Gay students graduate openly at military academies

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Gay students at America's military service academies are wrapping up the first year when they no longer had to hide their sexual orientation, benefiting from the end of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that used to bar them from seemingly ordinary activities like taking their partners openly to graduation events.

Driving season begins as does griping about gas

NEW YORK (AP) - It's Memorial Day weekend and our national obsession with the price of gasoline is in focus once again.

Dragon makes history with space station docking

Calif. defies order to turn over execution drug

Nation news briefs

50 YEARS ON, FIRE STILL BURNS UNDERNEATH PA. TOWN: CENTRALIA, Pa. (AP) - It's an anniversary the few remaining souls who live here won't be celebrating.

2 female Army officers sue to reverse combat ban

Bus driver taking kids to Disneyland arrested

Nation news briefs

ONE-TIME TOP CALIF. FOOTBALL PROSPECT EXONERATED : LONG BEACH (AP) - A former high school football star whose dreams of a pro career were shattered by a rape conviction burst into tears Thursday as a judge threw out the charge that sent him to prison for more than five years.

Private supply ship flies by space station in critical test; docking next up on agenda

Justice Dept.: Misconduct by 2 in Stevens case

Senate rejects GOP, Dem plans on student loans; interest rates set to double on July 1

Tornado doesn't stop Kansas couple's wedding day

Senate acts to extend flood insurance program for 60 days to work out deal

GI contends Muslim faith motive for Ft Hood bomb plot

Obama birth certificate OK by Arizona official

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