Nation news briefs

NYC POLICE: 'BAD BARBIES' GANG TERRORIZED STREETS: NEW YORK (AP) - New York City authorities say they have taken down a violent street gang whose female factions went by names including "Bad Barbies." Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Wednesday that at its height, the Trinitarios gang had up to 100 female members. He said one was a 24-year-old involved in the fatal retaliatory shooting and in ...

Rice bows out of running; Kerry likely

Rice bows out of running; Kerry likely

FAST FACTS

NAME - John Forbes Kerry. AGE-BIRTH DATE - 69; Dec. 11, 1943. EDUCATION - Bachelor's degree, political science, Yale University, 1966; law degree, Boston College, 1976. EXPERIENCE - U.S. Senate, 1985-present; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for president, 2004; Massachusetts lieutenant governor, 1983-1985; lawyer in private practice, 1979-1982; Middlesex County, Mass., prosecutor, 1976-1978; spokesman, Vietnam Veterans ...

Obama, Boehner meet on 'fiscal cliff'

Senate takes step toward banning stalking software apps on cell phones

Texas man accused of carving pentagram into son

RICHLAND HILLS, Texas (AP) - A North Texas man carved a large pentagram into his 6-year-old son's back Wednesday, telling a 911 dispatcher that he did it because "it's a holy day," police said.

Gimmicky date a boost for lovelorn Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Las Vegas, land of the quickie wedding, is in the midst of a serious love recession, and chapels in the city accustomed to playing the numbers were not about to let the latest money-making opportunity - Wednesday's auspicious 12/12/12 date - pass without a marketing push.

NY agency voting on using smartphones to hail cabs

NEW YORK (AP) - Every New Yorker knows how to hail a yellow cab. The next step for some might be to "e-hail" a cab using a smartphone. Members of the city's Taxi & Limousine Commission are to vote today on whether to allow people to nab a ride electronically. Downloaded apps would link customers with drivers. If the vote is yes, companies offering the high-tech hailing method can compete for business. TLC Commissioner David ...

More than 700 vehicle batteries stolen in Texas

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Apparent power-hungry thieves have stolen more than 700 vehicle batteries from a South Texas business.

Nation news briefs

COURT RULING ON ILL. GUN BAN SETS STAGE FOR FIGHT: CHICAGO (AP) - Backers of Illinois' ban on concealed weapons vowed Wednesday to fight for continued controls on gun possession, a day after a federal appeals court struck down the nation's last such prohibition as unconstitutional and ordered the state to craft a law allowing it.

Christie: My weight no bar to presidency

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he is "more than a little" overweight - but fit enough to be in the White House. The Republican governor was asked about his weight problem during an interview with Barbara Walters for her "10 Most Fascinating People" special Wednesday night on ABC. Walters told the governor some ...

10 arrested in cybercrime ring

WASHINGTON (AP) - Ten people have been arrested as part of an investigation into international cybercrime rings that steal millions of computer users' credit card, bank account and other personal information, the FBI said. Individuals from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, New Zealand, Peru, Britain and the U.S. were arrested in an operation carried out with the assistance of the Facebook social ...

Oregon mall shooter used stolen rifle

Marine who died in Iraq won't get Medal of Honor

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The secretary of defense has denied a request to upgrade a fallen Marine's Navy Cross to the Medal of Honor, a San Diego congressman's office said Wednesday. The Pentagon told Rep. Duncan Hunter it supports the decision of former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who honored Sgt. Rafael Peralta with the Navy Cross instead of the military's highest honor. ...

Whites no longer a majority in US by 2043

Fort Hood massacre suspect says he killed soldiers to protect Taliban

IRS brass stayed in $3,500 a night rooms

e accepts insanity plea in Colorado case

Judg

100 students ejected from NYC-to-Atlanta flight

Gator taken from Ohio home, video showed taunts

Deadly Oklahoma tornado widest on record

Land dispute to blame for missing Marine

NY boy, 10, grabs home intruder's gun, shoots wall

Nation news briefs

NM PROF: 'OBESE' GRAD APPLICANTS LACK 'WILLPOWER' : ALBUQUEQUE, N.M. (AP) - A University of New Mexico psychology professor is under fire after he tweeted that people battling obesity don't have the willpower to finish doctorate degrees.

Foreclosure auction scam crack down

HPV a growing cause of upper throat cancer

Jury finds for Ohio Catholic school teacher fired after becoming pregnant

New US-Mexico border crossing stalls

Trade winds drop, Hawaii gets muggy

Fort Hood suspect to represent himself