National News
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W.Va. mine boss charged with fraud in deadly blast
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Federal prosecutors investigating the West Virginia coal mine explosion that killed 29 men are working their way up the corporate ladder with criminal charges. On Wednesday, the former superintendent of the Upper Big Branch mine became the highest-ranking company official charged in the 2010 disaster, and he is apparently cooperating with prosecutors, who said the investigation
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UC Davis students sue over pepper-spray incident
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California university where campus police pepper-sprayed peaceful student demonstrators last year is facing a federal lawsuit. Nineteen students and alumni at the University of California, Davis filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Sacramento on Tuesday. The lawsuit is the latest fallout from the Nov. 18 incident, when campus police pepper-sprayed sitting protesters who
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Feds award health overhaul grants to 10 states
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials say another 10 states are getting a total of $230 million to set up new health insurance markets under President Barack Obama's overhaul. Seven of them — Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania — have either adopted a plan or are making substantial headway. But a recent Associated Press analysis found
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Jump in home sales
WASHINGTON (AP) — Home sales rose in January to the highest pace in nearly two years, flashing signs of health ahead of the spring-buying season. The National Association of Realtors says home sales increased 4.3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million. That's the highest level since May 2010. Sales have risen in three of
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Obama seeks 28 percent corporate tax rate
WASHINGTON (AP) — Laying down an election-year marker in the debate over taxes, the Obama administration is proposing to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent, and to seek an even lower effective rate for manufacturers, a senior administration official says. In turn, corporations would have to give up dozens of loopholes and subsidies that they
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Prop. 8 backers seek review of gay marriage case
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Same-sex couples in California will have to wait a while to find out if they have regained the right to get married, after the backers of the state's gay marriage ban petitioned a federal appeals court to review a split decision by three of its judges that struck down Proposition 8. Lawyers for a coalition of
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Five killed in spa murder-suicide
NORCROSS, Ga. (AP) — Five people died when a gunman opened fire in a Korean health spa in an Atlanta suburb and police called the shooting a murder-suicide. Surveillance video showed a man walking into the Su Jung Health Sauna on Tuesday night and getting into an argument with someone, then opening fire, police said. "It appears he walked in,
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'Occupy' to hold national conference
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A group of protesters affiliated with Occupy Wall Street plan to elect 876 "delegates" around the country and hold a national 'general assembly' in Philadelphia over the Fourth of July. The "99% Declaration Working Group" said in a statement Wednesday delegates would be elected in an online election in early June from all 50 states, the District
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Poll finds Santorum surges but Obama leads Republicans
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new survey shows that a surging Rick Santorum is running even with Mitt Romney atop the Republican presidential field, but neither candidate is faring well against President Barack Obama eight months before Americans vote. The Associated Press-GfK poll shows Obama topping 50 percent support when matched against each of the four GOP candidates and holding a
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Panel says seniors should get whooping cough shots
ATLANTA (AP) — A federal advisory panel is recommending that all Americans age 65 and older get vaccinated against whooping cough. Health officials believe whooping cough is underreported in older adults. But a goal of Wednesday's recommendation is to prevent older adults from spreading the disease to infants, who are most vulnerable. The shot is already recommended for younger adults
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Passenger fatally injured at NY Amtrak station
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities in Rochester say they're investigating the death of a man who was found injured on the tracks at the city's Amtrak station. Police tell Rochester media outlets that emergency crews were called to the station early Wednesday morning after Amtrak employees reported finding an injured person on the tracks after a Chicago-bound train had departed.
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Loughner's lawyers ask judge to reconsider ruling
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Attorneys for the suspect in the Tucson shooting that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords are objecting to prosecutors' receiving a prison psychologist's personal notes on their client. A federal judge ruled last week that prosecutors can see most of the 62 pages of notes that Dr. Christina Pietz made during Jared Lee Loughner's previous four-month restoration commitment
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Federal judge delays Utah immigration law ruling
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal judge is postponing a decision on Utah's immigration enforcement law until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a similar law in Arizona. U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups says there are enough similarities between the Utah and Arizona laws to justify the delay. A previous order putting the Utah law on hold will
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Ex-Palin aide fined for using confidential emails
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A former aide to Sarah Palin has been fined for violating the state's ethics law. The Anchorage Daily News reports Frank Bailey was fined just under $12,000 for using confidential emails he obtained while a member of Palin's gubernatorial staff to write a tell-all book. A message left by The Associated Press with Bailey on his
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Authorities say they stopped major phone fraud
CHICAGO (AP) — U.S. authorities say they've foiled a major debt-collecting scam that generated at least eight million fraudulent calls from India since 2010 and bilked more than 10,000 victims all across the United States. The Federal Trade Commission's Midwest director made the announcement Tuesday in Chicago. Steven Baker says it's likely there are many other similar scams where callers
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Feds loan $638M for health co-ops in eight states
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Obama administration is awarding loans totaling more than $638 million to start up new health care cooperatives serving eight states. The government says the new nonprofit health insurers will be run by their customers and will be designed to offer coverage to individuals and small businesses. Awards were announced Tuesday for co-ops serving Montana, Iowa,
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White House apologizes for Quran burning
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is apologizing for the burning of Muslim holy books in a pile of garbage at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan. Press secretary Jay Carney says it's a "deeply unfortunate incident" and doesn't reflect the respect the U.S. military has for the religious practices of the Afghan people. Carney echoed military officials Tuesday in
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Prosecutors oppose Jackson doctor's bail bid
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County prosecutors are opposing Dr. Conrad Murray's bid for release on bail while he appeals his conviction of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson's death. In a written motion, they say Murray would be a danger to the community and a flight risk if he was out of jail. Murray was found guilty after a
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New suppliers to ease two cancer drug shortages
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Federal regulators say they've approved new suppliers for two crucial cancer drugs, easing critical shortages — at least for the time being — that have patients worried about missing life-saving treatments. The Food and Drug Administration will temporarily allow importation of a replacement drug for Doxil, a drug for ovarian and other cancers that hasn't been
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High court to take new look at affirmative action
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will once again confront the issue of race in university admissions in a case brought by a white student denied a spot at the flagship campus of the University of Texas. The court said Tuesday it will return to the issue of affirmative action in higher education for the first time since its 2003
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Hepatitis C deaths up
WASHINGTON (AP) — Deaths from liver-destroying hepatitis C are on the rise, and new data shows baby boomers especially should take heed — they are most at risk. Federal health officials are considering whether anyone born between 1945 and 1965 should get a one-time blood test to check if their livers harbor this ticking time bomb. The reason: Two-thirds of
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Search continues for Idaho woman and kids
PHOENIX (AP) — Authorities say an Idaho woman accused of taking her three children in a custody squabble may be in the Phoenix metropolitan area on the way to Mexico. The FBI in Salt Lake City says an Amber Alert was issued Sunday morning for a nine-year-old boy and two girls, ages five and seven. They say 35-year-old Bertha Sabala
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Yale president objects to monitoring of Muslims
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — The president of Yale University is objecting to the monitoring of Muslim student association websites by the New York Police Department and says the university's police department was not involved. The Associated Press reported Saturday that an NYPD intelligence unit visited the websites, blogs and forums of Muslim student associations at Yale and other universities
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Quake shakes nine states
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The damage is minor but a 4.0 earthquake centered in Missouri has given people in nine states a reminder that they live in one of the continent's most active seismic areas. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake occurred in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, a 150-mile stretch between Memphis and St. Louis that crosses parts
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11 children removed from home in abuse case
DAYTON, Texas (AP) — Texas authorities have removed 11 children from a home after finding some restrained by harnesses and discovering other signs of abuse. Child Protective Services spokeswoman Gwen Carter says 10 adults also were living in the one-story, 1,700-square-foot home in Dayton, about 30 miles northeast of Houston. The children ranged in age from five months to 11