Some unions could get break from paying Obamacare fees

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration appears ready to give some labor unions a break from costly fees under the new health care law, a move that drew criticism from Republicans who say it unfairly favors a key White House ally.

Pot’s tax potential attracts new allies

DENVER (AP) - Colorado's hearty embrace of a 25 percent marijuana tax this week could prove a turning point for legalization backers. They've long argued that weed should come out of the black market and contribute to tax coffers instead of prison populations.

Democrats, GOP, tea party dig in

WASHINGTON (AP) - As partisanship renders Washington largely dysfunctional, voters in two states signaled this week that they want consensus-building even when there's divided government.

College defends lockdown set off by costume

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Officials at Central Connecticut State University on Tuesday defended the police and school response to reports of a masked man with a gun and sword a day earlier, when law enforcement swarmed the campus and buildings were locked down for three hours.

Paralyzed deer hunter chooses to end life support

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Tim Bowers got to decide for himself whether he wanted to live or die.

Mall shooting baffles relatives of gunman

TEANECK, N.J. (AP) - Relatives and friends of a young man who fired shots in New Jersey's largest mall, trapping terrified shoppers for hours before killing himself, struggled Tuesday to reconcile those actions with a person they described as pleasant and well-liked.

White House sidesteps on Obamacare change

Christie re-elected governor of NJ

ASBURY PARK, N.J. (AP) - Gov. Chris Christie was re-elected with ease Tuesday, demonstrating the kind of broad, bipartisan appeal that will serve as his opening argument should he seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

Coach fired for Hooters party plan

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A Portland, Ore.-area middle school football coach who said he was willing to lose his job rather than back down from plans for a team party at Hooters has lost his job.

Colon cancer testing may be leveling off

ATLANTA (AP) - After years of steady increases, testing for colon cancer may be leveling off, a federal report suggests.

News from around the nation

TESTOSTERONE TREATMENTS LINKED WITH HEART RISKS: CHICAGO (AP) - Testosterone treatments may increase risks for heart attacks, strokes and death in older men with low hormone levels and other health problems, a big Veterans Affairs study suggests.

JFK ASSASSINATION FILM, TV PROJECTS

Movie studios and television networks are banking on productions timed to the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination to generate some serious ratings and revenue. Among the offerings, which include much that's new, and something old as well:

Sharpton demands profiling guarantee from Macy's

NEW YORK (AP) - The Rev. Al Sharpton said he and other civil rights leaders had a "brutally honest" meeting Monday with the CEO of Macy's over racial profiling, and demanded that the department store lay out how they will guarantee the practice doesn't happen before the holiday shopping season begins.

Kidnap survivor: I was tied, strung like fish

CLEVELAND (AP) - One of three women held in a Cleveland man's home for about a decade says an orange extension cord was used to tie her neck, hands and feet and hang her "like a fish," according to pre-released clips from a taped interview that will air Tuesday and Wednesday on the "Dr. Phil" show.

Gay rights bill clears hurdle in Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate pushed a major anti-bias gay rights bill past a first, big hurdle Monday, a clear sign of Americans' greater acceptance of homosexuality nearly two decades after the law prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

Fire season in expected to get much worse

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) - Despite widespread drought in the West and expectations of an above-average wildfire season, wildfires have burned less than half the 10-year average area so far this summer.

Salmon, steelhead get help

FRESNO (AP) - State and federal wildlife officials have unveiled ambitious plans aimed at helping endangered salmon and steelhead thrive again in Central California rivers.

Arizona inmate dies 2 hours after execution got underway

PHOENIX (AP) - A condemned Arizona inmate gasped for more than an hour and a half during his execution Wednesday before he died in an episode sure to add to the scrutiny surrounding the death penalty in the U.S.

Senator: PTSD made him plagiarize

HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Sen. John Walsh of Montana said Wednesday his failure to attribute conclusions and verbatim passages lifted from other scholars' work in his thesis to earn a master's degree from the U.S. Army War College was an unintentional mistake caused in part by post-traumatic stress disorder.

Nazi war suspect dies as extradition OK’d

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - An 89-year-old Nazi war crimes suspect died in custody hours before a U.S. ruling Wednesday that he should be extradited to Germany to face trial.

Man stabbed ex 84 times, put pig mask on her

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) - A man was convicted Wednesday of fatally stabbing his ex-wife 84 times and covering her face with a pig mask.

Facebook 2Q earnings, revenue soar

MENLO PARK (AP) - Facebook is on a roll. The world's largest online social network posted sharply higher earnings on Wednesday as revenue from mobile advertising continued to grow, and more people used it, more often.

Getting paid for posts? New twist for Social networking

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Facebook and most other social networks are built on the premise that just about everything should be shared -except the money those posts produce.

Cheaper wireless plans cut into AT&T 2Q profit

NEW YORK (AP) - AT&T Inc. on Wednesday posted lower net income for the latest quarter due to cheaper cellphone plans it introduced as a response to aggressive pricing from smaller competitor T-Mobile US.

Thieves got into StubHub accounts for $1.6M payday

NEW YORK (AP) - Some of the hottest tickets in town - to Broadway hits, Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake concerts, a New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox game - were snapped up by an international ring of cyber thieves who commandeered more than 1,000 StubHub users' accounts to make big money by fraudulently buying tickets and reselling them, prosecutors said Wednesday.

ACLU may fight for California shelter

ESCONDIDO (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union said Tuesday it was mulling legal options after a north San Diego suburb's planning commission rejected plans for a 96-bed shelter for unaccompanied immigrant children who are arrested by the Border Patrol.

At 101, weather observer gets a place in the sun

BRIDGEHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) - It takes only a couple of minutes, twice a day, but 101-year-old Richard Hendrickson is fiercely proud that he has done the same thing for his country and community nearly every day since Herbert Hoover was in the White House in 1930.

Crews make gains on massive wildfire

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Firefighters were making progress Tuesday in their efforts to get the largest wildfire in Washington state's history under control, with wetter weather bringing some relief but also raising concerns about flash flooding.

Recreational pot qualifies for Oregon ballot

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Oregon voters will decide whether to legalize marijuana for recreational use after state elections officials on Tuesday said the measure qualified for the November ballot.

Hunt on for possible anaconda in lake

JEFFERSON, N.J. (AP) - Reports of a 16-foot-long exotic snake - possibly an anaconda - slithering through New Jersey's largest lake have stoked fears among residents and led to searches and questions about what exactly is in the water.