Firefighters gain ground but struggle in Idaho

4 suspects linked to Fast and Furious

Obama: Tax cuts for families under $250K

Nation news briefs

AT&T DROPS LEGAL FIGHT OVER MASS. MAN'S $1M BILL: IPSWICH, Mass. (AP) - AT&T Inc. says it's dropping its legal fight against a Massachusetts businessman whose company was on the hook for a fraudulent million-dollar phone bill.

Mom questions how daughter shot during hug

NY man nears 3 millionth mile in beloved '66 Volvo

More public schools splitting up boys, girls; national count up to at least 500 schools

MIDDLETON, Idaho (AP) - Robin Gilbert didn't set out to confront gender stereotypes when she split up the boys and girls at her elementary school in rural southwestern Idaho.

Studies nix report of arsenic-loving bacteria

NEW YORK (AP) - It was a provocative finding: strange bacteria in a California lake that thrived on something completely unexpected - arsenic. What it suggested is that life, a very different kind of life, could possibly exist on some other planet.

Israeli spies behind Iran assassinations

WASHINGTON (AP) - A new book claims Israel's spy agency dispatched assassins into Iran, as part of a campaign to sabotage the country's disputed nuclear program.

Temps across US cool slightly but still hot

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The heat that blanketed much of the U.S. will begin easing up this week as temperatures approach normal from the Midwest to the East Coast.

Police: Hug triggers officer’s gun, kills woman

DETROIT (AP) - A woman celebrating the weekend before her 25th birthday was fatally shot Sunday when she hugged an off-duty police officer while dancing at a party, causing the officer's service weapon to fire, according to police and her mother.

Click it: Remember to check computer for malicious malware

WASHINGTON (AP) - Internet providers have plans to help their customers Monday and others are braced for calls to helplines because thousands around the country whose computers were infected with malicious software more than a year ago faced the possibility of not being able to get online.

Nation news briefs

• ZIMMERMAN AT 'SAFE HOUSE' IN CENTRAL FLORIDA: ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The neighborhood watch leader charged with fatally shooting Trayvon Martin is in a safe house that is being protected by his security team.

Minnesota officials bemoan deer stand ‘mansions’

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) - Some Minnesota hunters are upgrading their deer stands, trading the traditional nailed-together hunks of wood for what one official calls "mansions" in trees on public property.

Odd News

Mass. man pays off mortgage with pennies MILFORD, Mass. (AP) - A Massachusetts man who pledged to make the last mortgage payment on his home with pennies has fulfilled that promise. After warning his bank, Thomas Daigle dropped off about 62,000 pennies weighing 800 pounds in two boxes for the final payment on the Milford home he and his wife, Sandra, bought in ...

Medical pot laws & treats may send more kids to ER

CHICAGO (AP) - Increased use of medical marijuana may lead to more young children getting sick from accidentally eating food made with the drug, a Colorado study suggests.

Man charged with raping toddler is sex offender

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A man who has been charged with killing an elderly Alaska couple and raping their 2-year-old great-granddaughter is a registered sex offender convicted of breaking into a home and assaulting an 11-year-old girl four years ago.

Nation news briefs

• SURGING WILDFIRE FORCES EVACUATIONS IN CALIFORNIA: SANTA BARBARA (AP) - A surging wildfire has forced dozens of residents and Memorial Day campers to evacuate the mountains of Santa Barbara County in California.

Deal helping Valeant cash on increase in diabetes rate

NEW YORK (AP) -Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it will pay $8.7 billion to buy Bausch + Lomb, one of the world's best-known makers of contact lenses, in a massive expansion of Valeant's smaller ophthalmology business.

Coastal Commission imposes property ‘caps

SOLANA BEACH (AP) - Atop the ocean bluff are the homes of those fortunate to own a piece of land overlooking the dramatic California coastline. Down on the beach are the surfers, swimmers and beachcombers lucky for a sliver of sand that skirts caves and coves in this paradise north of San Diego.

NBC will air Shelton concert for victims of Okla. tornado

Furlough Friday: Unpaid day off for many in gov't

Trucker bumps I-5 bridge, sees horror behind him

Yahoo, pay-TV operators among Hulu bidders

Penn.. parents face murder charge in faith-healing death

Illinois judge faces heroin & gun charges

Lawsuit says defective lawnmower injures man

Rare Superman comic found in house insulation

Judge: Ariz. sheriff's office profiles Latinos during its immigration patrols