Nation news briefs

SOUTHERN BAPTISTS ELECT 1ST BLACK PRESIDENT : NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Southern Baptist Convention voted Tuesday to elect its first African-American president in one of its biggest steps yet to reconcile the 167-year-old denomination's troubled racial past and appeal to a more diverse group of believers.

Likelihood of contempt vote against Attorney General Eric Holder rises

Teen guilty of battery in flame attack

Nation news briefs

TEXAN WINS 'WACKY WARNINGS' CONTEST WITH GLOBE: WINONA, Texas (AP) - A decorative globe not meant for use in getting from here to there has helped a Texas woman win the 15th Annual Wacky Warning Labels contest.

Study: State pension shortfalls ballooned in 2010 across USA

Jury begins deliberating in burned Fla. teen case

New Asian immigrants now surpass Hispanics

Wildfires claim 189 homes in Colorado

Veterinarians may give NC zoo elephant contacts

Ohio police: Car into crowd appears accidental

LIMA, Ohio (AP) - A woman who suddenly drove her car into a crowded town square, injuring dozens, likely did so accidentally, authorities in northwest Ohio said Sunday.

Easing of pot laws poses challenge for parents

DENVER (AP) - Michael Jolton was a young father with a 5-year-old son when Colorado legalized medical marijuana in 2000. Now he's got three boys, the oldest near adulthood, and finds himself repeatedly explaining green-leafed marijuana ads and "free joint" promotions endemic in his suburban hometown.

Chowchilla 'busnapper' wins release from prison

US reveals accusations against Secret Service

Texas teacher had kindergarten kids hit alleged bully on class

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - A Texas teacher will lose her job after ordering more than 20 kindergartners to line up and hit a classmate accused of being a bully, a district spokesman said Friday. The teacher at a suburban San Antonio school is accused of orchestrating the slugfest after a younger teaching colleague went to her last month seeking suggestions on how ...

Catholic hospitals reject birth control compromise

NASA picks 8 new astronauts, 4 of them women

Ga. radio hosts fired; mocked ex-player with ALS

ATLANTA (AP) - The cast of an Atlanta sports radio show has been fired after mocking a former NFL player who has Lou Gehrig's disease, a station official said Monday.

Bear mauls Alaska man who gave it barbecue meat

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A black bear mauled a man at a campground in Alaska, but the animal won't likely threaten other people, the state Department of Fish and Game said. Spokesman Ken Marsh said the bear was "pretty much goaded" into the attack Saturday near Eklutna Lake Campground north of Anchorage because the man fed it meat from a church barbecue, the Anchorage Daily News (reported. The man could be charged with illegally feeding ...

Ex-hitman heartbroken Bulger was informant

Official: Solar plane to help energy use on ground

Miss USA crown goes to Connecticut contestant Erin Brady

Adult smoking rate dips to 18 percent

NYC aims to require composting food scraps

Nation news briefs

FBI REACHES MILESTONE IN MOST WANTED FUGITIVE LIST: WASHINGTON (AP) - The FBI has reached a milestone in its 63-year-old program of pursuing its "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives."

Nation news briefs

FBI REACHES MILESTONE IN MOST WANTED FUGITIVE LIST: WASHINGTON (AP) - The FBI has reached a milestone in its 63-year-old program of pursuing its "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives."

To ease shortage of organs, grow them in a lab?

Miss Utah latest beauty queen to botch answer

Ohio police chief takes criminals to task online via Facebook page

Ohio police chief takes criminals to task online via Facebook page

Shopper is killed chasing bank robber

WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania bank robber fatally shot a supermarket customer who ran after him and tried to stop his getaway car, police said. South Strabane Township police identified the dead man as Vincent Kelley, 46, of Washington, Pa. Kelley and his friend Jared Cameron, 21, were shopping at the Giant Eagle in Strabane Square when police said the man robbed an in-store Citizens Bank branch about 2:30 p.m. Sunday. "I saw him ...

Hitchhiking cat 'Mata Hairi' headed home to Oregon

HELENA, Mont. (AP) - A well-traveled cat named "Mata Hairi" will soon be reunited with her owner after spending nearly 10 months traveling thousands of miles with a hitchhiker who rescued her from the rain. The feline adventure started in Portland, Ore., when the cat's owner, Ron Buss, let her out of the house on Sept. 1. The cat, white with patches of dark gray, usually left for no more than a couple of hours ...