Firefighters gain ground but struggle in Idaho

4 suspects linked to Fast and Furious

Obama: Tax cuts for families under $250K

Nation news briefs

AT&T DROPS LEGAL FIGHT OVER MASS. MAN'S $1M BILL: IPSWICH, Mass. (AP) - AT&T Inc. says it's dropping its legal fight against a Massachusetts businessman whose company was on the hook for a fraudulent million-dollar phone bill.

Mom questions how daughter shot during hug

NY man nears 3 millionth mile in beloved '66 Volvo

More public schools splitting up boys, girls; national count up to at least 500 schools

MIDDLETON, Idaho (AP) - Robin Gilbert didn't set out to confront gender stereotypes when she split up the boys and girls at her elementary school in rural southwestern Idaho.

Studies nix report of arsenic-loving bacteria

NEW YORK (AP) - It was a provocative finding: strange bacteria in a California lake that thrived on something completely unexpected - arsenic. What it suggested is that life, a very different kind of life, could possibly exist on some other planet.

Israeli spies behind Iran assassinations

WASHINGTON (AP) - A new book claims Israel's spy agency dispatched assassins into Iran, as part of a campaign to sabotage the country's disputed nuclear program.

Temps across US cool slightly but still hot

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The heat that blanketed much of the U.S. will begin easing up this week as temperatures approach normal from the Midwest to the East Coast.

Police: Hug triggers officer’s gun, kills woman

DETROIT (AP) - A woman celebrating the weekend before her 25th birthday was fatally shot Sunday when she hugged an off-duty police officer while dancing at a party, causing the officer's service weapon to fire, according to police and her mother.

Click it: Remember to check computer for malicious malware

WASHINGTON (AP) - Internet providers have plans to help their customers Monday and others are braced for calls to helplines because thousands around the country whose computers were infected with malicious software more than a year ago faced the possibility of not being able to get online.

Nation news briefs

• ZIMMERMAN AT 'SAFE HOUSE' IN CENTRAL FLORIDA: ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The neighborhood watch leader charged with fatally shooting Trayvon Martin is in a safe house that is being protected by his security team.

Minnesota officials bemoan deer stand ‘mansions’

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) - Some Minnesota hunters are upgrading their deer stands, trading the traditional nailed-together hunks of wood for what one official calls "mansions" in trees on public property.

Odd News

Mass. man pays off mortgage with pennies MILFORD, Mass. (AP) - A Massachusetts man who pledged to make the last mortgage payment on his home with pennies has fulfilled that promise. After warning his bank, Thomas Daigle dropped off about 62,000 pennies weighing 800 pounds in two boxes for the final payment on the Milford home he and his wife, Sandra, bought in ...

Obama to step up military support of rebels

Police: Gunman shot 3, self at St. Louis business

1 dead, 77 hurt in Louisiana plant explosion

Nation news briefs

ZIMMERMAN JURORS TO BE SEQUESTERED UP TO A MONTH: SANFORD, Fla. (AP) - The six jurors and four alternates eventually picked to hear the second-degree murder case of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman will be sequestered for the two to four weeks the trial will last, the judge presiding over the case said for the first time Thursday.

Idaho high school drops Redskins logo, mascot

DRIGGS, Idaho (AP) - An Idaho high school will drop its longtime "Redskins" nickname, logo and mascot in a move its top administrator says was made to show respect for Native Americans. The decision at Teton High School in Driggs is a way to encourage students and the community to see beyond skin color and stereotypes, said Monte Woolstenhulm, superintendent of District 401. Motivation also came from renewed efforts nationally to change nicknames and logos ...

Pool water heater cited in NC motel deaths

Rare Superman comic book sells for $175,000

Committee rejects overhaul of military justice

Prosecutor says man endangered teen's life in hoax

Boy admits killing mom in fight over chores

MILLERSBURG, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio boy admitted he fatally shot his mother in the head with a rifle when he was 10 after what a relative described as an argument over chores. The boy, now 13, entered the equivalent of a guilty plea Monday in juvenile court. In January 2011, the boy went to a neighbor's house, called 911 and told the dispatcher he had shot his mother at their home in rural Holmes ...

Southern Baptists oppose gay Scout rule

Wildfires burn out of control in Colorado

Transgender suit goes to Maine high court

Nation news briefs

10-YEAR-OLD BEHIND WHEEL OF SUV: KENNER, La. (AP) - Police in Louisiana say a call about an SUV being driven recklessly on Interstate 10 led them to pull over a 10-year-old boy who was driving.

Levees, removable walls proposed

Levees, removable walls proposed