Despite talk of compromise, fiscal deal elusive

WASHINGTON (AP) - Talk of compromise on a broad budget deal greeted returning lawmakers Monday, but agreement still seemed distant as the White House and congressional Republicans ceded little ground on a key sticking point: whether to raise revenue through higher tax rates or by limiting tax breaks and deductions.

Some GOP lawmakers now flout anti-tax man Norquist

WASHINGTON (AP) - For decades, conservative lobbyist Grover Norquist vowed to drive Republicans out of office if they didn't pledge to oppose tax increases. Many lawmakers signed on.

Cuomo: Sandy cost NY, NYC $32B in damage and loss

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Top political leaders in New York put their heads together Monday on big requests for federal disaster aid as Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that Superstorm Sandy ran up a bill of $32 billion in the state and the nation's largest city.

FDA halts operations at peanut butter plant

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration halted operations of the country's largest organic peanut butter processor Monday, cracking down on salmonella poisoning for the first time with new enforcement authority the agency gained in a 2011 food safety law.

GOP blocks bill to give hunters more land access

WASHINGTON (AP) - A wide-ranging bill to give hunters and fishermen more access to public lands stalled in the Senate Monday after Republicans said it spends too much money.

US twin astronaut, Russian to spend year in orbit

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - A former space shuttle commander whose twin brother is married to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will attempt the longest spaceflight ever by an American.

Transplant doc, Nobel winner Murray dies in Boston

BOSTON (AP) - Dr. Joseph E. Murray, who performed the world's first successful kidney transplant and won a Nobel Prize for his pioneering work, has died at age 93.

Los Angeles Co. team fights costly plastic thefts

INDUSTRY (AP) - The humble milk crate is the focus of a crime that's costing Southern California businesses millions of dollars a year.

All items in ‘12 Days of Christmas’ now top $107K

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Add seven swans, six geese and five golden rings to the list of Christmas gifts that cost more than they did a year ago.

AP IMPACT: Will NYC act to block future surges?

Think Sandy was just a 100-year storm that devastated New York City? Imagine one just as bad, or worse, every three years.

JFK's last night recalled as key event for Latinos

President John F. Kennedy was supposed to just stop by and wave hello. Instead a group of eager Latinos persuaded him to come inside and speak to a packed room of Mexican-American civil rights activists. And then he persuaded his wife, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, to address the crowd in Spanish. It was Nov. 21, 1963. Hours later, the president was dead, his assassination overshadowing the significance of a speech that can be ...

Utility worker pierced pipe before Mass. gas blast

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A natural gas explosion that injured 18 people and damaged 42 buildings in Springfield's entertainment district was blamed Sunday on a utility worker who accidentally punctured a high-pressure pipeline while looking for a leak.

Kan. honor flights halted after money goes missing

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - As many as 100 World War II veterans missed their chance to travel to Washington to see their war's memorial after about $110,000 disappeared from a Kansas nonprofit that organized free trips for them.

1 of FBI's 10 most wanted arrested

LOS ANGELES (AP) - One of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives was arrested Thursday in Mexico and will be returned to Los Angeles to face charges of murder, kidnapping and rape, U.S. officials said.

Gas blast levels Mass. strip club; 18 people hurt

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A natural gas explosion in one of New England's biggest cities on Friday leveled a strip club with a boom heard for miles and heavily damaged a dozen other buildings but didn't kill anyone, authorities said.

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2 HURT WHEN BALLOON HITS POWER LINE IN NEW MEXICO: RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) - A balloon flying in Albuquerque's International Balloon Fiesta hit a power line as it tried to land Wednesday, sending two men to the hospital with burns and injuries from a 40-foot fall, officials said.

Design blamed for health website woes

WASHINGTON (AP) - A decision by the Obama administration to require that consumers create online accounts before they can browse health overhaul insurance plans appears to have led to many of the glitches that have frustrated customers, independent experts say.

Parents accused of keeping 4 boys in filth

DENVER (AP) - A Denver couple accused of keeping four malnourished young children in a filthy apartment pleaded guilty to neglecting three other children under strikingly similar conditions in 2006, court records show.

Drug courier, 89, pleads guilty

Food bank helps furloughed workers

TUSAYAN, Ariz. (AP) - One hotel worker was called and told not to come to work. Another has seen a slowing pace of rooms needing to be cleaned. And a hotel manager has decided to shut down after renting out one room on what normally would be a busy October night.

Cop arrested in motorcycle-SUV assault case

NEW YORK (AP) - An undercover detective who investigators said was off duty when he was recorded on video pounding on an SUV as a biker rally spiraled into violence was arrested late Tuesday.

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Early snow kills thousands of cattle in SD

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A record-breaking storm that dumped 4 feet of snow in parts of western South Dakota left ranchers dealing with heavy losses, in some cases perhaps up to half their herds, as they assess how many of their cattle died during the unseasonably early blizzard.

Social Security judge accused of disability scheme in 1,800 cases

Government's work stacking up after a week

Government's work stacking up after a week

Elizabeth Smart details kidnapping as 14 year-old in her new memoir

Debt limit overtaking shutdown as crisis focus for United States

WASHINGTON (AP) - A possible national default loomed closer on Monday as the partial government shutdown lingered, rattling markets in the U.S. and overseas. A gridlocked Congress betrayed little or no urgency toward resolving either of the threats.

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