Santa Cruz sued over plastic bag ban ordinance

SANTA CRUZ (AP) - Makers of banned plastic shopping bags are fighting back, and have filed a lawsuit in Santa Cruz asking a judge to toss out the city's bag prohibition. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition filed its suit last month in Santa Cruz County Superior Court. Stephen Joseph, a lawyer ...

Officer charged in teen's shooting death

Joe Kennedy III wins Mass. congressional primary; 1st in his generation to seek office

Former Obama agenda subjects not heard in Charlotte: TARP, stimulus, climate

Former Fla. GOP gov endorses Obama

Texas topless club owner pleads guilty in hit man case

Conventional love affair for stars, Demos

Odd News

MICH. LOVEBIRDS RESCUED AFTER ELABORATE PROPOSAL: CASEVILLE, Mich. (AP) - Two Michigan sheriff's deputies can expect wedding invitations in their future for rescuing a couple who became stranded on an island during a meticulously planned, elaborate marriage proposal that apparently accounted for everything but bad weather.

Police in legal minefield on Ariz. immigration law

Charlotte man charged with threatening president

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - A 21-year-old Charlotte man has been arrested by the Secret Service for allegedly posting threats to kill President Barack Obama on Twitter. Authorities said Donte Jamar Sims was detained Wednesday. The Secret Service says Sims posted messages including one that said, "Ima Assassinate president Obama this evening!" on Monday morning, two days before Obama arrived in Charlotte for ...

Obama: Recovery path hard, but challenge 'can be met'

3 suspects plead guilty in Ohio bridge bomb plot

AKRON, Ohio (AP) - Three more men charged with plotting to bomb a highway bridge in Ohio admitted their roles in the scheme Wednesday in a move meant to avoid life prison sentences.

Worst year ever for West Nile in Texas as 43 die thanks to mosquito transmission

DALLAS (AP) - It's the worst year ever for West Nile virus in Texas, which has seen about half of the country's deaths from the illness this year, health officials said Wednesday.

Red Sox’s Valentine: Threat to punch radio host was just a joke

SEATTLE (AP) - Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine insisted Wednesday he wasn't serious when he threatened to "punch" a radio talk-show host in the mouth. Valentine said he made it clear he was kidding when he made the comment earlier in the day during an interview on Boston station WEEI with hosts Glenn Ordway and Michael Holley. <p style="line-height: 18pt; background: ...

NY court to decide if lap dance is tax-exempt art

Lawyer: Former ricin suspect's home is unlivable

1st female Iraq war resister to be court-martialed

Abortion trial stirs debate on when life ends

Boston suspect's defense team gets major boost

Army says no to more tanks, but Congress insists on them

WASHINGTON (AP) - Built to dominate the enemy in combat, the Army's hulking Abrams tank is proving equally hard to beat in a budget battle.

Dozens of air shows cancel without military jets due to federal budget cuts

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Dozens of air shows that draw tens of thousands of people and generate millions of dollars for local economies have been cancelled this year after the military grounded its jet and demonstration teams because of automatic federal budget cuts.

A new front for gun background checks

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - After struggling to sway both state and federal lawmakers, proponents of expanding background checks for gun sales are now exploring whether they will have more success by taking the issue directly to voters.

Man charged in suspicious letters case

BRANDON, Miss. (AP) - The arrest of a 41-year-old Mississippi martial arts instructor in a case of poison-laced letters sent to President Barack Obama and others capped a week in which investigators initially zeroed in on a rival of James Everett Dutschke, then decided they had the wrong man.

So.Cal collector selling off 55,000 dresses, ballgowns

GARDENA (AP) - It was a sale fit for a princess on Saturday as a Southern California man put up for sale some of the 55,000 dresses and ballgowns in his collection.

Anthony Foxx in line for transportation post

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx as his new transportation secretary, a White House official said Sunday.

Obama jokes about aging during 2nd term

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama joked Saturday that the years are catching up to him and he's not "the strapping young Muslim socialist" he used to be.

Police say 4 people stabbed at Albuquerque church

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Police say a 24-year-old man stabbed four people at a Catholic church in Albuquerque as a Sunday mass was nearing its end.

Methane report further divides fracking camps

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency has dramatically lowered its estimate of how much of a potent heat-trapping gas leaks during natural gas production, in a shift with major implications for a debate that has divided environmentalists: Does the recent boom in fracking help or hurt the fight against climate change?

NYPD whistle-blowers testify at stop-frisk trial

NEW YORK (AP) - After Officer Pedro Serrano decided to testify in federal court about what he sees as wrongdoing within the New York Police Department, a rat sticker appeared on his locker.