$?(&! What did that politician just say?

Ill. man leaves prison after case dropped

Zimmerman leaves jail on $1M bond

Nation news briefs

2 BOYS DIE FROM ELECTRICAL SHOCK IN TENNESSEE LAKE: BEAN STATION, Tenn. (AP) - Investigators say a second boy has died after being shocked by a suspected faulty cord from a houseboat as they swam in a Tennessee lake.

Odd News

PITTSBURGH SUBURB SHOOTS OFF FIREWORKS IN CEMETERY: MOUNT LEBANON, Pa. (AP) - Residents are debating the wisdom of a Pittsburgh suburb's decision to launch its July 4th fireworks display from a cemetery.

Hundreds of thousands still without power

Romney's wife says woman being eyed for vice president on ticket

Zimmerman bail set at $1M ; judge believes he was plotting to leave US

Romney calls Obama’s health care requirement a tax, echoes court view

WOLFEBORO, N.H. (AP) - Mitt Romney on Wednesday said requiring all Americans to buy health insurance amounts to a tax, contradicting a senior campaign adviser who days ago said the Republican presidential candidate viewed President Barack Obama's mandate as anything but a tax.

Many Americans have throwback Fourth without power as Midwest, East bake

MOUNT VERNON, Va. (AP) - George Washington never had air conditioning, but he knew how to keep cool: a mansion with lots of windows elevated on the banks of a wide, rolling river and lots of ice cream, maybe with a little brandy.

New tests revive debate over Arafat death

JERUSALEM (AP) - The discovery of traces of a radioactive agent on clothing reportedly worn by Yasser Arafat in his final days reignited a cauldron of conspiracy theories Wednesday about the mysterious death of the longtime Palestinian leader.

2 accidents raise storm, blackout toll to 26

BALTIMORE (AP) - The Mid-Atlantic region is struggling to get back to normal after deadly, power-cutting storms and sweltering heat.

Rain cools Colo. fires, other wildfires grow

DENVER (AP) - Rains cooled Colorado's wildfires Wednesday, but more than a dozen wildfires elsewhere in the West continued chewing through bone-dry pine and brush as firefighters working through the holiday kept a nervous eye for fireworks and other hazards.

To beer, or not to beer? ‘Can ban’ slows tourism

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (AP) - When it comes to new laws, Texas usually saves its bewilderment for ones from Washington. But this scorching summer, it's a single city ordinance on the popular Guadalupe River that is stirring frustration and confusion.

Nation news briefs

• SURVEY: NEXT PRESIDENT FACES HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT: WASHINGTON (AP) - A majority of economists in the latest Associated Press Economy Survey expect the national unemployment rate to stay above 6 percent - the upper bounds of what's considered healthy - for at least four more years.

Possible 9/11 plane landing gear part found in New York

Fired Oregon officer: Alcoholism is disability

Controllers to return; flight delays sway Congress

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Obama backs Planned Parenthood in political fight

Student's prom dress is one of a kind

Boston bomb suspect moved

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