Pop artist Robert Rauschenberg dies in Fla. at 82
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The gallery representative for Robert Rauschenberg says the pop artist has died in Florida at 82. He was known for his use of odd and everyday articles, earning him regard as a pioneer in pop art whose talents spanned the worlds of painting, sculpture and dance....
Survivors remain linked by drunken driving tragedy
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- One earned a football scholarship years after burns and lung damage kept him in the hospital for two months. Another poured her grief into preventing other alcohol-fueled crashes and became president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. A third began speaking publicly about the tragedy only after two decades of staring at scars in the mirror....
Dozens of homes lost as Florida battles wildfires
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Relentless wildfires burned Tuesday morning across Florida's Atlantic coast, taxing firefighters and overwhelming residents trying to save their homes with garden hoses....
Deputies kill 2 in shootout near SoCal casino
SAN JACINTO, Calif. (AP) -- Deputies shot and killed two people who had opened fire near an Indian casino in Southern California and fired at a sheriff's helicopter as officers chased them into the hills of the reservation....
Victims say Swiss bank funded Iran terror
NEW YORK (AP) -- American victims of terrorist attacks in Israel have filed a lawsuit seeking more than $500 million from UBS AG, saying the Swiss bank made it possible for Iran to fund the terrorists....
No injuries reported in collapsed N.C. parking deck
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Authorities say it appears no one was injured when a small section of a four-story parking deck in Charlotte, N.C., collapsed....
More storms headed for tornado-damaged Mo., Ark.
SENECA, Mo. (AP) -- Another round of storms headed toward tornado-ravaged areas of Missouri, Arkansas and several other states early Tuesday where residents are still picking up from the weekend's killer twisters....
Military cracks down on scrap-metal scavengers
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (AP) -- Hundreds of Marines were conducting a combat training mission in the Mojave Desert when an air patrol spotted something kicking up dust: A civilian pickup truck speeding across the barren landscape....
Man jailed when daughter fails to get diploma
CINCINNATI (AP) -- A man ordered by a judge to make sure his daughter hit the books has found himself in jail because she failed to earn a high school equivalency diploma....
Efforts to remove Detroit mayor to go to vote
DETROIT (AP) -- The Detroit City Council has spent weeks debating what to do with scandal-plagued Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick: force his ouster or slap him on the wrist....
Arizona police hunting for a serial predator
PHOENIX (AP) -- Police are hunting for a serial predator who has been linked to four unsolved attacks on women in Phoenix and nearby Mesa, including two unsolved killings....
Fashion students at Va. university design abayas
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- The assignment for Virginia Commonwealth University fashion students: design an abaya, an enveloping cloak worn by Muslim women, that is stylish yet acceptable in Arab countries....
Second sect baby born into Texas state custody
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- A mother taken from a polygamist sect and being held as a minor in state custody gave birth Monday to a baby boy who was immediately taken into child-protective custody....
N.Y. farmers fear a shortage of skilled workers
BATAVIA, N.Y. (AP) -- New York farmers say a shift in state policy is making it harder for them to hire experienced seasonal workers through federal guest-worker contracts....
Lawyer: 2 will admit fraud fueled luxury lifestyle
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Presumably, she didn't fleece Prince Charles. But a couple of young jet-setters plan to admit in court that other people who crossed their paths unwittingly financed their luxury lifestyle....
Exxon seeks $800M from Alaska over gas, oil leases
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. asked Monday that Alaska pay $800 million in damages, claiming the state breached a deal when it revoked gas and oil leases on a North Slope oil field....
Gay rights groups launch hospital rating system
NEW YORK (AP) -- Just over half of 88 hospitals got top marks under a new rating system created by two national gay-rights organizations which hope the standards will result in more compassionate treatment of gay and lesbian patients....
Helicopter that crashed lacked some safety gear
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A medical helicopter that crashed in Wisconsin did not have two pieces of safety technology the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended to prevent crashes, company officials said Monday....
S. Ill. hospital resumes some outpatient surgeries
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Southern Illinois Veterans Affairs hospital has resumed some outpatient surgeries, more than eight months after its entire surgical unit was shut down because of a reported spike in post-surgical deaths, officials said Monday....
Prosecutor wraps up case in Ill. fundraiser trial
CHICAGO (AP) -- A top political fundraiser parlayed his success at amassing enormous amounts of campaign money for Gov. Rod Blagojevich into the access and clout to launch a $7 million shakedown scheme in state government, a prosecutor told jurors Monday....
FEMA, EPA visit tornado-ravaged Oklahoma town
PICHER, Okla. (AP) -- The reason most residents of Picher won't be able to rebuild their homes following a massive tornado is plainly visible from most parts of town....
Missouri lawmakers advance 2nd voter photo ID bill
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri Republicans on Monday advanced a constitutional amendment allowing a photo identification requirement for voting and recrafted an ID law similar to one the state Supreme Court struck down two years ago....
Networks, AP sue in South Dakota over exit polling
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- The three major networks, CNN, Fox News and The Associated Press filed a lawsuit Monday asking a federal judge to strike down a South Dakota law that prevents exit polling within 100 feet of a voting place....
Man, woman indicted in sale of child for sex acts
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment Monday accusing a man and woman of training the woman's child to be a dominatrix, selling her sexual services and photographing some of the acts....
Woman sentenced to 10 years in ND infant's death
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- A woman who left her newborn son alone for about two weeks to die, then put his body in a suitcase and placed it in a ditch near her home, was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison....
Deadly mob beating unnerves Cleveland neighborhood
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Even by tough, urban-crime standards it was a grisly attack: Up to 15 people chased a man, then kicked and beat him to death on the street. Before police arrived, one attacker urinated on the victim's head....
Thailand museum director indicted in federal probe
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The director of a Thailand museum was indicted on a wire fraud charge in connection with a federal investigation into looted Southeast Asian antiquities....
Hundreds arrested in Iowa immigration raid
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- Federal immigration agents raided a northeastern Iowa meat processing plant Monday, arresting more than 300 people and housing many of them at a converted fairgrounds....
Texas teen with bullet in head pleads guilty
BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) -- A teenager with a bullet lodged in his forehead that police wanted removed in order to prove he tried to kill the owner of a used-car lot pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated assault and other charges....
Companies agree to $30M settlement in RI club fire
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Several foam manufacturers have agreed to pay $30 million to settle lawsuits brought by survivors and family members of those who died in a 2003 nightclub fire that killed 100 people, according to court papers filed Monday....
Dos and don'ts when a tornado is approaching
You're in your house, your car, maybe your mobile home, and you've just heard a tornado warning announced for your area. What should you do now? Just as importantly, what shouldn't you do? Here are some dos and don'ts:...
Divorce talks for dueling McGreeveys break down
ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) -- Settlement negotiations between former Gov. James McGreevey and his estranged wife broke down Monday and the two prepared for trial in a divorce case that has spawned tell-all books and a series of public squabbles....
Mo. biologists to study snake movement, mortality
PUXICO, Mo. (AP) -- Snakes wouldn't be at the top of most people's favorite critter list. They're feared and misunderstood and often, killed. That's a shame, said Jason Lewis, a wildlife biologist at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge near Puxico. The refuge is a major migration and wintering area for migratory waterfowl....
Scientists probe recent coyote attacks in California
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The coyote was limping as it approached a girl in a sand box at a public park - but it was still dangerous. It snapped its jaws on the girl's buttocks and her nanny had to pry the toddler from the wild animal....
No bail for N.J. man in Thailand child porn case
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- A small-time New Jersey actor accused of traveling to Thailand to have sex with underage boys was denied bail on Monday....
Man convicted in beheading gets life in prison
DETROIT (AP) -- A teenager convicted of killing a man, then beheading him and setting fire to his body in what prosecutors called a thrill killing was sentenced Monday to life in prison without parole....
Mid-Atlantic storm cuts power, prompts evacuations
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Heavy rain drenched the mid-Atlantic region Monday, knocking out power to tens of thousands of customers, flooding roads and chasing people out of their homes....
