News For Sunday Oct 12, 2008 News For Sunday Oct 12, 2008

U.S. U.S.

Lender drops eviction suit vs. Cook County sheriff - Added 1 day ago

A mortgage lender that tried to force the Cook County sheriff to evict a suburban Chicago woman from her home announced Friday that it has withdrawn its lawsuit. Accredited Home Lenders said in a brief statement it...

What happens after you flush? RI offers new tour - Added 1 day ago

Ever wonder what happens after you yank the chain on the old commode? Rhode Island is offering tours of several wastewater treatment facilities during what its dubbed the first annual "Rhode Island Water Infrastructure...

Woman accused of serving pot-laced cake to guest - Added 1 day ago

West Hartford police said they charged a 51-year-old woman with assault, reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence after she allegedly served a marijuana-tainted ginger cake to her real estate agent. ...

Woman, 72, moves after finding snakes in apartment - Added 1 day ago

When 72-year-old Gladys Dressner first saw two snakes last in her new apartment last month, she froze. Days later, when an eight-inch snake crawled across her bed, she screamed. Finally, after stepping on a baby black...

No Bush league: SC softball champs meet president - Added 1 day ago

Winning the Little League Softball World Series is great. But shaking the president's hand is not exactly Bush league. Just ask the youngsters on the Simpsonville Stars softball squad. The team, which won the series...

Lineup for Sunday news shows - Added 1 day ago

Guest lineup for the Sunday TV news shows: ABC's "This Week" _ Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; Former Treasury secretaries James Baker and Lawrence Summers. ___ CBS' "Face the Nation" _ Sen....

Atheist soldier to leave Army, drops religion suit - Added 1 day ago

An atheist soldier who accused U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Defense Department of violating his religious freedom dropped the lawsuit Friday, citing his plans to leave the Army next spring. But the...

Colin Powell calls Sen. Stevens' word 'sterling' - Added 1 day ago

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday praised Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens' sense of honor at his trial on corruption charges, calling his reputation for honesty and integrity "sterling" in the quarter-century...

A new day for dogs: Pa. law targets puppy mills - Added 1 day ago

Sammy, a Shetland sheepdog, wouldn't touch his food, retreating to a corner of the yard and devouring mouthfuls of dirt _ behavioral oddities his owner later learned came from a lifetime of abuse as a "stud" in a large...

Feds acknowledge Mich. arsonist was key informant - Added 1 day ago

Federal prosecutors are seeking a major sentencing break for an activist who committed arson at Michigan State University, publicly acknowledging for the first time his wide-ranging undercover role in investigations of...

As storm nears, west Texas braces for more floods - Added 1 day ago

Officials planned to activate an emergency operations center in west Texas, where the remnants of Hurricane Norbert are expected to bring rain to already saturated areas, an official said Friday. The storm was expected...

New York teachers sue over ban on campaign buttons - Added 1 day ago

The teachers' union for the nation's largest public school system accused the city on Friday of banning political campaign buttons and sued to reverse the policy, declaring that free speech rights were violated. United...

Stocks got slammed, but was it a `crash'? - Added 1 day ago

Did stocks "crash"? Some news organizations and investors are hesitating to use the word to describe Wall Street's terrifying sell-off. A crash is commonly defined as a 20 percent decline in a single day or several...

Georgia sued over voter citizenship verification - Added 1 day ago

Voting rights groups asked a federal judge Friday to stop Georgia's attempts to verify the identities and citizenship of new voter applicants, arguing they amounted to a "systematic purging" of rolls just weeks before...

Mom of missing Fla. girl can access evidence - Added 1 day ago

!!-- pobj:FLORL102-1009081441 -->The mother of a missing 3-year-old Florida girl will have access to her car and forensic tests completed by authorities trying to figure out what happened to the child, a judge ruled...

Former SF supervisor pleads guilty to corruption - Added 1 day ago

A former San Francisco supervisor pleaded guilty to three felony charges Friday and admitted to trying to shake down city business owners with planning permit problems. Ed Jew resigned from the Board of Supervisors in...

Conn. high court rules gay couples can marry - Added 1 day ago

Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled Friday that gay couples have the right to marry, making the state the third behind Massachusetts and California to legalize such unions. The ruling comes just weeks before Californians...

Economy is overriding issue in governors' races - Added 1 day ago

In his bid to become the next governor of Missouri, Rep. Kenny Hulshof survived a bitter primary that at one point saw the candidates bashing each other for supporting public funding for drugs such as Viagra. Then came...

White House disputes that Bush is hurting markets - Added 1 day ago

President Bush on Friday offered reassuring words to stop the hemorrhaging on Wall Street, but once again the stock market fell. Bush has spoken about the economic chaos on 21 of the last 26 days as the market has been...

Soldier punished in beating of Jewish trainee - Added 1 day ago

An Army trainee will face nonjudicial punishment rather than criminal charges for beating a Jewish soldier so badly he was treated by a hospital, the military said Friday, in a move that keeps many details of the attack...

Would-be King biographer caught in sibling feud - Added 1 day ago

An author and minister who spent hours interviewing Coretta Scott King for her biography said Friday that she may abandon the project because of the drawn-out, public legal feud among the King siblings. In a telephone...

US, India sign unprecedented nuclear deal - Added 1 day ago

The United States and India signed an accord Friday that allows American businesses to sell nuclear fuel, technology and reactors to India, reversing a three-decade ban on atomic trade with the fast-growing...

1 dead, another injured at Mass. construction site - Added 1 day ago

One construction worker is dead and another seriously injured after a hydraulic lift platform collapsed in Massachusetts. Police say the men were working on the lift Friday when it toppled over. They fell about 25 feet...

Bush says financial rescue plan big enough to work - Added 1 day ago

!!-- AUDIO:039,038,037,229,228 -->President Bush said Friday that the government's financial rescue plan was aggressive enough and big enough to work, but would take time to fully kick in. "We can solve this crisis and...

Vultures circle Wall Street, but hesitate to feed - Added 1 day ago

When financial panic sweeps Bedford Falls in the 1946 movie "It's a Wonderful Life," the villain, Mr. Potter, moves to snap up the Bailey Bros. Building and Loan, offering a fire-sale price of 50 cents on the dollar. ...

Judge: Castroneves can race in Australia - Added 1 day ago

A Miami judge has agreed to modify bail conditions on tax charges so Helio Castroneves can race later this month in Australia. The Brazilian race car driver and 2007 "Dancing With The Stars" champ had been barred from...

Mo. man gets death sentence in taped sex killing - Added 1 day ago

A suburban Kansas City man who videotaped the death of a woman he suffocated during sex has been sentenced to death. Richard Davis was sentenced Friday for killing 41-year-old Marsha Spicer in May 2006. A jury...

Suicide-prevention net under Golden Gate endorsed - Added 1 day ago

A stainless steel net may soon hang underneath the Golden Gate Bridge to stop people from attempting suicide by jumping off. The board that governs the world-famous bridge voted Friday after considering several other...

Iraq contractor gets 3 years in child porn case - Added 1 day ago

A federal judge rejected arguments Friday from a former civilian contractor in Iraq who said his sentence for possessing child pornography should be lighter to more closely align with what military personnel would face....

Man, 88, fatally shoots ailing wife at NJ hospital - Added 1 day ago

An elderly man fatally shot his ailing wife in her hospital bed Friday and was in critical condition after turning the gun on himself, an official said. Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy would not say whether...

Financial meltdown hits ivory towers - Added 1 day ago

For many colleges, the last 15 years have been a golden age. Philanthropy and Americans' grudging tolerance for high tuition fueled an unprecedented boom _ investments in everything from gyms, dorms and labs to faculty...

10 years after Shepard, no federal hate crime law - Added 1 day ago

Matthew Shepard's mother still mourns lost opportunities to battle hate crimes and promote a greater tolerance of gays in the 10 years since her 21-year-old son was beaten, tied to a wooden fence and left for dead in a...

Man wins $200K in Powerball twice in same year - Added 1 day ago

For a Kansas City man, 2008 has been a great year when it comes to playing the Missouri Lottery. Arthur Watkins, 53, has won slightly more than $400,000 in two Powerball drawings within a four-month period. Missouri...

For military, bad economy aids recruiting - Added 1 day ago

The tough economy could make it easier to sign up soldiers. Fewer civilian jobs mean less competition for military recruiters. "We do benefit when things look less positive in civil society," David Chu, the Pentagon's...

Woman allegedly pours hot water on husband's groin - Added 1 day ago

Authorities say a woman has been arrested in west Florida after pouring scalding hot water on her husband's groin. Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a 52-year-old woman on Wednesday on a charge of...

Cops nab pair in same vehicle for drunken driving - Added 1 day ago

Fargo police said two men were arrested for drunken driving in the same vehicle. Police Lt. Pat Claus said an officer pulled over a 23-year-old man early Thursday morning. Claus said while that man was taking a sobriety...

Kan. tribal 'secretary of state' gets prison term - Added 1 day ago

The "secretary of state" of a group that claims to be an American Indian tribe was sentenced Friday to one year and one day in prison for encouraging illegal immigrants to live in the U.S. Debra Flynn, also known as...

La. state senator pleads guilty in laundering case - Added 1 day ago

!!-- pobj:LAJB105-1010081020 -->!!-- pobj:LAJB102-1009082222 -->!!-- pobj:LAJB103-1009082220 -->A Louisiana state senator has submitted his resignation after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. ...

Russia's Putin gets tiger cub for his birthday - Added 1 day ago

There's no doubt what Vladimir Putin's favorite birthday present is this year _ a rare Ussuri tiger cub. State television showed the Russian prime minister tenderly petting the 2-month-old female cub Friday at his...

Scientists: Virginia shark's pup a 'virgin birth' - Added 1 day ago

Scientists have confirmed the second case of a "virgin birth" in a shark. In a study reported Friday in the Journal of Fish Biology, scientists said DNA testing proved that a pup carried by a female Atlantic blacktip...

Cambodian couple saw house in half in divorce - Added 1 day ago

A couple in rural Cambodia has terminated their 18-year marriage with a divorce settlement that entailed sawing in two the wooden house they once shared, villagers said Friday. The husband, 42-year-old Moeun Sarim, has...

Okla. abortion ultrasound requirement challenged - Added 1 day ago

An advocacy group is suing over an Oklahoma law that prohibits a woman from getting an abortion unless she first has an ultrasound and the doctor describes to her what the fetus looks like. In the lawsuit filed...

Court considers case on judicial ethics - Added 1 day ago

Supreme Court justices regularly confront cases involving companies they own shares in or that employ a family member. The decision is easy _ the justices have a conflict of interest that forces them to play no role in...

Rat-hunting woman causes NC school lockdown - Added 1 day ago

Police in North Carolina say a woman hunting rats on her property caused a scare at a neighboring public school. The Times-News of Hendersonville reported Friday that a bus driver saw the woman and officials thought she...

D.C. Uighurs wait to take in Gitmo detainees - Added 1 day ago

For centuries, hospitality to weary travelers has been part of the Uighur culture. The Uighur land in what is now the far western province of China carried merchants traversing the famed Silk Road. So in many ways it...

Gates: More troops needed during Afghan elections - Added 1 day ago

Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked NATO allies Friday to consider increasing troop levels in Afghanistan next year during the elections, a move made for past votes in Iraq. Gates said there was no discussion of the...

Mich. teen pleads guilty to poisoning grandma - Added 1 day ago

A 16-year-old Michigan girl has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for poisoning her grandmother with morphine. Kristina Adkins entered the plea Friday in a packed courtroom in the southeastern Michigan town of...

Ask AP: Somali pirates, disabled presidents-elect - Added 1 day ago

They come from a failed state whose people are desperately poor. So how have Somali pirates managed to take control of large commercial ships and hold them for days, even weeks? A reader's curiosity about the pirates'...

Turbulence injures passengers on flight to Miami - Added 1 day ago

Paramedics at Miami International Airport treated at least six passengers who complained of bumps and bruises from turbulence Friday on an American Airlines flight from Argentina, authorities said. At least one...

AP NewsBreak: AC to have 7-day smoking ban - Added 1 day ago

Atlantic City gambling floors will go smoke-free for seven days before allowing visitors to light up again because the city can't legally stop a smoking ban from taking effect, the city council president said Friday. ...