'Leave It to Beaver' actor Frank Bank dies

US Senate plans background check for guns vote today

Retry Ohio man for sleepover fire, 9 deaths

Letter with ricin sent to Miss. senator

WASHINGTON (AP) - An envelope addressed to Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi tested positive Tuesday for ricin, a potentially fatal poison, congressional officials said, heightening concerns about terrorism a day after a bombing killed three and left more than 170 injured at the Boston Marathon.

Pressure-cooker bombs suspected

Fox removes 'Family Guy' episode from websites

NEW YORK (AP) - Fox has pulled from websites a recent episode of "Family Guy" that depicts mass deaths at the Boston Marathon, and has no immediate plans to air it again. Fox spokeswoman Gaude Paez said Tuesday the episode has been removed from Fox.com and Hulu.com. In the episode, protagonist Peter Griffin is asked by sports announcer ...

Restaurant manager, 8-year-old among Boston bomb victims

Unions: Wal-Mart had role in NY minimum wage deal that uses tax dollars to subsidize

Tobacco firms make $3.1Be payments under settlement

Odd News

POLICE: NM MAN TRIED TO TRADE MCDONALD'S FOR SEX: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - It appears that this happy meal didn't end with a happy deal.

Climbers recover body of boy from Alaska glacier

The 78-year-old runner behind the Boston photo

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) - A 78-year-old Washington state man running his third Boston Marathon was near the finish line when he was knocked down by one of two bomb blasts and caught in a news photograph that quickly went viral. Bill Iffrig, of Lake Stevens, told The Herald of Everett that he heard a noise Monday and found himself on the ground. ...

Side Briefs

INMATE, 84, ACCUSED OF TRYING TO KILL PROSECUTOR: CONROE, Texas (AP) - An 84-year-old woman jailed on a theft charge allegedly tried to hire a hit man to kill the Houston-area prosecutor handling her case and to maim his boss, one of the apparent targets said Monday.

Bombing kills 3, injures over 130

BOSTON (AP) - Two bombs exploded in the crowded streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing three people and injuring more than 130 in a bloody scene of shattered glass and severed limbs that raised alarms that terrorists might have struck again in the U.S. <p ...

Psst. Tax deadline not much of a deadline for most

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.