Nation news briefs

FINE WHINE? BILLIONAIRE CRIES FOUL IN VINTAGE SALE: NEW YORK (AP) - As experts can testify, super sleuths in the wine business must study the cork, glass, sediment, wrapping, labels and how full a bottle of wine is to ascertain whether it's the real deal. And as two uber-wealthy wine collectors can tell you as they square off in federal court over ...

Ariz. lawmakers consider softened transgender bill

BOY, 4, found with dead mom was living on sugar

Pentagon cuts number of furlough days

Theater shooting suspect offers guilty plea

Washington island landslide affects safety of 34 homes

Jury hears closings in Vegas hep C insurers case

Effort in Arizona would give residents who live in high crime areas free shotguns

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A former mayoral candidate in Tucson, Ariz., is launching a privately funded program to provide residents of crime-prone areas with free shotguns so they can defend themselves against criminals. Shaun McClusky said the program modeled after one recently launched in Houston would provide training and enough money to buy a basic shotgun to residents who pass background checks, ...

Nation news briefs

MAN WINS $8K AFTER DISNEY 'SMALL WORLD' BREAKDOWN: LOS ANGELES (AP) - An attorney says a disabled man was awarded $8,000 by Disneyland after the "It's A Small World" ride broke, stranding him for three hours while the theme song played continuously.

Health overhaul to raise claims cost 32%

North Dakota signs nation’s most restrictive abortion law, expects fight

Judge Judy's son, a DA, embroiled in NY rape case

Administrators armed in Colo. school district

SD Sen. Johnson to retire, cites age

Sidestepping major ruling on gay marriage?

Race against clock, cold in search for Nevadans

RENO, Nev. (AP) - Rescue teams were working against the clock and the bitter cold Monday to find a couple and four children who went to play in the snow in the remote mountains of northwest Nevada but didn't return after a night of sub-zero temperatures.

30 years for man who let others have sex with son

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - An Australian man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after authorities say he and his partner allowed at least eight others to have sex with their young adopted son for money. The 36-year-old man is a resident of Queensland and is not being identified by The Associated Press to protect his son's identity. The man pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to sexually exploit a child and to conspiracy to ...

Woman killed at Vallejo concert

VALLEJO (AP) - Police say a woman who was fatally shot during a rap concert in the San Francisco Bay Area appears to have gotten caught in the crossfire and not to have been the intended target. According to the Times-Herald of Vallejo officers responded to a report of shots fired at Dan Foley Park in Vallejo around 11:53 p.m. Friday. The concert at the park included Atlanta-based rapper "Lil Scrappy." Police say officers found ...

Many lung cancer tumors prove harmless

CHICAGO (AP) - Harmless lung cancer? A provocative study found that nearly 1 in 5 lung tumors detected on CT scans are probably so slow-growing that they would never cause problems.

Passenger awakes to find himself locked in plane

HOUSTON (AP) - As the captain of an oil platform supply boat in the Gulf of Mexico, Tom Wagner is no stranger to bumps and other movement while he sleeps. So when he nodded off on a flight from Louisiana to Houston, it was no surprise that the landing bounce didn't wake him.

News from around the nation

COACH ACCUSED OF TATTOOING MINOR: COTTAGE GROVE, Minn. (AP) - A Minnesota high school gymnastics coach has been accused of tattooing a teenage girl without her parents' permission.

Congress renews undetectable gun ban

High-powered traveling companions

No hugs allowed? Madison targets pro cuddlers

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsin's ultra-liberal capital city is a place where just about anything goes, from street parties to naked bike rides. But city officials say a business is pushing even Madison's boundaries by offering, of all things, hugs.

Internet giants weigh in on defamation lawsuit

CINCINNATI (AP) - From Twitter and Facebook to Amazon and Google, the biggest names of the Internet are blasting a federal judge's decision allowing an Arizona-based gossip website to be sued for defamation by a former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader convicted of having sex with a teenager.

Senate Dems push Obama nominees

WASHINGTON (AP) - Fresh from shackling the traditional blocking ability of the Senate's minority party, Democrats are ready to muscle through President Barack Obama's nominees for pivotal judgeships and other top jobs.

Woman’s Christian Temperance Union targeting marijuana

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - The mansion that serves as Maine headquarters of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union lay largely fallow until recently, with drug needles, liquor bottles and pornographic magazines littering the grounds. Now, in the state where Prohibition had its roots and in a city that just legalized recreational marijuana, the WCTU is overhauling the building and looking to reinvent itself.

Gay partner benefits growing at firms

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Corporate support for gay and transgender rights is reaching workers in new corners of the country and economy six months after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, according to a new report card from the nation's largest LGBT advocacy group.

Move to put cameras on train engineers

NEW YORK (AP) - A week after four people died in a New York commuter train derailment, two federal lawmakers proposed Sunday that trains nationwide be outfitted with cameras pointed at engineers and at the tracks.

Snow storm along East Coast dumps snow, snarls traffic

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A powerful storm that crept across the country dumped a mix of snow, freezing rain and sleet on the Mid-Atlantic region and headed northeast Sunday, turning NFL playing fields in Pennsylvania into winter wonderlands, threatening as much as a foot of snow in Delaware and New Jersey and raising concerns about a messy morning commute.