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ATF blames Texas church fires on serial arsonist

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 10:37 A.M.

TYLER, Texas (AP) -- Recent fires that destroyed or damaged several churches in eastern Texas were likely set by one person or group of people, federal authorities said Tuesday....

Newark airport breach suspect pleads not guilty

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 10:24 A.M.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- A Rutgers University graduate student accused of triggering worldwide flight delays has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from a security breach at Newark Liberty International Airport....

LAPD: Anti-gang worker killed by graffiti suspect

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 10:09 A.M.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Police say a well-known former gangster who has counseled against violence was killed when he confronted a graffiti-writer in Los Angeles....

Evacuations under way for LA-area foothills

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 10:04 A.M.

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. (AP) -- Homeowners in mud-ravaged foothill towns packed their cars and fled Tuesday as evacuation orders took hold and a new winter storm approached....

Suspect in death of Md. girl indicted for murder

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 9:45 A.M.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- A registered sex offender has been indicted on murder charges in the death of an 11-year-old Maryland girl whose body was found on Christmas day....

Fellow NY Democrats offer Paterson little support

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 9:39 A.M.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Gov. David Paterson is getting little support from Albany's other top Democrats as he fights what he calls attacks on his character....

Brother now says Ohio doc admitted poisoning wife

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 9:33 A.M.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- A family member who testified earlier that an Ohio doctor denied poisoning his wife now says the defendant admitted to the killing....

NH panel recommends against gay marriage repeal

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 9:10 A.M.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- A New Hampshire House committee is recommending against repealing the state's five-week-old gay marriage law....

Another major storm headed to snowy Mid-Atlantic

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 9 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Snow blew across the Midwest Tuesday on track for the hard-hit Mid-Atlantic region, where federal government offices were closed for a second straight day and utility workers struggled to restore power knocked out by a weekend blizzard....

Cops search San Antonio landfill for missing baby

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 8:54 A.M.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- San Antonio's police chief says officers are searching a landfill for evidence in the disappearance of an 8-month-old boy....

Pilot: 'Everything went red' after planes collided

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 7:32 A.M.

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- A glider pilot who flew to safety through a fireball from the midair collision of two planes over Boulder says it was just seconds between when he saw one plane approaching and when it collided with the plane towing him....

Minn. bridge collapse widow adopts Haitian twins

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 7:26 A.M.

BLAINE, Minn. (AP) -- Betsy Sathers wears the glow of a new mother as she perches on the couch in her family room, smiling and chatting with visitors while still managing to keep an eye on the 2-year-old twins burbling and cavorting at her feet....

Henpecked men were a fave theme of Super Bowl ads

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 7:05 A.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- So you're a guy? Poor you!...

Pa. Dem Murtha remembered as military advocate

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 3:22 A.M.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Rep. John Murtha, who said the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq was based on "flawed policy wrapped in illusion" and called for a withdrawal of U.S. troops there, is being remembered as an advocate on Capitol Hill for those serving in military uniform....

Iran to stop enrichment if given nuclear fuel

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 3:20 A.M.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- The head of Iran's atomic agency said the Islamic Republic would not enrich uranium to a higher level if the West provides the fuel it needs for the Tehran research reactor....

The nation's weather

AP - TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 2:06 A.M.

Snowy weather was expected to move into the Eastern U.S. from the Plains on Tuesday....

Man rescued after 3 days in snow-covered SUV in CO

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 10:47 P.M.

SAGUACHE, Colo. (AP) -- A 31-year-old Indiana man says he had not food but kept himself hydrated with Mountain Dew and snow while he was stuck in his snow-covered SUV in southwestern Colorado for three days....

11 arrested during Israeli ambassador's talk

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 10:39 P.M.

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) -- Eleven students have been arrested during a raucous lecture at University of California, Irvine, where Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren spoke about U.S.-Israel relations....

Cross-sections of Maine giant elm to be displayed

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 8:37 P.M.

YARMOUTH, Maine (AP) -- Maine officials say two cross-sections cut from a 217-year-old giant elm named Herbie will be displayed by the town of Yarmouth and the state Forest Service....

NY mom accused of beer run guilty in tot's death

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 8:20 P.M.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- A 22-year-old New York mother accused of going out on a midnight beer run when a stove fire erupted in the apartment where her children were left alone has been found guilty of criminally negligent homicide....

Lawyer: Wife mulled extorting Ill. murder suspect

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 6:06 P.M.

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) -- Days before a former suburban Chicago police officer's fourth wife vanished in 2007, she told a divorce attorney that her husband thought she suspected he had killed his previous wife and suggested extorting money from him to keep quiet, the lawyer testified Monday....

Crew flees to life rafts after vessel catches fire

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 5:43 P.M.

HONOLULU (AP) -- The U.S. Coast Guard says the 28 crew members of a fishing vessel that caught fire 900 miles southwest of Honolulu have abandoned ship and are in two life rafts....

Prosecutors seek gag order in sweat lodge case

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 5:39 P.M.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) -- Attorneys for a motivational speaker charged in the deaths of three people during an Arizona sweat lodge ceremony wasted no time going on the offensive after his arrest last week....

ACLU accuses Calif. instructor of religion lessons

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 5:12 P.M.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- An instructor at a public community college in Fresno has been presenting his religious views on homosexuality, abortion and global warming as fact to students in an introductory health science class, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged Monday....

Attorney: Ala. school shooting likely gang-related

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 5:09 P.M.

MADISON, Ala. (AP) -- A lawyer for a ninth-grader charged with shooting a fellow student to death at their Alabama school says the violence was likely related to gang activity....

Feds want former NY top cop to go directly to jail

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 5:05 P.M.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) -- Federal prosecutors say former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik should go directly to jail when he's sentenced next week....

NYC man pleads guilty to killing girlfriend's cat

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 5:02 P.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A graphic designer accused of surreptitiously killing a series of his girlfriend's cats pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated animal cruelty, ending an eerie case in which authorities said the unsuspecting woman kept replacing her dying pets....

NY murder defendant learned about burning bodies

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 4:44 P.M.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) -- A wealthy 68-year-old jeweler with two ex-wives in Europe who is accused of killing his third wife and burning her body testified Monday that he learned how bodies are incinerated when he questioned a mortician about his mother's cremation....

BLM delays eastern Nevada wild horse roundup

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 4:27 P.M.

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Federal land managers said Monday they'll delay a roundup of most of the nearly 600 wild horses in a range in eastern Nevada, at least until after the herd's spring foaling season....

Cause of RI fire that killed 5 still unknown

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 4:16 P.M.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- The Rhode Island Fire Marshal says officials have pinpointed the origins of a house fire that killed five people, including a 7-month-old baby, but still haven't figured out the cause....

Feds admit wrongly tracking Wis. abortion groups

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 3:35 P.M.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security conducted a threat assessment of local pro- and anti-abortion rights activists before an expected rally last year, even though they did not pose a threat to national security....

Saints raise their city's spirits, maybe for good

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 3:20 P.M.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- People lined up by the hundreds to buy Monday's Times-Picayune, which hollered "AMEN!" from its front page. The Saints' Super Bowl victory was a prayer answered in this struggling city, and New Orleans itself seemed different for it....

Man arrested after Detroit airport security breach

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 3:15 P.M.

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) -- A portion of a terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport was evacuated Monday after a man without a boarding pass walked through a passenger screening checkpoint and refused to obey security officers, officials said....

Woman chasing dog falls to death off Calif. cliff

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 3:02 P.M.

MENDOCINO, Calif. (AP) -- Authorities in California say a woman fell about 60 feet to her death after she chased her dog off a cliff in the Mendocino headlands....

Ohioan gets 44 years for retirement home standoff

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 3:02 P.M.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- An Ohio man has been sentenced to 44 years in prison on charges that he held his estranged wife at gunpoint at a retirement home where she worked....

Souter to speak at Harvard's commencement

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 3:01 P.M.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) -- Harvard University says retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter will be the principal speaker at its spring commencement ceremony....

Judge sentences California cop killer to death

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 2:59 P.M.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) -- A judge has sentenced a 26-year-old man to death for fatally shooting a Northern California police officer in 2006....

Retired NC fire department worker wins $47 million

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 2:45 P.M.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Retired Asheville Fire Department employee Frank Griffin is $47 million richer, but he has few grand plans for the money. He mainly wants to spend more time with his wife....

Barzee pleads guilty to charge in Smart case

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 2:33 P.M.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Prosecutors on Monday dropped state charges against a woman in the 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart in exchange for a guilty plea related to the attempted kidnapping of Smart's cousin....

Buffalo man accused of imprisoning 13-year-old

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 2:33 P.M.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- A 26-year-old Buffalo man remained jailed Monday on charges of holding a 13-year-old runaway in his house for six months, having sex with her more than 100 times and making her baby-sit his 1-year-old son....

5 killed in Conn. power plant blast are identified

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 2:16 P.M.

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) -- Authorities have released the names of the five men killed in an explosion at a power plant that was under construction in a Connecticut town....

Celebrity photographer Felice Quinto dies at 80

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 1:37 P.M.

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) -- Felice Quinto, a renowned celebrity photographer and the likely model for the character Paparazzo in Federico Fellini's 1960 film "La Dolce Vita," has died. He was 80....

Cleared drug agent in Ohio hopes return to duty

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 1:30 P.M.

CLEVELAND (AP) -- A federal drug agent acquitted of framing 17 suspects in a 2005 investigation hopes to return to regular duty soon, the attorney defending him against civil lawsuits in the botched sting said Monday....

Balloon boy dad transferred to start work-release

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 1:07 P.M.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- The man who pleaded guilty in the balloon boy hoax has been released from a Colorado jail to serve the rest of his sentence in a work-release program....

New legal issue: Payment for child porn victims

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 12:54 P.M.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- It's been more than a decade since "Amy," as she's known in court papers, was first sexually abused by her uncle. The abuse ended long ago and he's in prison, but the pictures he made when she was 8 or 9 are among the most widely circulated child pornography images online....

APNewsBreak: Officer to retrieve Edwards sex tape

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 12:47 P.M.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A North Carolina judge wants a security officer to accompany a former John Edwards aide as he goes to retrieve a sex tape of the two-time presidential candidate, increasing the court's control of the disputed video....

NYC mayor wants federal promise to fund 9/11 trial

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 12:19 P.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he is skeptical that the federal government would cover the cost of trying Sept. 11 suspects in Manhattan, a day after President Barack Obama said he had not ruled out holding the trial in New York....

On tapes, Mass. teen denies high school stabbing

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 12:10 P.M.

WOBURN, Mass. (AP) -- In a recorded jailhouse conversation, a teenager charged with fatally stabbing another student at a suburban high school told a friend he was being "persecuted" because he stayed behind to help the victim....

Advocates push abortion-rights license plate in Va

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 12:05 P.M.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Abortion-rights advocates have been unable to halt the "Choose Life" license plate variations in nearly two-dozen states, so now they're working to balance the bumper debate....

Attorneys seek new trial for abortion doc's killer

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 11:56 A.M.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- Attorneys for a man convicted of murdering a prominent Kansas abortion provider have asked for a new trial or an order of acquittal for their client....

Former Philly officer to be charged with murder

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 11:48 A.M.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A murder warrant was issued Monday against a former Philadelphia police officer accused of fatally shooting a neighbor during an off-duty altercation in November....

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 11:37 A.M.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson's doctor charged with involuntary manslaughter in singer's death....

Philly snow record on tap with new storm this week

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 10:49 A.M.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Another huge snowstorm is expected to smack the Philadelphia area this week and make it the snowiest winter on record in the city....

Rutgers sorority women plead not guilty to hazing

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 9:28 A.M.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) -- Six members of a suspended Rutgers University sorority have pleaded not guilty to charges of hazing....

NC mudslide evacuees urged to stay away for weeks

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 8:11 A.M.

MAGGIE VALLEY, N.C. (AP) -- Residents are being urged to stay away from their North Carolina mountainside homes after a 30-foot-high mudslide washed over their road....

US troops killed in Afghanistan and Africa

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 7:54 A.M.

Marine Cpl. Jamie R. Lowe...

US troops killed in Iraq and Kuwait

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 7:52 A.M.

Army Spc. Brushaun X. Anderson...

34 recovering from carbon monoxide at Pa. church

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 6:09 A.M.

SUGAR GROVE, Pa. (AP) -- Thirty-four people are recovering from carbon monoxide poisoning apparently caused by a blocked chimney in a northwestern Pennsylvania church....

AP IMPACT: Credibility key in 9/11 health trials

AP - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2010 5:49 A.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- As the first cases in a massive battle over illnesses linked to 9/11 near trial, an Associated Press investigation has found that several of the initial 30 suits contain inconsistent or exaggerated claims about how the workers got sick or how much time they spent at ground zero....

Cops attack homegrown gang in Calif heartland

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 9 P.M.

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- This is Bulldog Country, or so the bumper stickers say....

US wants out of suit over Chinese detainee's death

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 5:28 P.M.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- The alleged neglect and death of a terminally ill Chinese immigrant detained in a Rhode Island jail two years ago triggered scathing reports and investigations, a wide-ranging federal lawsuit and hand-wringing over who was responsible....

Mo. contractor charged in bungled NJ kidnapping

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 4:51 P.M.

NEVADA, Mo. (AP) -- Court documents allege kidnappers abducted a New Jersey resident thinking he was another man with the same name in a bungled effort to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars on behalf of a Missouri contractor....

1 dead, 4 wounded in San Francisco shooting

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 4:17 P.M.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Police say one person is dead and four critically injured after a shooting outside a nightclub near San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf....

US colleges court Hispanic families using espanol

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 2:46 P.M.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- For some Hispanic students, navigating the college application process can be a double-whammy: Balancing high school coursework with essays and interviews, and then translating the whole system for their parents, who don't speak English....

Tribe marks massacre with burial ground gathering

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 1:01 P.M.

PRESTON, Idaho (AP) -- Tribal members descend in late January each year to the burial ground near the Bear River where soldiers felled hundreds of their ancestors in one of American history's bloodiest- but little remembered- massacres....

Mom charged in son's death made cult abuse claims

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 12:34 P.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A woman charged in her 8-year-old son's death in a New York City luxury hotel was once detained by police in Wyoming after claiming the boy was being molested by devil worshippers....

Researchers target whales in herring loss study

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 12:21 P.M.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Something is holding down the herring population of Alaska's Prince William Sound, and marine scientists are tailing some rather large suspects: humpback whales....

Governor plans emergency address on Nevada budget

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 11:57 A.M.

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- Nevada's budget is so far out of balance that by one account the state could lay off every worker paid from the general fund and still be $300 million in the red. The economic downturn has hit so hard that prisons may be closed, entire colleges shuttered and thousands left without jobs....

Officials: Some die in Conn. power plant explosion

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 11:39 A.M.

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) -- Multiple people have died in an explosion at a power plant in Connecticut and an unknown number of people are injured....

A glance at 9/11 workers suing over their health

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 11:23 A.M.

Here is a look at the 30 plaintiffs being considered for the first trials among the thousands who claim work at ground zero made them sick....

An engineering marvel takes shape near Hoover Dam

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 10:50 A.M.

BOULDER CITY, Nev. (AP) -- Less than a mile downstream from one of the nation's best-known engineering marvels, the Hoover Dam, a second is taking shape....

Missionary who was held in N. Korea arrives in US

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 7:19 A.M.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Korean-American missionary who defiantly crossed a frozen river into North Korea intent on urging a change in its leadership has reunited with his overjoyed family, silent and downcast after 43 days in the communist nation's custody....

Palin: Obama could win votes by playing 'war card'

AP - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2010 6:55 A.M.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sarah Palin says that if President Barack Obama "played the war card," he could improve his chances of being re-elected....

Palin calls Obama budget 'immoral'

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 6:58 P.M.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Sarah Palin says President Barack Obama's proposed 2011 budget is "immoral" because it increases the national debt, which she called "generational theft."...

Palin: Obama administration mishandling terrorism

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 6:43 P.M.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Sarah Palin says the recent attempted bombing of an airliner on Christmas Day was evidence that the Obama administration doesn't understand the war on terror....

Palin says Obama policies to be short-lived

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 6:35 P.M.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Sarah Palin is predicting a good year for conservative candidates for public office, saying the policies of President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress will be short-lived....

New Orleans votes amid Carnival, Super Bowl hoopla

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 5:57 P.M.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Politics competed with Carnival parades and Super Bowl party preparations Saturday as New Orleans voters made their choice to succeed term-limited Mayor Ray Nagin....

Calif. law to free inmates early draws protests

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 5:15 P.M.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A law that took effect last month that was intended to reduce inmate overcrowding by allowing early releases at state prisons and county jails is sowing confusion throughout California....

Internet rape case jolts Wyoming city

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 1:21 P.M.

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) -- Authorities say a Wyoming woman was assaulted at her front door, raped at knifepoint in her living room and left bound on the floor, and they say one of the men charged in the brutal attack claimed that he thought it was invited....

Haiti relief supplies stall in shipping limbo

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 12:37 P.M.

MIAMI (AP) -- Cases of bottled water and cardboard boxes full of blue jeans, diapers and cans of tuna are piled several feet high in Ruth Estriplet's living room. The charity worker doesn't want to stack anything above her head so she can see what's in the boxes....

Police: California guard fabricated attack story

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 12:36 P.M.

CHESTER, Calif. (AP) -- A state prison guard has been arrested for allegedly filing two false crime reports, including an attack police had called "a vicious beating."...

ACORN foe had honed his gonzo video tactics before

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 10:59 A.M.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Before a pimp outfit made him famous and a hidden camera in a senator's office made him infamous, James O'Keefe honed his undercover videomaking skills with a trip to Capitol Hill and a bank prank....

NJ teacher admits guilt in cash-for-grades scheme

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 10:59 A.M.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- A former social studies teacher in New Jersey has admitted pocketing "charitable donations" from students looking to improve their grades....

Haitians at US colleges worry: stay in school?

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 10:57 A.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Every payday, Jeff Paul sent whatever dollars he could spare to his mother and little brother back home in Haiti. They've become even more desperate since the Jan. 12 earthquake, compounded by thieves, destroyed his mother's business; they had to sleep in the streets of Port-au-Prince before a relative took them in....

Federal law barring lies about medals is tested

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 9:35 A.M.

DENVER (AP) -- The federal courts are wrestling with a question of both liberty and patriotism: Does the First Amendment right to free speech protect people who lie about being war heroes?...

Conn. police official threatens reporter, resigns

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 8:25 A.M.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- An assistant police chief in Connecticut has been relieved of his duties after he threatened to arrest a newspaper reporter....

No paper for you! Hawaii uses less, saves money

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 8 A.M.

HONOLULU (AP) -- Looking to cut government waste, the Hawaii Senate decided to take a whack at a target that's plentiful on the grounds of the Capitol: paper....

Parents of Ohio church slaying suspect arrested

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 7:11 A.M.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) -- Police have arrested the parents of a suspect in the killing of an elderly parishioner in a church parking lot, alleging the couple threatened to kill a witness....

Palin e-mails suggest husband's role in governing

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 4:33 A.M.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- E-mails shed new light on Todd Palin's role while his wife was Alaska's governor, showing that the one-time oil field worker's advice was sought on board appointments and suggesting he was close to matters related to state government, his wife's image and politics....

AP News in Brief

AP - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010 3:25 A.M.

Snow piles up, paralyzing nation's capital, suburbs; 2-plus feet could set modern-day record...

Youngest Ore. Zoo orangutan likes Colts

AP - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 11:01 P.M.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- If you trust a rodent to predict when winter will end, how about an ape to guide your Super Bowl winner selection?...

Ex-NY newsman out of jail in wife assault

AP - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 8:41 P.M.

NEW YORK (AP) -- A former New York cable TV newsman convicted of assaulting his wife at their home has been released from jail after serving 19 days of a 30-day sentence....

Man arrested after disrobing at Phoenix airport

AP - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 8:33 P.M.

PHOENIX (AP) -- Authorities say a man who took off his clothes and caused a brief disturbance inside a terminal of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport has been arrested....

Feds: Status of pika will still need watching

AP - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 7:58 P.M.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The American pika isn't heading for the endangered species list, but federal scientists said there's no question it bears watching as the West warms in the coming decades....

BART shooting victim's lawyer may back out of deal

AP - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 7:47 P.M.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- The family attorney of a man fatally shot by a Northern California transit officer threatened Friday to pull out of a recent wrongful death settlement and alleged the transit agency had breached confidentiality....

Vt. nuke plant: Tritium may be leaking from pipe

AP - FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 7:23 P.M.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- Officials at a Vermont nuclear plant say they're investigating the possibility that a leak in an underground pipe connected to a sump pit may be responsible for a radioactive substance turning up in groundwater samples at the plant....