22 dead in Mo., Okla., Ga. after more storms
SENECA, Mo. (AP) -- Stunned survivors picked through the little that was left of their communities Sunday after tornadoes tore across the Plains and South, killing at least 22 people in three states and leaving behind a trail of destruction and stories of loss....
Families will make case for vaccine link to autism
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Families claiming that a mercury-based preservative in vaccines triggers autism will challenge mainstream medicine Monday as they take their case to a federal court....
AP IMPACT: Number of disabled veterans rising
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Increasing numbers of U.S. troops have left the military with damaged bodies and minds, an ever-larger pool of disabled veterans that will cost the nation billions for decades to come - even as the total population of America's vets shrinks....
53 illegal immigrants held against will in Phoenix
PHOENIX (AP) -- Fifty-three illegal immigrants found Sunday had been held against their will in a fortified home by suspected smugglers demanding more money, authorities said....
Brush fires force home evacuations in Florida
MALABAR, Fla. (AP) -- Brush fires forced residents to flee more than 500 homes in central Florida on Sunday and closed a major interstate, authorities said....
Minivan flips on western Pennsylvania interstate; 6 killed
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Pa. (AP) -- A minivan crossed an interstate median, flipped and was hit by another vehicle in western Pennsylvania, killing six of seven people on board, state police said Sunday....
Medical helicopter crash in Wis. kills doctor, nurse, pilot
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A medical helicopter dropped off a patient and then crashed shortly after it took off on its return flight to Madison, killing the surgeon, nurse and pilot on board, officials said Sunday....
Scientists probe recent coyote attacks in California
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The coyote was limping as it approached a girl in a sand box at a public park - but it was still dangerous. It snapped its jaws on the girl's buttocks and her nanny had to pry the toddler from the wild animal....
Ex-Ill. sergeant accused of rape to go on trial
Four times between the winters of 2002 and 2005, a blue-eyed man wearing a ski mask and dark clothes crept quietly into the bedrooms of women in Bloomington, Ill., and raped them....
Confusing ballot designs still plague elections
The solution should have been a no-brainer, voting experts say. After all, it was a badly designed ballot that enflamed the 2000 election meltdown and introduced the vagaries of chads to the political lexicon - pregnant, hanging and otherwise....
2008 valedictorian is different kind of 'Morehouse Man'
ATLANTA (AP) -- From his first day at Morehouse College - the country's only institution of higher learning dedicated to the education of black men - Joshua Packwood has been a standout....
Mother's Day celebration reaches 100th anniversary
GRAFTON, W.Va. (AP) -- On this 100th anniversary of Mother's Day, the woman credited with creating one of the world's most celebrated holidays probably wouldn't be pleased with all the flowers, candy or gifts....
Nursery programs allow imprisoned moms, newborns to bond
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Three-week-old Kevin fussed in mother Melissa Lankey's arms until she started singing softly to him, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." The newborn began dozing within seconds....
AP Exclusive: Ex-manager says O.J. Simpson confessed
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A memorabilia dealer who profited from O.J. Simpson for many years is the latest former crony to write a tell-all book, this one alleging a groggy Simpson, high on marijuana, confessed to killing his ex-wife after he was acquitted....
Emily, Jacob again top list of most popular baby names
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Emily again topped the list of most popular baby girl names last year, registering as No. 1 for the 12th straight time. Jacob led among names for boys for the ninth year in a row....
More 'virtual fencing' in cards for Arizona, Michigan
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- A second section of the government's heavily criticized "virtual fence" is planned on the Arizona-Mexico border, and a third could be tested near Detroit by the end of the year, a Boeing Co. official said....
5 bodies, including 3 children, found in northeast Houston
HOUSTON (AP) -- The bodies of five people, including three young children, were found Saturday afternoon on a sprawling property with several structures in northeast Houston, police said....
Lawyer says young Philly jet-setter nearing plea in ID case
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A former college student accused of stealing people's credit to travel the world with her Ivy League boyfriend is nearing a federal plea deal, her lawyer said....
Human smuggler gets life in prison for wreck that killed 10
PHOENIX (AP) -- A man who crashed an overloaded sport utility vehicle, killing 10 illegal immigrants while fleeing U.S. Border Patrol agents, has been sentenced to life in federal prison....
Journalist facing fines urges press to protect 1st Amendment
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A former USA Today reporter facing fines for failing to reveal her sources for stories about the 2001 anthrax attacks said Saturday that news organizations need to go on the offensive in the fight to protect the First Amendment....
NYPD disciplines white officer who stopped black commander
NEW YORK (AP) -- A white police officer was disciplined for acting "in a discourteous manner" when he confronted a black motorist who turned out to be one of the highest-ranking commanders in the New York City Police Department, an agency spokesman said Saturday....
Ohio Dems strip embattled attorney general of endorsement
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Ohio Democratic Party no longer considers scandal-plagued Attorney General Marc Dann one of its own, voting Saturday to strip an officeholder of his endorsement for the first time in the organization's history....
Maine shipyard christens destroyer named for Vietnam POW
BATH, Maine (AP) -- The Navy's newest guided missile destroyer was christened Saturday with the name of a fighter pilot who spent 7 1/2 years in captivity in North Vietnam, received the Medal of Honor and served as presidential candidate Ross Perot's running mate....
Mother's Day holiday celebrates 100th anniversary
The Mother's Day holiday celebrates it's 100th anniversary this year. The U.S. Census Bureau provides the following numbers about mom's in the United States:...
School districts start to face sanctions under landmark law
THERMAL, Calif. (AP) -- At Las Palmitas Elementary School, nestled between rundown homes and fields of grapes, peppers and dates in Southern California, 99 percent of students live in poverty and fewer than 20 percent speak English fluently....
Huge Texas sinkhole's appetite decreasing, officials say
DAISETTA, Texas (AP) -- Geologists said a 260-foot-deep sinkhole that grew to the length of three football fields over just two days seemed to be slowing down Thursday, but that it could take months before it's clear whether surrounding areas are stable....
Records show Sharpton owes overdue taxes, other penalties
NEW YORK (AP) -- Big corporations give him money. Presidential candidates seek his endorsement. He has influential friends in Congress and the governor's mansion. The Rev. Al Sharpton has emerged over the past decade as perhaps the nation's most prominent civil rights leader, a status that was demonstrated again this week when he led protests against police brutality that briefly shut down six of Manhattan's major bridges and tunnels....
Mo. woman pleads, will be sentenced in stolen baby attack
UNION, Mo. (AP) -- A woman who slashed a young mother and kidnapped her newborn entered into a plea deal Friday, and the prosecutor revealed additional details of the 2006 attack - including that the victim was stabbed repeatedly and her toddler son was tied up....
Lawyer: DC sniper now wants to fight his death sentence
McLEAN, Va. (AP) -- Convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad has changed his mind again and now wants to go forward with a federal appeal of his conviction and death sentence, according to his lawyers....
Anti-illegal immigration group wants San Diego highway sign
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- When members of an anti-illegal immigration group offered to sponsor litter cleanup on local roads, they never imagined California officials would offer them an Adopt-a-Highway stretch near a Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 5, the main artery carrying illegal migrants north from the U.S.-Mexico border....
Hundreds brawl at LA high school, broken up by police
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A fight that broke out at a troubled South Los Angeles school escalated into a campuswide brawl involving as many as 600 students before it was quelled by police in riot gear....
FBI video shows powerful explosion at San Diego courthouse
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The FBI released surveillance video Friday of a powerful pipe bomb explosion that shattered big windows at a federal courthouse and filled the lobby with smoke....
Kids, mom lived with 90-year-old's corpse for weeks in Wis.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Two children and their mother lived for about two months with the decaying body of a 90-year-old woman on the toilet of their home's only bathroom, on the advice of a religious "superior" who claimed the corpse would come back to life, authorities said Friday....
Dig for human remains to begin at ranch where Manson hid
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- The sheriff of the remote region where Charles Manson hid after a killing spree in the summer of 1969 said Friday that he will allow researchers to begin digging into the sandy soil in search of possible human remains....
6.7 quake jolts Guam; no damage or injuries reported
HAGATNA, Guam (AP) -- An undersea earthquake off Guam with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 shook the U.S. territory Saturday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey said....
Judge: Japanese man can be absent from LA courtroom
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Japanese man accused of killing his wife can be absent from a Los Angeles courtroom when his attorney argues for the charges to be dismissed, a judge said Friday....
Bush declares northern Maine federal disaster after floods
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- President Bush declared a northern Maine county a federal disaster on Friday after historic flooding that destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes this month....
