Don’t cuss unless you can pay the fine: Town weighs $20 fines for public swearing

MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Officials fed up with public swearing in one town say that forcing the potty-mouthed to pay up might be the right antidote. Residents attending town meeting in Middleborough on Monday night were scheduled to vote on whether to impose a $20 fine for public swearing. Officials insist the proposal, offered by the town's police chief, is not intended ...

New York City pension funds file Wal-Mart suit

No elegant technical fixes for distracted driving

NEW YORK (AP) - When does a smartphone make you dumb? When you're driving. Dialing or texting on a phone is a proven distraction when you're behind the wheel. And as "smart" as today's phones are, they can't compensate for human folly. Phone makers and software developers are making a valiant effort to create elegant technical solutions, but, try as they might, they've yet to solve the problem of distracted driving. A new survey, released ...

Nation news briefs

• 'GREEN ACRES' CHARACTER ACTOR FRANK CADY DIES: LOS ANGELES (AP) - Frank Cady, a character actor best known as the general-store owner on the sitcom "Green Acres," has died. He was 96.

Cost to lunch with Warren Buffett: $3.5 million

Protesters on third day strike in campaign office

Odd News

WOMAN'S LOUD PRAISE AND CURSES LEAD TO CHARGES: BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee woman says she was just praising the Lord, although at high volume, when she received a citation accusing her of violating the city's noise ordinance. She later was arrested by police on a disorderly conduct charge.

Aide could face charge in Edwards sex tape case

Nation news briefs

Sleepwalking used as defense in attempted robbery

Officials fret about creatures on tsunami dock that drifted across Pacific Ocean

Vet gave show errant photo by 'mistake'

Suicides are surging among US troops

House passes homeland security spending bill

Nation news briefs

MILEY CYRUS, LIAM HEMSWORTH ARE ENGAGED: NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - It turns out "The Last Song" was only the beginning for Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth.

Teen guilty in texting-while-driving crash

HAVERHILL, Mass. (AP) - A Massachusetts teenager was sentenced Wednesday to spend a year in jail for a fatal traffic accident that happened while he was texting. Aaron Deveau of Haverhill was sentenced to 2 ½ years behind bars with a year to serve and the remainder suspended for the February 2011 crash that took the life ...

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.