Kids' suspensions trigger zero tolerance debate

Ex-SC Gov. Sanford mentions mistakes in ad

Colo. House passes gun-control measures

Md., Va., among most vulnerable to cuts

Gun raffles stoke debate after Connecticut school shooting

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Police chiefs in New Hampshire wanted more money for their youth training program. A youth hockey team in North Dakota needed more ice time.

GOP foes of Hagel nomination as Secretary of Defense say vote should go on this week

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) - Republican opponents of former Sen. Chuck Hagel's stalled bid to become defense secretary said Sunday that they'll probably allow his Senate confirmation vote to proceed unless material more damaging to the nominee - and, by extension, the Obama administration - surfaces in the coming week.

Obama seeks ‘balanced way’ to budget fix

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is concerned about the effect that looming, drastic across-the-board budget cuts will have on the middle class, his new chief of staff said Sunday. Congressional Republicans predicted the cuts would start as scheduled next month and blamed Obama not only for doing little to stop them but for the idea itself.

White House calls draft plan a backup

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans and Democrats alike on Sunday predicted President Barack Obama would fail if he pushed forward with his own effort to overhaul the nation's immigration system and urged the administration to hold off while lawmakers work on a bipartisan measure.

Man charged with slapping toddler may be out job

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A man charged with slapping a toddler on a Minneapolis-to-Atlanta flight appears to be out of a job.

Weird news

• BRITISH TEEN SURVIVES 3 DAYS LOST IN OUTBACK: CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - A British teenage backpacker drank contact lens fluid and his own urine to survive three days lost in Australian Outback scrubland in oppressive summer heat, his mother said Saturday.

Mom's stripping disrupts NY school assembly

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Police say a mother who got on stage and started to strip during an upstate New York school assembly is facing child endangerment and lewdness charges. Albany police say 24-year-old Aydrea Meaders was arrested at North Albany Academy on Friday morning. They say school staff told them the assembly was halted and the cafeteria ...

Odd News

THAI COUPLE SETS NEW RECORD FOR LONGEST KISS: PATTAYA, Thailand (AP) - For the second time in three years, a Thai couple has set a new record for the longest kiss, locking their lips for 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds in a Valentine's Day "kissathon."

Papal conclave largely European club

Space rocks hours apart underscore danger

Police: Talking bird report led to arrest of kidnapper

Man killed after firing shot at airport

Man killed

Judge OKs release of man charged with terror

Fresh off victory, NRA convention underway in Houston

Soccer referee in coma from player's punch

Nation news briefs

SAN DIEGO STUDENTS SUSPENDED FOR 'TWERKING' VIDEO: SAN DIEGO (AP) - Dozens of students at a San Diego high school have been suspended for making a suggestive "twerking" dance video.

J.C. Penney ad apologizes to retail customers

5 year-old shoots 2-year-old sister in Kentucky

Wind-fueled wildfire erupts east of LA

Missing woman, thought dead, surfaces in Fla.

J.C. Penney ad apologizes to retail customers

Ohio executes man who killed, raped 6-month-old

Justice appeals morning-after case

Food, skin allergies increasing in children

FBI: Backpack from Boston suspect's room

Nation news briefs

FROSTY START FOR UPSTATE NY ICE CREAM TRUCK SEASON: GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) - The chilly relationship between rival upstate New York ice cream truck operators got out of hand this season, with Sno Cone Joe trying to chase Mr. Ding-A-Ling out of the market, authorities said Wednesday.