Record heat hampers efforts to fight wildfires as Air Force Academy evacuates third of housing

Mayor: Stockton appears headed for bankruptcy

US Supreme Court bars mandatory life without parole for kids convicted of crimes

High court limits state action on enforcing immigration laws

'Shame' punishments like ponytail cutting increase turning courts into ‘circus shows’

Nation news briefs

TEXAS WOMAN GETS $1.4M UTILITY BILL IN ERROR : ABILENE, Texas (AP) - A lot of people gripe when they get high summertime electric bills. But Kristin Harriger's bill was nearly $1.4 million.

Final steel beam lifted at replacement skyscraper at World Trade Center

Issa: No evidence so far of White House cover-up in botched gun-tracking effort

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress doesn't have any evidence so far of a White House cover-up involving a botched gun-tracking operation, a top Republican said Sunday, countering the House speaker's assertion that President Barack Obama or his aides deliberately misled lawmakers.

Judge upholds Indiana ban for sex offenders using Facebook, other social media outlets

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A national civil rights group said Sunday it would appeal a federal judge's decision to uphold an Indiana law that bans registered sex offenders from accessing Facebook and other social networking sites used by children.

Vicious wildfires spread to tourist centers

COLORADO SPRINGS (AP) - Wildfires moved in on some of Colorado's most popular summer tourist destinations over the weekend, destroying nearly two dozen homes near Rocky Mountain National Park and emptying hotels and campgrounds at the base of Pikes Peak.

Memorial to honor 2011 Reno air race crash victims

RENO, Nev. (AP) - Organizers of the Reno National Championship Air Races are pursuing plans to build a permanent memorial for victims of last year's mass-casualty crash in Nevada.

Banana truck crash destroys 1745 Mass. building

SEEKONK, Mass. (AP) - An out-of-control tractor-trailer carrying bananas crashed into a natural gas main and ignited an explosion on Sunday morning, setting fire to an 18th-century building that housed a tavern and destroying it.

Odd news briefs

• DUCT TAPE PROM DRESS COULD WIN KANSAS TEEN $5,000: SOLOMON, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas teen has earned a spot as a finalist in a national design competition with a prom dress made entirely from duct tape.

Video of bus monitor’s misery posted on YouTube strikes a nerve worldwide

GREECE, NY (AP) - The pebble was tossed when a middle-school student in upstate New York posted a 10-minute video on his Facebook page.

Financially-strapped North Las Vegas municipality declares financial disaster

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) - There are no signs of rioters, wind-damaged homes or flooding. The brand new City Hall features gleaming marble floors and the public recreation centers offer Zumba, karate and Pilates classes.

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.