Dairy farm safety net dies with federal farm bill’s expiration

DANVILLE, Vt. (AP) - Small dairy farmers in the Northeast and Wisconsin say a tough year has been made worse by Congress' failure to pass a new farm bill before the old one expired.

Get ready for tax hike in 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama isn't talking about it and neither is Mitt Romney. But come January, 163 million workers can expect to feel the pinch of a big tax increase regardless of who wins the election.

Strange but true news

CLERKS RIP CLOTHES OFF SHOPLIFTING SUSPECT IN NYC: NEW YORK (AP) - A worker at a 7-Eleven in Brooklyn has lost his job after he and other store employees were recorded ripping the clothes off a suspected shoplifter.

Earlier puberty seen in boys, just like in girls

CHICAGO (AP) - When it comes to the birds and the bees, some parents may want to have that talk with their boys a little sooner than they expected.

Freezing eggs for fertility works, caution urged

WASHINGTON (AP) - Freezing human eggs can be successful in treating infertility - but guidelines issued Friday still urge caution for women hoping to pause a ticking biological clock.

Side Briefs

ILLINOIS AMTRAK TRAIN HITS 111 MPH IN TEST RUN: JOLIET, Ill. (AP) - For the first time on a key Midwestern route between Chicago and St. Louis, an Amtrak passenger train topped 110 mph Friday, ripping through fog-shrouded farm fields and blowing past cars on a parallel highway.

Texas Bar sues ex-DA in wrongful murder conviction

Colo. fans upset after Madonna uses guns in show

Scout abuse files release sparks interest

Amtrak train set to hit 110 mph in test run between St. Louis & Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) - In a modest milestone for President Barack Obama's high-speed rail vision, test runs will start zooming along a small section of the Amtrak line between Chicago and St. Louis at 110 mph on Friday.

3.4 percent of USA adults are LGBT

Social media sensation dies of cancer at age 13

Friday Calendar

BUNKO Tonight *DEMOLAY BENEFIT: The Manteca DeMolay is conducting a bunko fundraiser tonight at the Manteca Masonic Lodge, 212 N. Powers Ave. The $10 donation covers dinner and bunko. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m. with bunko from 7 to 10 p.m. For ticket information call 923-7446, TACOS & TEQUILA Tonight *ST. ...

Gunman kills 3, self in salon shooting

Official proposes bullet tax in bid to curb Chicago crime

Man convicted of starving son, dumping body

Charges dropped in ricin letters sent to Obama

School district gets bulletproof whiteboards

New York City proposes raising age for cigarette purchases to age 21

Odd News

VIETNAM POLICE SEIZE 53 KING COBRAS FROM CAR: HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Vietnamese police say they have seized 53 king cobras from a car in Hanoi and arrested the driver.

Bill jeopardizes tax-free online shopping

Teen arrested in T-shirt flap back in class

Campbell ends touring career, to release new album

Flight delays pile up amid FAA cuts

Boston bombing suspect charged

Bomb suspect had 2 outbursts at mosque

Nation news briefs

NH KILLER APOLOGIZES TO MACHETE VICTIM'S FAMILY : MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - A man convicted of hacking a woman to death with a machete and maiming her daughter during a home invasion has ordered his lawyers not to argue for a reduced sentence, and said in a statement Monday that he doesn't deserve or expect forgiveness.