Obama could be descended from African slave

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A team of genealogists has found evidence that President Barack Obama could be a descendent of an African slave - but not through the lineage of his black father, the most likely route researchers had followed and exhausted.

Beach booze bans spreading across US

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (AP) - Sitting in the sun, watching the waves roll in and popping the top on a cold one would seem to be as much a part of the American summer as hot dogs and cookouts.

Couple says racism forced wedding relocation

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A Mississippi couple says the church where they planned to get married turned them away because they are black.

Colo. theater lacked security, unlike some peers

DENVER (AP) - The Colorado movie theater complex that was the scene of a gunman's massacre this month didn't have any uniformed security guards on duty the night of the shooting, even though other theaters operated by the same company did provide such protection for the busy premiere of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises."

1970s NY graffiti artists still have urge to tag

NEW YORK (AP) - In torn jeans and saddled with a black backpack, Andrew Witten glances up and down the street for police. The 51-year-old then whips out a black marker scribbles "Zephyr" on a wall covered with movie posters. He admires his work for a few seconds before his tattooed arms reach for his daughter, holding her hand as he briskly walks away.

NJ troopers charged in 100-mph escort of high speed luxury vehicles on turnpike

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Two state troopers charged Friday with records-tampering turned a state highway into a "virtual speedway" when they gave a caravan of luxury cars a high-speed escort, taping over their own license plates to conceal their involvement, the attorney general said.

Explorers find sunken German U-boat from WWII off Mass.

News Bites

POLITICS

Administration projects $1.2T budget deficit

TransCanada gets OK for south part of pipeline

Defense: Shooting suspect in ‘Batman’ movie massacre was seeing psychiatrist

Man heavily armed & calling himself 'a joker' threatened shooting up business

Chick-fil-A sandwiches now a political symbol

Some medics idled for 20 minutes after Colorado movie massacre

National drought rapidly intensifying

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

Man hunting for pythons finds mysterious jewelry

White House promises veto of GOP spending plan

Odd News

LAW CHANGE KILLS GERMANY'S LONGEST WORD: BERLIN (AP) - A tweak to state laws in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to conform with current EU regulations has caused an unexpected casualty: the longest word in the German language.

Scott Weiland sues over his Stone Temple Pilots ouster

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Scott Weiland has countersued his former band mates in Stone Temple Pilots claiming they had no right to expel him and shouldn't be allowed to perform with a new lead singer. Weiland's suit was filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, one week after his former collaborators sued to get him to stop using the band's music in solo performances. The singer's case claims the three other members of Stone Temple ...

Prosecutor: Manning aided enemy

Fire chief resigns, citing bomb criticism

Nation news briefs

CAN MAN PROTEST OUTSIDE MILITARY BASE? WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court will decide whether to reinstate a man's conviction for protesting outside a military base in California.

IRS spent $50M for conferences

WASHINGTON (AP) - A government watchdog has found that the Internal Revenue Service spent about $50 million to hold at least 220 conferences for employees between 2010 and 2012, a House committee said Sunday.

Apple antitrust suit over e-books set for NY trial

NEW YORK (AP) - In a civil case where the words of Steve Jobs play prominently, the government and Apple Inc. are set to square off over allegations that Apple Inc. conspired with the country's largest book publishers to make consumers pay more for electronic books.

Some Wash. Police dogs not smelling pot anymore

4 firefighters killed in motel fire