Colo., Wash. await federal response to pot measures

Final NJ schoolyard slayings defendant convicted

CIA Director David Petraeus quits over affair

Change coming to Obama's team, just not right away

'Next Bush' makes campaign filing in Texas

DALLAS (AP) - A Texas official says a nephew of former President George W. Bush has made a campaign filing that is required for someone to run for office in his home state. Tim Sorrells, general counsel for the Texas Ethics Commission, says George P. Bush filed a campaign treasurer appointment on Wednesday. Sorrells told The Associated Press on Thursday night the ...

Fast Facts

Breastfeeding baby doll: creepy or groundbreaking?

Odd News

MAN NAPPING IN FIELD RUN OVER BY COMBINE, SURVIVES: BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - A man napping in a Montana cornfield was startled out of his snooze when he was run over by a large harvesting machine - and Yellowstone County deputies say he's lucky to be alive.

Judge halts part of human trafficking initiative

Gay-marriage backers end losing streak, look ahead to more change

NEW YORK (AP) - For years, foes of same-sex marriage had a potent talking point: They'd won every time the issue went to a popular vote. That winning streak has now been shattered in a multi-state electoral sweep by gay marriage supporters - a historic tipping point likely to influence other states and possibly even the Supreme Court.

Pot votes in 2 states challenge US drug war

DENVER (AP) - First came marijuana as medicine. Now comes legal pot for the people. Those who have argued for decades that legalizing and taxing weed would be better than a costly, failed U.S. drug war have their chance to prove it, as Colorado and Washington became the first states to allow pot for recreational use. While the measures earned support from broad swaths of the electorate in both states Tuesday, they are likely to ...

New storm bears down on battered NYC, NJ

Deer crashes through carpet store

CASTLE SHANNON, Pa. (AP) - This deer wasn't caught in the headlights. It was called on the carpet. A Pittsburgh-area carpeting store has been cleaning up after the wild animal smashed into the store and ran amok Tuesday. Jill Horvatic, an employee of Stout Carpeting in Castle Shannon, tells WPXI-TV that she hid while the animal ran around, ...

FBI help sought for finding 'Speed Freak' mass murder victims

STOCKTON (AP) - The sheriff of San Joaquin County plans to ask the FBI to take over the job of searching for and recovering the remains of victims linked to two serial murderers known as the Speed Freak Killers following criticism of his agency's handling of the delicate retrieval operation. Sheriff Steve Moore announced his intentions Tuesday after the mother of one ...

Powerful quake hits Guatemala, killing at least 48

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.

Nation news briefs

WIKILEAKS SUSPECT NAMED SF PRIDE PARADE MARSHAL: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The U.S. Army private charged in a massive leak of U.S. secrets to the WikiLeaks website has been named as a grand marshal of San Francisco's annual gay rights parade, a choice that was immediately condemned by several groups representing gay and lesbian service members.