed by Zoosk is the world's largest social dating community Canaan Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and ATA Ventures.

Sarah Palin took to Twitter on Friday to question a report that next week she will announce whether or not she will run for president.

A conservative blog said the former governor was "expected within a week to make a decision on whether to enter the 2012 presidential campaign, according to one Republican source."

"Vendors of campaign services who hope to work for Team Palin have been told that Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate, will decide soon one way or another on mounting a 2012 campaign,"Robert Stacy McCain wrote Friday on The American Spector blog.

Palin tweeted that it was news to her. "Really? Hmm, guess they forgot to inform me what I'm 'expected to do' next," she wrote.

When McCain updated the post in response to her tweet, he asked the hockey mom whether his source was wrong, but Palin has yet to respond.

A Rasmussen poll released Thursday said that 36% of likely GOP primary voters think it would be good for Republicans if Palin entered the race.