Prices trickle lower except on coasts

Girl offers piggy bank money for return of puppy

SAN JOSE . (AP) - A little girl is offering all the money in her piggy bank to add to a $6,000 reward for the return of her puppy taken in a burglary. Michael Mabanag, the father of 10-year-old Marissa Mabang, says his daughter offered the contents of her piggy bank because she "just wants her doggie back." <p style="line-height: 18pt; background: ...

Lawyer wants sex charge dismissed against teacher

MODESTO (AP) - An attorney for a former Modesto high school teacher who began a high-profile romance with a teenage student asked a judge to dismiss a sex charge against her client involving another person. James Hooker, 42, is facing one count of oral copulation with a person under 18 in connection with an alleged 1998 ...

Rare meningitis cases at 26 in 5 states, 4 deaths

Nation news briefs

BOSTON ARBORIST STUMPED BY BURL BURGLARIES: BOSTON (AP) - Arborists in the Boston area are stumped by the theft of burls, those giant knots on the trunks of most tree species prized by woodworkers for their intricate grain.

2nd Detroit police chief accused of sex scandal

Rare century-old $5 Alaska bill to be auctioned

Anchor: Viewer criticizing her weight 'bully'

Odd News

GIRLS BARRED FROM UTAH DANCE FOR SHORT DRESSES: TOOELE, Utah (AP) - A Utah public high school principal has apologized to dozens of teens who were turned away from their homecoming dance because their dresses were deemed too short, in what parents and students called a "homecoming spirit massacre."

Some dietary supplements illegally labeled

Record number of gays seeking seats in Congress

Record number of gays seeking seats in Congress

Oracle CEO to experiment on his island

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Oracle CEO Larry Ellison says he plans to turn the Hawaiian island that he recently bought into a laboratory for experimenting with more environmentally sound ways of living. Ellison says he hopes to convert sea water into fresh water on the 141-square-mile island of Lanai. He also wants more electric cars on the island and hopes to increase ...

Customs agent let convict relative into US

Customs agent let convict relative into US SAN DIEGO (AP) - A Customs agent in San Diego has pleaded guilty to allowing his brother-in-law, a convicted immigrant smuggler, into the United States. U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy announced Tuesday that Thomas Silva pleaded guilty to concealing a person from arrest. He was a nine-year veteran of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. <p style="line-height: 18pt; ...

Border Patrol agent shot, killed on duty

Romney won’t revoke young illegal visas

DENVER (AP) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he would honor temporary work permits for young illegal immigrants who were allowed to stay in the U.S. because of an executive order signed this summer by President Barack Obama.

Man killed after firing shot at airport

Man killed

Judge OKs release of man charged with terror

Fresh off victory, NRA convention underway in Houston

Soccer referee in coma from player's punch

Nation news briefs

SAN DIEGO STUDENTS SUSPENDED FOR 'TWERKING' VIDEO: SAN DIEGO (AP) - Dozens of students at a San Diego high school have been suspended for making a suggestive "twerking" dance video.

J.C. Penney ad apologizes to retail customers

5 year-old shoots 2-year-old sister in Kentucky

Wind-fueled wildfire erupts east of LA

Missing woman, thought dead, surfaces in Fla.

J.C. Penney ad apologizes to retail customers

Ohio executes man who killed, raped 6-month-old

Justice appeals morning-after case

Food, skin allergies increasing in children

FBI: Backpack from Boston suspect's room

Nation news briefs

FROSTY START FOR UPSTATE NY ICE CREAM TRUCK SEASON: GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) - The chilly relationship between rival upstate New York ice cream truck operators got out of hand this season, with Sno Cone Joe trying to chase Mr. Ding-A-Ling out of the market, authorities said Wednesday.