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.

Former principal charged in fatal stabbings

Nation news briefs

FIRE SPARKED BY SHOOTING EVACUATES HOMES IN UTAH: SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah (AP) - Residents of at least 2,300 homes in northern Utah were being evacuated Friday after high winds kicked up a fire started by target shooters.

Ex-Penn St. assistant Sandusky convicted of sexual abuse of boys

Nation news briefs

AT LEAST $380K RAISED FOR BULLIED NY BUS MONITOR: NEW YORK (AP) - A video of a 68-year-old school bus monitor being mercilessly taunted by seventh-graders became a rallying point against bullies Thursday, with a fund for the New York state grandmother raising at least $380,000 and a deluge of people demanding harsh punishment for the boys.

Penn State child sex abuse case goes to jury; adopted son said Sandusky molested him

Couple reunites wedding ring with owner's widow

AUBURN (AP) - Thomas King lost his wedding ring years ago. He and his wife had given up on finding the white gold band with the five diamond flecks. "We thought it was a lost cause," said Darlene King, 78. "I told him it probably went down the drain or something." The couple had married on April 29, ...

Court throws out FCC cursing, nudity penalties

Temperature records broken on first day of summer throughout Northeast

Alaska man climbs tree, but gets stuck upside down

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - An Alaska man had to be rescued after he climbed a tree for exercise but got stuck upside down by one leg. Fairbanks firefighters had to use a ladder truck to reach the 53-year-old man, who was dangling nearly 30 feet off the ground. He was uninjured. Assistant Fire Chief Ernie Misewicz told The ...

50 years on, finding profit in ‘truth’ on JFK assassination

DALLAS (AP) - On the very day John F. Kennedy died, a cottage industry was born. Fifty years and hundreds of millions of dollars later, it's still thriving.

Drowsy driving kills 11,000 in 10 years

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) - It probably happens to most drivers.

Amtrak unveils new locomotives

SACRAMENTO (AP) - When Amtrak unveils the first of 70 new locomotives Monday at a plant in Sacramento, it will mark what the national passenger railroad service hopes will be a new era of better reliability, streamlined maintenance and better energy efficiency.

17 wounded in New Orleans parade shooting

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Gunmen opened fire on dozens of people marching in a Mother's Day second-line parade in New Orleans on Sunday, wounding at least 17 people, police said.

‘Idol’ judges drama upstaging singers

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The ratings are down. Randy Jackson is out. Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj are still at it.

Paramedic in West, Texas, facing charges

WEST, Texas (AP) - Three days after a massive explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant, Bryce Reed climbed onto a coffee table at a local hotel where displaced families picked over donated sweatshirts and pizza. Wearing a navy blue shirt emblazoned with "West EMS," he gathered the crowd close.

Portland airport stripper fights $1K federal fine

Nation news briefs

Criminal probe into plant explosion

Man damages 4 homes with bulldozer

Suspect buried in Virginia cemetery

Theater apologizes for actor carrying fake gun in stunt

Spire installed on WTC tower

DNA: Kidnapping suspect fathered girl

Prince Harry opens weeklong US visit