Democrats, GOP, tea party dig in

WASHINGTON (AP) - As partisanship renders Washington largely dysfunctional, voters in two states signaled this week that they want consensus-building even when there's divided government.

College defends lockdown set off by costume

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Officials at Central Connecticut State University on Tuesday defended the police and school response to reports of a masked man with a gun and sword a day earlier, when law enforcement swarmed the campus and buildings were locked down for three hours.

Paralyzed deer hunter chooses to end life support

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Tim Bowers got to decide for himself whether he wanted to live or die.

Mall shooting baffles relatives of gunman

TEANECK, N.J. (AP) - Relatives and friends of a young man who fired shots in New Jersey's largest mall, trapping terrified shoppers for hours before killing himself, struggled Tuesday to reconcile those actions with a person they described as pleasant and well-liked.

White House sidesteps on Obamacare change

Christie re-elected governor of NJ

ASBURY PARK, N.J. (AP) - Gov. Chris Christie was re-elected with ease Tuesday, demonstrating the kind of broad, bipartisan appeal that will serve as his opening argument should he seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

Coach fired for Hooters party plan

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A Portland, Ore.-area middle school football coach who said he was willing to lose his job rather than back down from plans for a team party at Hooters has lost his job.

Colon cancer testing may be leveling off

ATLANTA (AP) - After years of steady increases, testing for colon cancer may be leveling off, a federal report suggests.

News from around the nation

TESTOSTERONE TREATMENTS LINKED WITH HEART RISKS: CHICAGO (AP) - Testosterone treatments may increase risks for heart attacks, strokes and death in older men with low hormone levels and other health problems, a big Veterans Affairs study suggests.

JFK ASSASSINATION FILM, TV PROJECTS

Movie studios and television networks are banking on productions timed to the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination to generate some serious ratings and revenue. Among the offerings, which include much that's new, and something old as well:

Sharpton demands profiling guarantee from Macy's

NEW YORK (AP) - The Rev. Al Sharpton said he and other civil rights leaders had a "brutally honest" meeting Monday with the CEO of Macy's over racial profiling, and demanded that the department store lay out how they will guarantee the practice doesn't happen before the holiday shopping season begins.

Kidnap survivor: I was tied, strung like fish

CLEVELAND (AP) - One of three women held in a Cleveland man's home for about a decade says an orange extension cord was used to tie her neck, hands and feet and hang her "like a fish," according to pre-released clips from a taped interview that will air Tuesday and Wednesday on the "Dr. Phil" show.

Gay rights bill clears hurdle in Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate pushed a major anti-bias gay rights bill past a first, big hurdle Monday, a clear sign of Americans' greater acceptance of homosexuality nearly two decades after the law prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

Paul seeks to dismiss criticism of plagiarism

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - For days now, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has sought to dismiss criticism over similarities between his speeches and material on Wikipedia, accusing "footnote police" and "hacks and haters" of unfairly criticizing him.

Push to keep Obama's health care pledge

WASHINGTON (AP) - Little more than a week after millions of consumers received health care cancellation notices, lawmakers in both parties are pushing legislation to redeem President Barack Obama's long-ago pledge that anyone liking their coverage will be allowed to keep it under the nation's controversial new law.

Body of teen swept into storm sewer found

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Searchers recovered the body of a teenager who was swept into a storm drain in Cedar Rapids by fast-moving flood waters, a tragic end to an intense daylong search, authorities said Tuesday.

Mom accused of poisoning sons with Visine

GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Maryland woman poisoned her young sons with eye drops and faces charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children, Pennsylvania police said.

3 men fatally hit trying to cross Georgia freeway

CHAMBLEE, Ga. (AP) - Three men who scaled a median and tried to cross about a dozen lanes of a metro Atlanta freeway were struck and killed by a pickup early Tuesday, snarling traffic into rush hour and puzzling police, who said they were unsure why the group made the risky move.

NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NATION

• POLICE CHARGE PA. MAN FOUND DRIBBLING ALONG I-78: BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - A 22-year-old Pennsylvania man faces charges after police encountered him dribbling a basketball along Interstate 78 near Bethlehem.

Obama vows to act alone, taunts GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama defiantly dared congressional Republicans on Tuesday to try to block his efforts to act on his own and bypass a divided Congress that has thwarted his policy initiatives.

Judge tosses cannibal-plot case

NEW YORK (AP) - A former New York Police Department officer left jail on Tuesday after a judge stunned prosecutors and overturned his conviction in a sensational case accusing him of plotting on the Internet to kidnap, kill and eat young women, including his wife.

Court to hear church’s appeal of sign restrictions

GILBERT, Ariz. (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it will decide whether an Arizona town violates the First Amendment by restricting where and when a church can place signs advertising Sunday morning services.

Local cyberbullying law invalid

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The state's highest court ruled Tuesday that a local cyberbullying law is overbroad and violates Constitutional free speech protections, noting that "the First Amendment protects annoying and embarrassing speech."

12 injured after Philly food truck explosion

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A food truck exploded in north Philadelphia Tuesday, injuring 12 people including three who suffered serious burns, police said.

Truckers duped in doctor impersonation

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A California truck driver pulled into the Blue Beacon Truck Wash in central Pennsylvania and spotted an advertisement for low-cost health exams for truckers. Needing one for his commercial driver's license, he called the number on the sign and was picked up by a woman in an old Ford Tempo.

Ex-New Mexico governor is pot firm CEO

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A Nevada-based startup that plans on selling medical and recreational marijuana products named former New Mexico governor and U.S. Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson as its CEO and president, the company announced Tuesday.

Recalls raise questions about ignition switches

DETROIT (AP) - General Motors issued a new round of recalls for faulty ignition switches this week, but the company says the problem is different than the ignition switch defect that sparked recalls in February. At the same time, Chrysler is recalling vehicles for a similar ignition switch defect.

Burger King sells ‘Proud Whopper’ in San Francisco

NEW YORK (AP) - Burger King is celebrating gay pride with a message on its Whopper wrappers.

Graco gives in, recalling infant car seats

DETROIT (AP) - Graco Children's Products is recalling 1.9 million infant car seats, bowing to demands from U.S. safety regulators, in what is now the largest seat recall in American history.

Auto sales surprise with strength in June

DETROIT (AP) - U.S. auto sales grew at the fastest pace in eight years in June, surprising the industry and setting it up for a strong second half of the year.