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; ...

Man convicted of starving son, dumping body

Charges dropped in ricin letters sent to Obama

School district gets bulletproof whiteboards

New York City proposes raising age for cigarette purchases to age 21

Odd News

VIETNAM POLICE SEIZE 53 KING COBRAS FROM CAR: HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Vietnamese police say they have seized 53 king cobras from a car in Hanoi and arrested the driver.

Bill jeopardizes tax-free online shopping

Teen arrested in T-shirt flap back in class

Campbell ends touring career, to release new album

Flight delays pile up amid FAA cuts

Boston bombing suspect charged

Bomb suspect had 2 outbursts at mosque

Nation news briefs

NH KILLER APOLOGIZES TO MACHETE VICTIM'S FAMILY : MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - A man convicted of hacking a woman to death with a machete and maiming her daughter during a home invasion has ordered his lawyers not to argue for a reduced sentence, and said in a statement Monday that he doesn't deserve or expect forgiveness.