Steroid-related meningitis cases rise to 47

Obama, Romney clash on economy in first debate

DENVER (AP) - In a showdown at close quarters, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney sparred aggressively in their first campaign debate Wednesday night over taxes, deficits and strong steps needed to create jobs in a sputtering national economy. "The status quo is not going to cut it," declared the challenger.

Prices trickle lower except on coasts

Girl offers piggy bank money for return of puppy

SAN JOSE . (AP) - A little girl is offering all the money in her piggy bank to add to a $6,000 reward for the return of her puppy taken in a burglary. Michael Mabanag, the father of 10-year-old Marissa Mabang, says his daughter offered the contents of her piggy bank because she "just wants her doggie back." <p style="line-height: 18pt; background: ...

Lawyer wants sex charge dismissed against teacher

MODESTO (AP) - An attorney for a former Modesto high school teacher who began a high-profile romance with a teenage student asked a judge to dismiss a sex charge against her client involving another person. James Hooker, 42, is facing one count of oral copulation with a person under 18 in connection with an alleged 1998 ...

Rare meningitis cases at 26 in 5 states, 4 deaths

Nation news briefs

BOSTON ARBORIST STUMPED BY BURL BURGLARIES: BOSTON (AP) - Arborists in the Boston area are stumped by the theft of burls, those giant knots on the trunks of most tree species prized by woodworkers for their intricate grain.

2nd Detroit police chief accused of sex scandal

Rare century-old $5 Alaska bill to be auctioned

Anchor: Viewer criticizing her weight 'bully'

Odd News

GIRLS BARRED FROM UTAH DANCE FOR SHORT DRESSES: TOOELE, Utah (AP) - A Utah public high school principal has apologized to dozens of teens who were turned away from their homecoming dance because their dresses were deemed too short, in what parents and students called a "homecoming spirit massacre."

Some dietary supplements illegally labeled

Record number of gays seeking seats in Congress

Record number of gays seeking seats in Congress

Oracle CEO to experiment on his island

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Oracle CEO Larry Ellison says he plans to turn the Hawaiian island that he recently bought into a laboratory for experimenting with more environmentally sound ways of living. Ellison says he hopes to convert sea water into fresh water on the 141-square-mile island of Lanai. He also wants more electric cars on the island and hopes to increase ...

Customs agent let convict relative into US

Customs agent let convict relative into US SAN DIEGO (AP) - A Customs agent in San Diego has pleaded guilty to allowing his brother-in-law, a convicted immigrant smuggler, into the United States. U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy announced Tuesday that Thomas Silva pleaded guilty to concealing a person from arrest. He was a nine-year veteran of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. <p style="line-height: 18pt; ...

Nation news briefs

&bull; WOMAN USED FACEBOOK TO HARASS HERSELF, COPS SAY: GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - A western Michigan woman is accused of creating a Facebook account to stalk herself.

Priest with history of molestation resigns

Exercise cuts kidney stone risk in women

NRA: 'Culture war' more than gun rights

Police: No crime in student mouth taping in Colorado

Climber dies in fiery fall on power tower

Utah soccer league hiring security after ref hit

PVC pipes staking mine claims killing birds

Suspect died of gunshots, blunt trauma

Nation news briefs

WITHERSPOON PLEADS NO CONTEST, FINED AFTER ARREST: ATLANTA (AP) - Reese Witherspoon pleaded no contest to a disorderly conduct charge and paid a $100 fine after berating a state trooper in Atlanta while her husband was given a sobriety test, an embarrassing exchange caught on a dashboard camera after the usually squeaky-clean Hollywood star had what she called "one too many" glasses ...

Trooper arrest investigated after YouTube post

No breakthrough yet in Texas explosion

Flag-covered spire hoisted to WTC roof

Pot magazines same as porn?

Suicide rate rose sharply among middle-aged