Nation Headlines


Car strikes crowd outside Ala. school, 1 killed

FAIRFIELD, Ala. (AP) -- Police say a woman has died after being struck along with nine children by a car outside an Alabama middle school....

Occupation of UC Berkeley building ends

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -- The occupation of a campus building at the University of California, Berkeley, in a protest over fee hikes and budget cuts has ended peacefully....

No appeal of dismissed conviction in MySpace case

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Prosecutors say they will not appeal the dismissal of a woman's convictions in a MySpace hoax directed at a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide....

Resort island reels after deadly attack by gunman

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (AP) -- After going on a shooting rampage that left a trail of victims on the Pacific resort island of Saipan, the gunman drove to a scenic, rocky cliff where untold numbers of Japanese men, women and children plunged to their deaths to avoid capture during World War II, according to police and witness accounts....

Army relents, will allow media at Palin book event

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The U.S. Army said Friday it would open Sarah Palin's appearance on Fort Bragg to media, a reversal from earlier in the week when the military wanted the event closed out of fears it would prompt political grandstanding against President Barack Obama....

Calif. launches probe into scam targeting churches

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- California is investigating several companies suspected of bilking churches nationwide of hundreds of thousands of dollars through fraudulent computer leasing schemes, authorities said Friday....

Police: NC girl raped, killed on day she was taken

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- A 5-year-old North Carolina girl was raped and killed the same day she was taken from her home, according to an arrest warrant released Friday. Shaniya Davis was sexually assaulted and asphyxiated Nov. 10, the day her mother reported her missing from the trailer park where she was staying, according to the warrant. Authorities embarked on a nearly weeklong search that ended when the girl's body was found dumped off a rural road....

Prosecutor: Alleged Maui spy is difficult but sane

HONOLULU (AP) -- A Maui man accused of spying for China is difficult to work with and makes wild exaggerations but is legally able to stand trial, a federal prosecutor asserted Friday....

Obituaries in the news

Nao Takasugi...

3-year-old leads toddler to safety in Ariz. fire

PHOENIX (AP) -- A 3-year-old Arizona boy helped his 1-year-old sister escape Friday from a house fire that killed their mother and injured two other adults, authorities said....

Driver loses control, hits 11 people in Alabama

FAIRFIELD, Ala. (AP) -- Police are investigating after a woman lost control of her car and struck 10 children and an adult outside a middle school in Alabama....

Porn mogul's son to be tried in girlfriend's death

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) -- The son of a late San Francisco pornography mogul will stand trial on accusations that he crushed his ex-girlfriend's skull with a baseball bat....

Authorities: Man tied lizards to chest at airport

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Federal officials say they arrested a man who strapped 15 live lizards to his chest to get through customs at Los Angeles International Airport....

Arizona police arrest parents of rape victim

PHOENIX (AP) -- The parents of an 8-year-old Liberian girl who was allegedly raped by four boys have been arrested on felony child abuse charges....

Levi Johnston's mother gets 3 years in drug case

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- The mother of the man former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol had planned to marry has been sentenced to three years in prison....

GOP report: Deal with Sacramento mayor was rushed

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Two congressional Republicans say federal prosecutors rushed into a settlement with a nonprofit operated by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson that had been accused of misspending government grants....

Senator: USPS to resume North Pole Santa letters

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- North Pole elves have good reason to celebrate again, thanks to a decision by the U.S. Postal Service to resume a Santa Claus letter program that's thrilled children from around the world for decades....

US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 842

As of Friday, Nov. 18, 2009, at least 842 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Friday at 10 a.m. EST....

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,364

As of Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, at least 4,364 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count....

35 students rescued from burning bus on NYC bridge

NEW YORK (AP) -- A bus carrying 35 elementary school children on an outing has caught fire on a New York City bridge, but the children and their escorts have been rescued....

Robbery motive in deaths of 5 in rural Arkansas

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) -- Thieves shot to death five Arkansas family members and burned their bodies for the meager bounty of a set of wheel rims and some flat-screen televisions, court documents said Friday....

2 Pa. judges given partial immunity in civil suit

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Two former county judges accused of taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send juveniles to private detention facilities are partially immune from civil lawsuits, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled Friday....

Wyoming challenges Yellowstone snowmobile rules

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- The state of Wyoming filed a federal lawsuit Friday seeking to block the National Park Service from further restricting snowmobile numbers in Yellowstone National Park....

Plea deal reached in store scuffle case

KENNETT, Mo. (AP) -- A black school teacher charged with assaulting white police officers, resisting arrest and disturbing the peace has agreed a plea deal with prosecutors convicting her of two misdemeanor counts....

Police: 3rd arrest made in Vegas officer's death

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) -- Police say they have arrested a third person in the shooting death of an off-duty Las Vegas police officer in his garage....

Teen pleads guilty in Border Patrol agent killing

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A 17-year-old pleaded guilty Friday to killing a Border Patrol agent who was shot eight times while chasing suspected illegal immigrants in the mountains east of San Diego....

Oregon court says teacher can't take gun to class

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) -- The Oregon Court of Appeals has rejected a request by a high school English teacher to carry a handgun at school, the latest legal setback for the teacher who says she needs the gun for protection from her former husband....

Atty seeks psych care for Mo. teen murder suspect

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A teenager accused of killing a 9-year-old neighbor should be sent to a psychiatric hospital because she shows signs of severe depression and anxiety, her attorney said....

AP News in Brief

Three Democratic moderates to decide fate of health bill - for now - in crucial Saturday vote...

Indian boy mirrors plight of millions of kids

NEW DELHI (AP) -- Arun Kumar was born to disabled parents, beaten by his grandparents, ran away from home, got a job in a garment factory and had all his savings stolen by the police....

Fired therapist: Stressed Marines get shoddy care

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) -- Marines treated at Camp Lejeune for post-traumatic stress had to undergo therapy for months in temporary trailers where they could hear bomb blasts, machine-gun fire and war cries through the thin walls, according to servicemen and their former psychiatrist....

Murder trial's move to LA setback for transit cop

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A judge's decision to move Johannes Mehserle's murder trial to Los Angeles County is a setback for the former transit police officer charged with gunning down an unarmed man on New Year's Day....

Former Marine charged in 'Cathouse' star's death

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A former Marine has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of four people whose bodies were found in a burning home, including a prostitute featured on the HBO reality series "Cathouse."...

Fate of black teacher in Mo. case rests with jury

KENNETT, Mo. (AP) -- A jury is deliberating the fate of a black school teacher charged with assaulting white police officers in Missouri...

UN committee targets Iran's rights violations

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- A key U.N. committee approved a resolution Friday urging Iran to halt the persecution of political opponents following the country's disputed presidential election and release those still detained....

Ethics committee: No punishment for Burris

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate ethics committee on Friday admonished Democratic Sen. Roland Burris for misleading investigators about his maneuvering to get Barack Obama's old Senate seat from the governor who was ousted for trying to sell it....

Sears Tower plot leader gets 13-year prison term

MIAMI (AP) -- The ringleader of a group described by prosecutors as plotting terror attacks on Chicago's Sears Tower and FBI offices in hopes of sparking an anti-government insurrection was sentenced Friday to 13 1/2 years in prison by a federal judge....

Pa. university students upset about fitness class

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A Pennsylvania university's requirement that overweight undergraduates take a fitness course to receive their degrees has raised the hackles of students and the eyebrows of health and legal experts....

Planes ready to leave Brunswick, Maine Navy base

BRUNSWICK, Maine (AP) -- The rumble of Navy patrol aircraft flying overhead will soon be a thing of the past as the remaining P-3 Orions depart from Brunswick Naval Air Station....

SC lawmakers to take up impeachment of governor

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina lawmakers plan to formally consider impeaching Gov. Mark Sanford for the first time next week, the chairman of the committee beginning that work said Friday....

Lawyer: Ohio's legal injection a human experiment

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- An attorney for a condemned killer says Ohio's new lethal-injection plan is so untested it would amount to human experimentation if used for the first time next month....

Panel: Extending nuclear weapons life successful

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- An independent panel says the United States can extend the life of aging nuclear weapons for decades with existing programs, a finding that activists contend means there's no need for the nation to design replacements for the nuclear arsenal....

Atty: Hospital hearing set for Fort Hood suspect

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- An attorney for the Army psychiatrist charged in the mass shooting at Fort Hood says his client will have his first court hearing in his hospital room on Saturday....

Giuliani back in spotlight _ but what's the show?

NEW YORK (AP) -- Whether he's planning another run for the White House or a bid for senator or governor, or he just misses the spotlight, Rudy Giuliani is suddenly back and talking about the topic that made him a national star - Sept. 11....

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Teenager pleads guilty to murdering Border Patrol agent shot 4 times in head in July...

Diocese: Pedophile priests should get benefits

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington is obligated to pay retirement benefits to six priests who are confirmed pedophiles, church officials argued in a bankruptcy court filing seeking permission to keep making the payments....

Wrongfully convicted NYC man freed after 17 years

NEW YORK (AP) -- A prison system official says a New York City man is free after spending nearly two decades behind bars for murder before a judge declared him innocent....

Militia movement resurfaces across nation

NIKISKI, Alaska (AP) -- Norm Olson's genial tone belies his reputation as a radical militiaman, yet here he is, at 63, an affable grandfather explaining why Americans should arm themselves against their government....

U. of Neb. board votes down stem-cell rule changes

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- The University of Nebraska's governing board has voted down a proposal to restrict the school's rules governing embryonic stem-cell research beyond what the federal government allows....

NY man convicted in hot-car death of father, 85

PEEKSKILL, N.Y. (AP) -- A New York state man has been convicted of reckless endangerment after leaving his 85-year-old father in a car on a hot day and finding him dead three hours later....

Warrant: Drug in Jackson case came from Vegas firm

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Court documents show police linked a drug blamed in Michael Jackson's death to the pop singer's personal physician who bought it at a Las Vegas pharmacy....

Indy man convicted of killing 7 gets life sentence

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- An Indianapolis man convicted of killing three children and four adults during a home invasion robbery three years ago has been sentenced to life in prison without parole....

FBI investigating use of stun gun on 10-year-old

OZARK, Ark. (AP) -- The FBI has dispatched investigators to Arkansas to look into a police officer's use of a stun gun on a 10-year-old girl who refused to take a shower....

Emergency landing on tundra as smooth as runway

BETHEL, Alaska (AP) -- An air taxi with eight people aboard made an emergency landing on tundra when the engine failed near Alaska's Bering Sea coast....

Island's bison given birth control to control herd

AVALON, Calif. (AP) -- Birth control for bison?...

CA man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) -- A 39-year-old Thousand Oaks man has been arrested for misdemeanor child annoyance after allegedly paying a teenager $31 to spit in his face....

Arizona burglars steal box holding baby's ashes

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) -- An Arizona family is pleading with burglars to return a wooden music box containing the ashes of their 5-month old son....

AP IMPACT: Some lawmakers send few to academies

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- As the nation's military academies try to recruit more minorities, they aren't getting much help from members of Congress from big-city districts with large numbers of blacks, Hispanics and Asians....

Former smoker to discuss $300 million Fla. verdict

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- A former smoker in Fort Lauderdale is speaking out about her $300 million verdict against Philip Morris....

NYC model who married doorman sues upscale co-op

NEW YORK (AP) -- A foot model in New York City is suing her upscale apartment building, claiming the co-op board is trying to force her out because she married its former doorman....

Woman who had nearly 370 animals gets probation

PLEASANT HILL, Mo. (AP) -- A woman who had been charged with child endangerment after almost 370 animals were seized from her Missouri farm has been placed on two years of unsupervised probation....

Ask AP: Shuttle complexity, credit union agency

A space shuttle is no tinker toy. But is it the most complex machine ever built?...

US House districts with fewest academy nominations

A list of congressional districts with the fewest military academy nominations for the classes of 2009 to 2013, the officeholders and the total nominations they have made. All 20 are Democrats from districts where whites make up less than half the population, and all but two of the districts include major urban areas....

Tiny Iowa town has the chargers, awaiting drivers

ELK HORN, Iowa (AP) -- Hoping to see the USA in your Chevrolet Volt or Nissan Leaf? The tiny Iowa town of Elk Horn will have plenty of electric charging stations and no wait - if you can get there....

The nation's weather

New England was expected to see another dreary day, while the Pacific Northwest remains under wintry conditions on Friday....

San Francisco's health care a model during debate

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- This city did not wait for Washington's health care overhaul. Most uninsured adults here are already reaping the benefits of a government-run health care program - seeing doctors, filling prescriptions, and getting surgeries they could not otherwise afford....

Biologists save fish after landslide

NILE, Wash. (AP) -- A gigantic landslide that buried a highway, uprooted homes and rerouted a river in Washington state's Cascade Range left hundreds of smaller victims: fish....

Small SC county reels from corruption scandal

UNION, S.C. (AP) -- When federal officials descended on this small South Carolina town to investigate a kickback scheme that had caught up the mayor and another official, they stumbled across a web of corruption they believe is deeper and more widespread through the county....

Leonardo da Vinci exhibit opens in Times Square

NEW YORK (AP) -- An interactive exhibit featuring life-size models of Leonardo da Vinci's 500-year-old inventions and machines is opening in New York City's Times Square....

NYC stamp auction raises $3.2 million for museum

NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York City gallery has auctioned over 200 rare postage stamps to raise $3.2 million for the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C....

UN committee criticizes NKorea rights violations

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- A key U.N. committee expressed "very serious concern" Thursday at widespread reports of torture and other grave human rights violations in North Korea and strongly urged the government to put an end to the violations....

Man who claimed disability spotted on TV show

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- California tax officials say an interior designer's false disability claim was uncovered when he was spotted on a home improvement television show....

Bus company: Driver in Minn. crash had aneurysm

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A tour bus driver suffered a ruptured aneurysm just before the bus veered off a southern Minnesota interstate and crashed, killing two people and injuring 20, the owner of the bus company said Thursday. State officials said they couldn't confirm the aneurysm and it was too early to know the cause of the crash....

NJ dad to testify before human rights panel

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- A New Jersey man who's been battling in Brazilian courts to get custody of his 9-year-old son is scheduled to testify before a congressional human rights panel in Washington....

Editorial Roundup: Excerpts From Recent Editorials

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:...

Plea deal reached in Pa. steel town arson case

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) -- A former assistant fire chief accused of setting two small fires in an arson-plagued steel town near Philadelphia has worked out a plea bargain freeing him from jail....

Winfrey to announce Friday show will end in 2011

CHICAGO (AP) -- "The Oprah Winfrey Show," an iconic broadcast that grew from a local Chicago talk show into the foundation of a multibillion dollar media empire, will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air, Winfrey's production company said Thursday night....

Al-Qaida suspect promises NY trial boycott

NEW YORK (AP) -- A U.S.-trained scientist accused of shooting at FBI agents and helping al-Qaida vowed Thursday to boycott her January trial....

Texas inmate executed after gov. rejects clemency

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- Inmate Robert Lee Thompson was executed Thursday evening for his part in a fatal Houston store holdup after the Texas governor rejected a parole board's recommendation to spare him because he wasn't the gunman....

Couple charged in Phoenix airport luggage thefts

PHOENIX (AP) -- Authorities say an Arizona couple has been indicted in the theft of nearly 1,000 pieces of luggage from baggage claim carousels at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport....

Jurors in Md. mayor's trial keep asking questions

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A judge in Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's theft trial told jurors they must stop deliberating and asking questions after he dismisses them for the day....

Judge: Freed ex-sailor can be retried in murder

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Prosecutors can retry an ex-sailor who received a conditional pardon from Virginia's governor after spending 11 years in prison for the rape and murder of a fellow sailor's wife, a federal judge ruled Thursday....

Police officers shot, suspect killed after chase

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (AP) -- A shootout left two bank robbery suspects dead and two police officers wounded Thursday in suburban Denver, police said....

NY ex-lawyer surrenders to serve prison term

NEW YORK (AP) -- Promising "you haven't seen the last of me," a 70-year-old disbarred lawyer convicted in a terrorism case surrendered to U.S. marshals Thursday to begin serving her prison term after a New York appeals court upheld her conviction....

Obese SC man dies after 8 months in home recliner

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- When an ambulance brought Daniel Webb home from the hospital after he hurt his knee in March, paramedics warned the then 550-pound man he probably wouldn't be able to get up from his recliner if they put him there, his wife said....

Police seize more vids in Mo. sex abuse case

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Several family members who say they were sexually abused as children by adult relatives remember being taken to various locations and photographed with naked men, police investigators said in a search warrant released Thursday....

UC regents vote to reopen troubled LA hospital

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- California's public university system on Thursday agreed to fully reopen a troubled South Los Angeles hospital that was partially closed in 2007 after deadly lapses in care....

Tenn. slayings suspect asked to hug daughter

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A man charged with fatally stabbing and beating six people in Tennessee and Alabama asked a responding deputy to let him hug his 4-year-old daughter - the only person spared in the attack, the deputy testified Thursday....

Another Minn. man indicted in missing Somalis case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Another man has been indicted on terrorism charges in a federal investigation into the recruitment of Minnesota Somalis to fight in Somalia....

Customs agents seize 316,000 bongs in LA

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Customs officials say they got a surprise when they found 316,000 glass bongs disguised as Christmas ornaments at the Los Angeles harbor....

AP Exclusive: Muslim countries seek blasphemy ban

GENEVA (AP) -- Four years after cartoons of the prophet Muhammad set off violent protests across the Muslim world, Islamic nations are mounting a campaign for an international treaty to protect religious symbols and beliefs from mockery - essentially a ban on blasphemy that would put them on a collision course with free speech laws in the West....

3 teens plead not guilty in burning of Fla. boy

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Three teenagers accused of setting a 15-year-old south Florida boy on fire have pleaded not guilty to attempted second-degree murder....

UN urges help for 1 billion deprived children

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- UNICEF urged the world to help the 1 billion children still deprived of food, shelter, clean water or health care - and the hundreds of millions more threatened by violence - two decades after the U.N. adopted a treaty guaranteeing children's rights....

Winning author tells story of civil rights pioneer

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Maine author Phillip Hoose said winning a National Book Award for his chronicle of a young civil rights pioneer was all the more moving because she took the stage with him when he accepted the honor....

Sen. Kerry's daughter arrested in LA on DUI

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The daughter of Sen. John Kerry was arrested Thursday in Hollywood for allegedly driving drunk....

Woman awarded $3M in assault claim against KBR

HOUSTON (AP) -- A woman who claimed she was raped in 2005 while working in Iraq for a former Halliburton Co. subsidiary has been awarded nearly $3 million by an arbitrator to settle her case....

Cops: Jewelry taken from man found dead after fire

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- About $10,000 worth of jewelry was stolen from one of four people found shot to death last week inside a burning home in Oklahoma City, police said Thursday....

NYC 'Junior' Gotti jury signals possible deadlock

NEW YORK (AP) -- Jurors at the racketeering trial of John "Junior" Gotti raised the specter of a fourth mistrial in the case, telling a judge Thursday that they were deadlocked on murder and other charges against the son of the infamous mob boss....

Admitted Pa. cop killer convicted of 1st-degree

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A Philadelphia jury has convicted a confessed cop killer of first-degree murder for fatally shooting a police officer on Halloween 2007....

Negligence ruling in Katrina floods may cost feds

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A landmark court ruling blaming the Army Corps of Engineers' "monumental negligence" for some of the worst flooding from Hurricane Katrina could lead to a new deluge: billions of dollars in legal action from thousands of storm victims....

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