Closing arguments in John Edwards corruption trial
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- A prosecutor used John Edwards' own stump speech against him in closing arguments at his corruption trial Thursday, saying the presidential candidate violated campaign finance laws meant to protect "the two Americas" in order to cover up a lurid sex scandal....
Panel: States approval of Internet gambling likely
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- The U.S. Congress is too badly divided to act on Internet gambling, so individual states will start approving it on their own within the next two years, panelists at a major casino conference predicted Thursday....
Michigan boy finds finger piece in Arby's sandwich
JACKSON, Mich. (AP) -- A Michigan teen finishing off an Arby's roast beef sandwich chomped down on something tough that tasted like rubber, so he spit it out....
A look at 2012 wildfires, conditions in the West
FIRE SEASON SO FAR: This year's drought, low snowpack and warm temperatures are expected to make for a busy wildfire season in much of the West. Colorado's season started in March, the driest March on record in Denver. Three people died in a wildfire that damaged or destroyed 23 homes in the foothills southwest of Denver. It was sparked by embers from a controlled burn by the state forest service. Earlier that month, a wildfire on the state's Eastern Plains burned more than 84 square miles,...
FDA OKs multiple companies to sell generic Plavix
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Cheaper generic versions of blood thinner Plavix, the world's second-best-selling medicine, have just been approved for sale....
Zimmerman using $30,000 for living expenses
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The neighborhood watch volunteer who is awaiting trial on a second-degree murder charge in the shooting of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin is using $30,000 to help with expenses while he is out on a $150,000 bond....
Ark. man pleads not guilty in stabbing of new wife
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- A newlywed accused of stabbing his pregnant wife pleaded not guilty to two counts of capital murder Thursday after the woman and baby died in western Arkansas....
Military: No sign of its material on hot rocks
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Beach rocks that caused a California woman's shorts to catch fire and severely burn her legs and hands appeared to be coated with phosphorus, but it was unclear how the flammable chemical got onto the stones found near a military base, authorities said Thursday....
Manhunt for groom charged in Ill. bride's slaying
CHICAGO (AP) -- Police in suburban Chicago have asked authorities in Texas to join the hunt for a man accused of stabbing his new wife to death and leaving her body in her bathtub, still clad in the silver sequined cocktail dress she wore to celebrate their wedding....
Expert: Mich. stabbing spree suspect was deluded
FLINT, Mich. (AP) -- A man accused of a deadly series of stabbings in Michigan was mentally ill and couldn't resist the spell of "evil forces" that compelled him to attack people, a psychiatrist testified Thursday as attorneys tried to overcome strong evidence with an insanity defense....
California city puts soda tax on November ballot
RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) -- Voters in Richmond are set to decide whether to make the San Francisco Bay area city the nation's first municipality to tax soda and other sugary beverages to help fight childhood obesity....
Pa. guard appears in court in killing, $2.3M heist
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- An armored car guard charged with killing his partner and making off with more than $2 million returned to Pennsylvania on Thursday to face charges....
Slow push to list breach sites among federal icons
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Sites where levee failures led to the catastrophic flooding after Hurricane Katrina would join Civil War battlefields and Mount Rushmore on a federal list of the nation's historic icons if an activist has her way, but legal foot-dragging by the agency that many blame for the flooding is slowing the effort....
Reno air races get OK to continue competition
RENO, Nev. (AP) -- The Reno Air Racing Association has cleared a major hurdle in its bid to continue holding national championship air races this fall....
White powder costs millions in first response
DALLAS (AP) -- Federal authorities say they hope to solve the worst white powder mailing case in U.S. history because the letters are tying up first responders and costing taxpayers millions of dollars....
Regulators OK Jimmy Buffet's casino involvement
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Jimmy Buffett told gambling regulators Thursday that next week's opening of his new Margaritaville Casino and Resort will be exciting, but creating jobs along his native Mississippi Gulf Coast has been a rewarding experience in itself....
Emergency law considered in Quebec student protest
MONTREAL (AP) -- Facing the most sustained student protest in Canadian history, Quebec's provincial government weighed emergency legislation Thursday aimed at ending rallies and demonstrations against rising tuition costs....
2 plead no contest in Florida A&M hazing case
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Two defendants have pleaded no contest to lesser charges of misdemeanor hazing in the beating of a fellow Florida A&M University band member....
Man pleads guilty in contracting fraud scheme
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A former Army Corps of Engineers employee has pleaded guilty to his role in a $30 million bribery and kickback scheme involving the awarding of government contracts....
Army replaces female head of drill sergeant school
FORT JACKSON, S.C. (AP) -- The first female commandant of the Army's elite drill sergeant school, who had been suspended for a time by the Army, has bid a tearful farewell to supporters, students and colleagues as she stepped down from her historic position....
For Chicago, NATO summit brings commuter headaches
CHICAGO (AP) -- As President Barack Obama and 50 heads of state arrive for a NATO summit, parts of Chicago are all but shutting down - the result of dire warnings about heightened security, snarled transportation and the threat of large protests downtown....
65 homes evacuated near blaze in northern Colo.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- Fire officials have ordered mandatory evacuations for residents of 65 homes near a wildfire burning near a scenic canyon in northern Colorado....
NY FBI agent killed in WWII secret mission honored
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- FBI Special Agent Harold Haberfeld's ill-fated mission to North Africa during World War II was so secret that even now, 69 years after the plane crash that kept him from completing it, his home bureau in Buffalo isn't entirely sure what it was....
Navy ship arrives at Calif port after collision
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Essex arrived to cheers in San Diego Bay on Thursday, 24 hours after it collided with a refueling tanker in the Pacific when the warship's steering apparently failed....
Injured man survives week in woods after car crash
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Police in Northern California say they have found an injured man who survived without food or water for a week in a wooded area that authorities had previously searched after his car had rolled over....
Steve Powell's legal troubles may not be over
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- The voyeurism conviction of a missing Utah woman's father-in-law may not be the last of his legal troubles, as an attorney said Thursday she is working on a lawsuit that could keep pressure on Steve Powell....
Gunman gives up in standoff in historic Savannah
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) -- A gunman who jumped from a Jaguar and barricaded himself inside a landmark restaurant Thursday surrendered peacefully after a three-hour standoff that shut down part of Savannah's 18th-century historic district....
Canadians squall about Vermont wind energy project
STANSTEAD, Quebec (AP) -- The winds blowing through Canada's broad St. Lawrence Valley and across Vermont's hilltops are stirring up an international tempest over which country's laws should govern how those breezes are harnessed for electricity....
UN council calls for Sudan agreement
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The U.N. Security Council has called on Sudan and South Sudan to reach an agreement on the status of the disputed, oil-rich Abyei border region and extended the U.N. security force's mission there by six months....
AP source: RFK Jr.'s estranged wife hanged herself
BEDFORD, N.Y. (AP) -- The Kennedy family, so practiced at public mourning, is grieving again after the estranged wife of Robert Kennedy Jr. hanged herself at her home in suburban New York....
Study: Safety inspections don't hurt profits
WASHINGTON (AP) -- While businesses bemoan the cost of regulations, a new study suggests that government enforcement of workplace health and safety rules can save lives without sapping a company's bottom line....
Obama requesting help to pay for Afghan army
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mapping the way out of an unpopular war, the United States and NATO are trying to build an Afghan army that can defend the country after 130,000 international troops pull out. The alliance's plans for arm's-length support for Afghanistan will be a central focus of the summit President Barack Obama is hosting Sunday and Monday in Chicago....
Florida student to plead guilty to Obama threat
MIAMI (AP) -- Court records show a Miami college student intends to plead guilty to making threatening posts against President Barack Obama on Facebook....
Fate of 'uninsurables' hinges on Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Cancer patient Kathy Watson voted Republican in 2008 and believes the government has no right telling Americans to get health insurance. Nonetheless, she says she'd be dead if it weren't for President Barack Obama's health care law....
Ky. weighed politics, medicine in inmate's surgery
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A condemned killer's fight to receive surgery for agonizing hip pain pushed Kentucky officials into an uncomfortable debate over security, politics and even the possibility of inviting scorn from Fox News pundits....
PHOTOS: Last Dance, Donna Summer's life
Twirling her leopard-print dress on stage in the `70s, proudly holding many of her music awards and performing in recent years on "American Idol", Donna Summer was the ultimate disco queen...
Mom gets 9 years in Ohio teen's malnutrition death
CINCINNATI (AP) -- The mother of a 14-year-old girl who had cerebral palsy and weighed 28 pounds when she died last year was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison....
NYPD planning changes to stop-and-frisk policy
NEW YORK (AP) -- Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly on Thursday announced changes to officer training and supervision amid a growing public outcry and a federal lawsuit claiming the stop, question and frisk policy at the nation's largest department amounts to racial profiling....
New SC mom hospitalized with flesh-eating bacteria
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Days after giving birth to twins, a South Carolina mother has been hospitalized for what doctors say is a rare flesh-eating infection....
Correction: Seattle Police story
SEATTLE (AP) -- In a story May 15 about the Seattle Police Department's analysis of reforms proposed by the Justice Department, The Associated Press erroneously repported the police department's average response time to emergency calls. The average response time is just under seven minutes, not just under six minutes....
Attorney: Judge, lawyers drained Rosa Parks estate
DETROIT (AP) -- An attorney claims a judge and two lawyers involved in a long-running dispute over civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks' estate conspired to drain the estate's cash....
Ariz. wildfire to keep growing amid strong winds
CROWN KING, Ariz. (AP) -- Strong wind gusts will likely keep spreading a wildfire that has grown to nearly 10 square miles and prompted the evacuation of a historic Arizona mining town....
Family sues Calif. mortuary over switched bodies
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A family is suing a mortuary over a body switch that resulted in a grandmother being buried in another woman's clothes in a California cemetery instead of an above-ground crypt in Nicaragua....
Federal agents join school bus threat probe in Ga.
ATLANTA (AP) -- Police in an Atlanta suburb have enlisted the help of federal agents to examine a rifle dropped by a man who was seen aiming at a school bus and left behind a notebook with bus numbers....
10 Things to Know for Thursday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today (times EDT):...
The nation's weather
Weather Underground Forecast for Thursday, May 17, 2012....
Mentally ill inmates sue to get out of solitary
DENVER (AP) -- Troy Anderson is a mentally ill inmate in isolation at the Colorado State Penitentiary, deemed for more than a decade too dangerous to be among other offenders....
Ore. county cutting law enforcement to bare bones
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- A failed levy vote in an Oregon county is taking a toll: government workers facing dismissal, a pending prisoner release, and crimes such as misdemeanor domestic assault and shoplifting likely to go unprosecuted....
Report: Fewer US homes foreclosed upon in April
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- National foreclosure trends took a positive turn in April, as the number of homes seized by banks declined and fewer properties entered into the foreclosure process....
Leading insurer pays $109M for dog bite claims
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Dog bites man does not get a lot of attention in the news, but it costs insurance companies hundreds of millions in claims every year....
NATO summit gives Chicago coveted global spotlight
CHICAGO (AP) -- The famous skyline is etched with distinctive buildings. The downtown boasts a vibrant cultural district. And the stunning lakefront and art-filled parks attract thousands of visitors every day....
RFK Jr.'s estranged wife, Mary, found dead in NY
BEDFORD, N.Y. (AP) -- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s estranged wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, who had fought drug and alcohol problems, was found dead at the family property Wednesday....
FBI links white-powder envelopes to Texas
DALLAS (AP) -- The FBI says it suspects the mailings of hundreds of envelopes containing white powder over the last four years are the work of someone in Texas....
Inactive missile drops from Army chopper in Texas
KILLEEN, Texas (AP) -- A 6-foot-long inactive training missile accidentally fell from a military helicopter into field near a Texas military post, causing the brief evacuation of nearby homes but not harming anyone, officials said....
Cheerleaders suspended for hazing incident in Utah
OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- Authorities are investigating a hazing incident at a Utah high school in which a student with a peanut allergy was smeared with peanut butter....
Officer's acquittal over Texas arrest upsets some
HOUSTON (AP) -- A jury's acquittal Wednesday of a former Houston police officer in the alleged beating of a 15-year-old burglary suspect during a videotaped arrest upset black community leaders who criticized the verdict as unjust and racist....
CPS: Kidnapped Texas boy not ready to meet parents
HOUSTON (AP) -- A Houston boy kidnapped eight years ago is still not ready to meet his parents after being in foster care since authorities found him in March, Texas child welfare officials said Wednesday during a court hearing....
Jim Abdnor, former US senator from SD, dies at 89
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- Former U.S. Sen. Jim Abdnor gained fame nationally as the South Dakota Republican who ousted George McGovern from the Senate, but he was known in his home state as the farmer-turned-astute-politician who loved talking with people and never let the trappings of office get to him....
Report questioning execution doesn't sway lawyers
HOUSTON (AP) -- The defense lawyer for a Texas inmate executed two decades ago said Wednesday he isn't convinced the state wrongly put a man to death despite a new report that again questions the case....
Diplomat: UN experts say Iran sends arms to Syria
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- An expert panel monitoring U.N. sanctions on Iran has reported that Syria continues to be the main destination of illicit Iranian weapons, a Security Council diplomat said Wednesday....
Sisters sue agencies in CA, claiming abuse missed
MARTINEZ, Calif. (AP) -- Six sisters who for years were sexually abused by their father with their mother's help have sued government entities and officials, claiming they failed to properly investigate their ordeal....
Detective: Video shows Miss. murder-for-hire plan
GREENWOOD, Miss. (AP) -- A well-known Mississippi oncologist accused of orchestrating a plot to kill his ex-wife's divorce lawyer said he wanted a picture of the slain attorney with a "bullet between his eyes," according to testimony Wednesday....
Federal judge: Terror law violates 1st Amendment
NEW YORK (AP) -- A judge on Wednesday struck down a portion of a law giving the government wide powers to regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists, saying it left journalists, scholars and political activists facing the prospect of indefinite detention for exercising First Amendment rights....
911 tape: Confusion at home where mom shot kids
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Neighbors of a Florida mother who fatally shot her four children before killing herself weren't sure who was injured after hearing gunshots and refused to admit three of the woman's kids who were trying to get in their house, according to a 911 call released Wednesday....
Malnourished Washington boy, 2, on life support
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- A 2-year-old Washington boy who authorities say was so malnourished he weighed less than half as much as a normal child his age remained on life support Wednesday after his heart stopped and he was airlifted to a Spokane hospital....
Dancer: $1,000 buttocks enhancement damaged lungs
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A Philadelphia woman dubbed "the Black Madam" used silicone from Thailand and Krazy Glue to perform at-home cosmetic surgery that left an exotic dancer with a plump derriere - and potentially deadly complications, the dancer testified Wednesday....
Man faces prison for Iran shipments scheme
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge has sentenced a businessman to 13 months in prison following his guilty plea in a scheme to illegally export computer parts to Iran....
Sebelius to address Georgetown grads amid flap
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A planned graduation speech by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at Georgetown University is going forward, despite criticism from the Archdiocese of Washington that Sebelius is an inappropriate choice for the Jesuit school....
Business raids cost Kansas City millions in taxes
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- The states of Missouri and Kansas are divided here only by the yellow stripe of State Line Road. It's a single community, but the division is sharp when it comes to the cutthroat business of economic development....
Ex-Mace exec fined $100K in Vt. unsafe-waste case
RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) -- The former president of the Mace tear gas and pepper spray company in Vermont has been fined $100,000 for storing hazardous waste at a company plant without a permit....
New Atlanta airport international terminal opens
ATLANTA (AP) -- A sleek new $1.4 billion international terminal featuring airy windows and eye-popping artwork opened Wednesday at the world's busiest airport in hopes of positioning Atlanta to attract more globe-trotting travelers....
Stepmom faces extradition in HI in kids' abduction
HONOLULU (AP) -- The stepmom of three children who were taken by their father to the Bahamas on a sailboat against custody orders is being held without bail in Hawaii and will be extradited to Montana....
US to assign Army brigade to Africa for training
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Army leaders say a combat brigade will be assigned to the Pentagon's Africa Command next year in a pilot program that will send small teams of soldiers to countries around the continent to do training and participate in military exercises....
Settlement reached in Jewish cemetery dispute
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) -- A Connecticut woman agreed Wednesday to settle her lawsuit against her Jewish congregation over the burial of a black woman in the synagogue's cemetery, her lawyer said....
DA: No charges against police in student beating
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- No charges will be filed against three white Pittsburgh police officers who were accused of using excessive force in beating a black teenager, a prosecutor said Wednesday....
San Diego jury convicts 2 in cartel-linked murders
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A jury convicted two men Wednesday of first-degree murder in the killings of two men whose bodies were dissolved in acid for a Mexican drug gang....
Police: Cabbie likely sold ID to NJ airport worker
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- A New Jersey airport security supervisor accused of using a murdered man's identity to hide his illegal immigrant status apparently bought the man's birth certificate and Social Security number from an intermediary before his death, police said Wednesday....
Lawyers: Criminal probe targets egg magnate, aides
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Lawyers representing a disgraced egg industry magnate, his son and one of their company's financial officers say their clients are potential targets of a criminal investigation into the 2010 salmonella outbreak that sickened thousands of Americans and led to a massive recall of their products....
Mueller confirms preliminary probe of JPMorgan
WASHINGTON (AP) -- FBI Director Robert Mueller said Wednesday the bureau has launched a preliminary investigation of JPMorgan Chase & Co. following a $2 billion trading loss at the bank....
NKorea nuclear reactor construction progressing
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A U.S.-based institute said Wednesday new satellite imagery shows that North Korea has resumed building work on a reactor after months of inactivity....
NY inside-trading trial can feature disputed call
NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York judge says prosecutors at an insider trading trial can play for jurors the only recording of a phone conversation between a former Goldman Sachs board member and a hedge fund founder....
Gov't proposal aimed at bus, truck rollovers
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Manufacturers would have to equip large trucks and buses with safety systems that help prevent rollover accidents through computer-controlled braking, under regulations proposed Wednesday by the government....
Vt. becomes 1st state to ban hydraulic fracturing
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- Vermont's governor has signed into law the nation's first ban on a hotly debated natural gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing....
Death as bargaining chip? Ohio prosecutor slammed
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Within days of a drug-related slaying in suburban Cleveland, six men were indicted on charges that carried the possibility of a death sentence. Six months later, all had been allowed to plead to lesser charges, including four who received probation and never went to prison....
NY authorities: Ring 'stalked' luxury car owners
NEW YORK (AP) -- A sophisticated car theft ring "stalked" New Yorkers who drove Lexus SUVs and other mint-condition luxury vehicles so it could fill orders from an international broker serving clients in northwest Africa, authorities said Wednesday....
Caution urged during Miss. highway killer search
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- As they search for suspects in two highway killings, authorities in northwest Mississippi are urging drivers to use caution when approached by any vehicle with flashing blue lights....
New scrutiny for CA nuke plant, as restart looms
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The idled San Onofre nuclear power plant is facing new scrutiny from Congress as the utility that operates it moves closer to proposing a fix to get the twin reactors back in service....
AP: Killer of 3 says he considers requesting death
SOMERS, Conn. (AP) -- A man on Connecticut's death row for the murder of a suburban mother and her two daughters says he believes the only way he will be put to death is if he volunteers for lethal injection....
New generation Porsche icon
The new-generation, 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera has the familiar, sexy shape of its forebears. But it's tastefully redone with a wider front track, a body that's a bit longer and lighter, a holistically designed interior and modern touches like light-emitting diode tail lamps....
Hurricane Andrew remembered at storm conference
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- The National Hurricane Center's director says his successor will face the same problem that has perplexed forecasters since Hurricane Andrew barreled into Florida two decades ago: predicting how bad a storm will be....
