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; ...

Border Patrol agent shot, killed on duty

Romney won’t revoke young illegal visas

DENVER (AP) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he would honor temporary work permits for young illegal immigrants who were allowed to stay in the U.S. because of an executive order signed this summer by President Barack Obama.

How looming tax hikes would hit typical families

Odd News

RUSSIAN NATIONALISTS WANT WEDDING SHOOTERS JAILED: MOSCOW (AP) - It was an unusual wedding escort even for Moscow's brash style: A red Ferrari led a motorcade in which guests fired celebratory shots from car windows as they sped down one of the city's main avenues near Red Square.

Show on Jesus' wife papyrus delayed amid doubts

BOSTON (AP) - The premiere of the Smithsonian Channel's documentary on a papyrus fragment that purports to show Jesus referring to his wife has been delayed until further tests can be done amid doubts about the fragment's authenticity. Research about the fourth-century papyrus fragment was released last month by Harvard Divinity School professor Karen King. She said it didn't prove Jesus was ...

Man talked to 'Dr. Phil' before confessing

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