Half of US counties now considered disaster areas due to ongoing drought

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POLITICS

Budget-and-tax impasse threatens economy

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CRIME

Modesto housing recovery underway: Prices rose in all major US cities in May

NY couple, 85, to remarry 48 years after their divorce

Justice Dept: Fast & Furious report distorted

Is your problem gluten? Or faddish eating?

Illegal immigrants offered college courses, status aside at UCLA campus

LOS ANGELES (AP) - As some states make it tougher for illegal immigrants to attend college, a new program is pledging to do the opposite.

Dems move to formally back gay marriage

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Democratic Party is moving to include support for gay marriage in the official party platform for the first time, a Democratic official said Monday, marking a key milestone for advocates of same-sex unions.

Suspect charges: Murder, attempted murder

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) - James Holmes appeared just as dazed as he did in his first court hearing after the deadly Colorado movie theater massacre.

Obama could be descended from African slave

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A team of genealogists has found evidence that President Barack Obama could be a descendent of an African slave - but not through the lineage of his black father, the most likely route researchers had followed and exhausted.

Beach booze bans spreading across US

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (AP) - Sitting in the sun, watching the waves roll in and popping the top on a cold one would seem to be as much a part of the American summer as hot dogs and cookouts.

Couple says racism forced wedding relocation

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A Mississippi couple says the church where they planned to get married turned them away because they are black.

Colo. theater lacked security, unlike some peers

DENVER (AP) - The Colorado movie theater complex that was the scene of a gunman's massacre this month didn't have any uniformed security guards on duty the night of the shooting, even though other theaters operated by the same company did provide such protection for the busy premiere of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises."

Legal issues surround suspect's questioning

Police: Boston suspects planned to attack NY

Boston victims face huge bills

Politics on hold at the dedication of Bush library

Talks on bill to ease FAA furloughs

Mormon church pleased with Boy Scouts proposal

Man gets most severe charge in teens' deaths

Country singer charged with threats to Ga. man