Same-sex couples in start taking vows

SEATTLE (AP) - Scores of same-sex couples crowded Seattle City Hall for a day of wedding ceremonies on Sunday, the first day they could marry after the state's voter-approved gay marriage law took effect.

Hope and fear in gay marriage cases

WASHINGTON (AP) - Gay marriage supporters see 41 reasons to fret over the Supreme Court's decision to take up the case of California's ban on same-sex unions.

Unions vow payback for right-to-work law

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - With defeat in the Michigan Legislature virtually certain, Democrats and organized labor intend to make enactment of right-to-work laws as uncomfortable as possible for Gov. Rick Snyder and his Republican allies while laying the groundwork to seek payback at the polls.

Boy shot in Pa. was buckling himself in

MERCER, Pa. (AP) - A 7-year-old boy had been buckling himself into his safety seat in the back of his father's truck when he was shot to death after a handgun accidentally went off as his father got in the front seat, police said Sunday.

Nation news briefs

• AIRPORT SECURITY OFFICER KILLED IN OHIO: CLEVELAND (AP) - A Transportation Security Administration officer was fatally shot by her husband Sunday before he killed himself on an off-site parking lot at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, authorities said.

NJ teen wants Easy-Bake Oven to appeal to boys

Pearl Harbor dead remembered on 71st anniversary

Odd News

GUN TURNS UP IN PACKAGE OF FROZEN RIBS AT NM STORE: ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) - New Mexico authorities say they're puzzled by what turned up in a package of meat at a Roswell grocery store.

Pa. jury: Mom had sex with young son, while dad helped

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - A couple were convicted Friday of sexually abusing their young son, who testified he had frequent sexual encounters with his mom while his dad offered him instructions or tips on what to do. The 14-year-old boy told jurors at his parents' sex abuse trial that he began having intercourse with his mom on his eighth birthday, about a ...

Nation news briefs

CUSTOMS SEIZES RUBBER DUCKS FOR CHEMICAL SAFETY: LOS ANGELES (AP) - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Southern California have seized nearly 36,000 Chinese rubber ducks that contain levels of a chemical that may be unhealthful for children.

Gardenville woman ate tomatoes, snow while stranded in remote Sierra location

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - A Nevada woman survived on snow and tomatoes for nearly a week and found shelter in a hollowed-out tree after she became stranded in a winter storm and her boyfriend died trying to find help, a family member said. Paula Lane of Gardnerville was rescued Wednesday along a dirt road in the Sierra Nevada after her brother, ...

Ex-Fla. Gov. Crist tweets he's joining Demos

Man in 30s bought 2nd winning Powerball ticket worth $293.75M

FBI says Alaska man killed for fun

$2 billion price tag for presidential election

WASHINGTON (AP) - The 2012 presidential election broke the $2 billion milestone in its final weeks, becoming the most expensive in American political history, according to final federal finance reports released Thursday. The reports detailed a last-minute cascade of money from mega-donors and an onslaught of spending by the Obama and Romney campaigns and "super" political action committees.

WWII vet receives long-lost dog tag from France

ROCHESTER, NY (AP) - Irving Mann has been in business long enough to be skeptical of out-of-the-blue offers that seem too good to be true.

Killed World War II Marine’s diary offers a brief look at his brief life

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Before Cpl. Thomas "Cotton" Jones was killed by a Japanese sniper in the Central Pacific in 1944, he wrote what he called his "last life request" to anyone who might find his diary: Please give it to Laura Mae Davis, the girl he loved.

Woman who flew in WWII finally gets honors

TROY, Mich. (AP) - One of the 1,000-plus women who flew for the armed forces during World War II but waited decades to earn full military recognition was the focus of her family's thoughts at a Memorial Day graveside ceremony.

NY mayoral hopeful would be a first

NEW YORK (AP) - It was an unscripted moment made for Christine Quinn.

Teen accused of plot spoke about bombs

ALBANY, Ore. (AP) - Classmates of an Oregon teenager accused of planning to blow up his high school say the 17-year-old discussed bomb-making in the weeks before his arrest, but did not speak of a plot to inflict damage.

Fire breaks out aboard cruise ship

BALTIMORE (AP) - A fire that broke out aboard a Royal Caribbean ship Monday did enough damage that the rest of the cruise was canceled and the company said the more than 2,200 passengers will be flown from the Bahamas back to Baltimore where the trip began.

NYC launches bike share program

NEW YORK (AP) - The nation's biggest bicycle-sharing program got rolling Monday, as thousands of New Yorkers got their first chance to ride a network billed as a new form of public transit in a city known for it.

Gunman in Texas rampage was Marine

EDEN, Texas (AP) - A man suspected in a West Texas shooting rampage that left one woman dead and five others wounded was a Marine who was wanted for questioning in a slaying in North Carolina, officials said Monday.

Senator: New Statue of Liberty security risky

NEW YORK (AP) - New security plans for the Statue of Liberty could leave visitors vulnerable when it reopens July Fourth, New York officials said Monday.

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.