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; ...

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.

Man accused of lying seeks release

BOSTON (AP) - Lawyers for a man charged with lying to investigators after the Boston Marathon bombings are asking a federal judge to release him from jail, saying he had nothing to do with the deadly bombings and isn't a flight risk.

Uncle arranging suspect’s burial rites

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) - The uncle of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev arrived in Massachusetts on Sunday to arrange for his burial, saying he understands that "no one wants to associate their names with such evil events."

Obama to grads: Reject cynical voices

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A year to the day after kicking off his victorious re-election campaign on this college campus, President Barack Obama returned to Ohio State University and told graduates that only through vigorous participation in their democracy can they right an ill-functioning government and break through relentless cynicism about the nation's future.

Solar powered plane lands in Arizona

PHOENIX (AP) - Alone in the single-seat cockpit and high above the American Southwest, pilot Bertrand Piccard could hear only his plane's gear box and the quiet whine of four electric motors. No noisy jet engines.

Giffords receives Profile in Courage award

BOSTON (AP) - Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords received the 2013 Profile in Courage award at the John F. Kennedy Library on Sunday in recognition of the political, personal, and physical courage she has demonstrated in her fearless public advocacy for policy reforms aimed at reducing gun violence.

Utah cabin had uninvited guests: 60,000 or so bees

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - It was the biggest beehive that that Ogden beekeeper Vic Bachman has ever removed - a dozen feet long, packed inside the eaves of a cabin in Ogden Valley.

Gerbils strut their stuff at New England pageant

BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) - The American Gerbil Society's annual pageant brought dozens of rodents scurrying to New England this weekend for a chance to win "top gerbil."

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