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Ex-Texas Gov. Ann Richards dies
Sep 13 2006 11:41PM (CT)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Former Gov. Ann Richards, the witty and flamboyant Democrat who went from homemaker to national political celebrity, died Wednesday night after a battle with cancer, a family spokeswoman said. She was 73.
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Mont. fire doubles; evacuation ordered
Sep 13 2006 11:08PM (CT)
LIVINGSTON, Mont. (AP) - A wildfire in an area peppered with property owned by celebrities nearly doubled in size Wednesday, prompting evacuation orders for about 325 homes.
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'Bomb whisperer' case dropped
Sep 13 2006 11:08PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Prosecutors dropped all charges Wednesday against a man who claimed an airport security guard misheard him as saying he had a bomb when he told her he was carrying a sexual device in his backpack.
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Wiccan sign allowed on soldier's plaque
Sep 13 2006 11:06PM (CT)
RENO, Nev. (AP) - The widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan won state approval Wednesday to place a Wiccan religious symbol on his memorial plaque, something the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had refused.
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Ex-mayor arrested in officer's death
Sep 13 2006 11:04PM (CT)
BRIER, Wash. (AP) - A police officer died in a struggle with the ex-mayor of this Seattle suburb while responding to a call for aid at the man's home, authorities said Wednesday.
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Helene forms; Gordon becomes Category 3
Sep 13 2006 10:30PM (CT)
MIAMI (AP) - Tropical Storm Helene developed from a tropical depression in the open Atlantic late Wednesday, while Hurricane Gordon strengthened into a powerful Category 3 hurricane and the remnants of Hurricane Florence brought high winds and heavy rain to Newfoundland in Canada, forecasters said.
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DUI charges in DeGeneres crash
Sep 13 2006 10:13PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A woman involved in a traffic collision with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has been charged with drunken driving, authorities said.
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Dwarf planet named after Greek goddess
Sep 13 2006 9:53PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A distant, icy rock whose discovery shook up the solar system and led to Pluto's planetary demise has been given a name: Eris.
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Officer says Marine should stand trial
Sep 13 2006 9:52PM (CT)
SAN DIEGO (AP) - An investigating officer recommended a court martial for a Marine accused of participating in the kidnapping and murdering of an Iraqi civilian, an attorney said Wednesday.
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Reports list items in suspects' home
Sep 13 2006 9:48PM (CT)
PHOENIX (AP) - Police found a T-shirt with white supremacist symbols and more than a dozen firearms among items in an apartment shared by two men accused in a shooting spree that terrorized the Phoenix area for months.
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Man sentenced for burning ex-girlfriend
Sep 13 2006 9:43PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A man who admitted killing his ex-girlfriend by setting her on fire with gasoline as her young son watched was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years to life in prison.
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Detroit teachers vote to end walkout
Sep 13 2006 9:26PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Teachers voted Wednesday to end their more than two-week strike and pave the way for Detroit's 130,000 students to return to their classrooms on Thursday, seven school days late.
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Ioke damaged 70 buildings on Wake Island
Sep 13 2006 9:24PM (CT)
HONOLULU (AP) - The Central Pacific's biggest storm in a decade damaged 70 percent of the buildings on Wake Island when it slammed ashore last month, the U.S. Air Force said Wednesday.
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Ky. airport halts taxiway project
Sep 13 2006 9:18PM (CT)
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - The city's airport has halted plans to build a new taxiway while authorities investigate the crash of a jet that taxied onto the wrong runway, killing 49 people, the facility's director said Wednesday.
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Deal reached on restoring Calif. river
Sep 13 2006 9:12PM (CT)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Water dammed for more than half a century will be returned to the San Joaquin River by 2009 in one of the West's largest river restoration projects, according to a settlement filed Wednesday.
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Trial for 2 men in terror case begins
Sep 13 2006 9:11PM (CT)
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A defense attorney attacked the credibility of an FBI informant who posed as an arms dealer in a fictitious plot to kill a Pakistani diplomat, as the trial of two men accused of supporting terrorism began Wednesday.
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Chaplain convicted of disobeying order
Sep 13 2006 9:02PM (CT)
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A military jury found a Navy chaplain guilty Wednesday of disobeying an order by appearing in uniform at a White House protest.
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Chicago 'living wage' turned back
Sep 13 2006 9:00PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - The so-called "living-wage" ordinance that would have required mega-retailers here to pay their workers higher wages was successfully turned back Wednesday as supporters on the City Council could not muster enough votes to override Mayor Richard Daley's veto.
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Ex-prosecutor's bribery trial begins
Sep 13 2006 8:46PM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - A lawyer for a former chief prosecutor accused of helping a convicted rapist get a new trial in exchange for campaign contributions tried to cast him as an ethical man as his trial began Wednesday.
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Mother of missing boy commits suicide
Sep 13 2006 8:35PM (CT)
LEESBURG, Fla. (AP) - Two weeks after telling police that her son had been snatched from his crib, Melinda Duckett found herself reeling in an interview with TV's famously prosecutorial Nancy Grace. Before it was over, Grace was pounding her desk and loudly demanding to know: "Where were you? Why aren't you telling us where you were that day?"
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Authorities search for bank robber
Sep 13 2006 8:35PM (CT)
DOLTON, Ill. (AP) - An apparent bank robbery attempt that police feared had turned into a hostage situation ended peacefully Wednesday, but police were still searching for the robber.
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Police shoot student in St. Louis suburb
Sep 13 2006 8:02PM (CT)
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Police shot and wounded a student at a suburban school Wednesday after he pointed a gun at himself, then at police, authorities said.
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Suit claims UAE rulers enslaved boys
Sep 13 2006 8:01PM (CT)
MIAMI (AP) - Rulers of the United Arab Emirates were accused in a lawsuit of enslaving tens of thousands of boys over three decades and forcing them to work as jockeys in the popular sport of camel racing.
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Mo. atty gen cleared in ethics complaint
Sep 13 2006 7:34PM (CT)
ST. LOUIS (AP) - The state ethics commission has dismissed a complaint alleging that the attorney general's campaign accepted more than $19,000 from a company while his office was investigating it.
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Corps to redesign repairs for Fla. dike
Sep 13 2006 7:09PM (CT)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - The Army Corps of Engineers agreed Wednesday to redesign plans to repair a dike that experts say is in danger of failing if a hurricane strikes.
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Women in hit-run deaths plead not guilty
Sep 13 2006 7:04PM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two women pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that they killed two homeless men in hit-and-run crashes so they could collect on the victims' life insurance.
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Judge says ex-diplomat can be extradited
Sep 13 2006 6:45PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A former Bosnian ambassador to the United Nations can be extradited to his homeland to face allegations he stole more than $2.4 million of the Bosnian government's money, a judge ruled.
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Former N.J. gov. tells Oprah of affair
Sep 13 2006 6:14PM (CT)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Former Gov. James E. McGreevey revealed during an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he was having an affair with another man while his wife was hospitalized for the birth of their child, according to audience members.
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Hundreds mourn 6 killed in Chicago fire
Sep 13 2006 5:58PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - Hundreds of residents from a working-class neighborhood gathered Wednesday behind six white caskets at the funeral for the children killed in an apartment fire over Labor Day weekend.
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Ex-fugitive arraigned in jailbreak
Sep 13 2006 5:44PM (CT)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Ralph "Bucky" Phillips, accused of killing a trooper and wounding two others during more than five months on the lam, was charged Wednesday in a jail escape that preceded one of the largest manhunts in state history.
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Abuse victims to address priests
Sep 13 2006 5:39PM (CT)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Cardinal Justin Rigali is calling together hundreds of priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese to hear from two people who were sexually abused by Roman Catholic clerics.
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Texas court to reconsider DeLay charge
Sep 13 2006 5:33PM (CT)
AUSTIN (AP) - Texas' highest criminal appeals court agreed Wednesday to consider reinstating a conspiracy charge against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a move that could delay his trial until next year.
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Son of ex-Liberian pres. to plead guilty
Sep 13 2006 5:24PM (CT)
MIAMI (AP) - The son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor told a federal judge Wednesday that he will plead guilty to charges of lying about his father's true identity on a passport used to enter the United States.
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Wildfire-burned acres sets 45-year high
Sep 13 2006 4:30PM (CT)
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Wildfires across the country have scorched more land in 2006 than in any year since at least 1960, burning an area twice the size of New Jersey.
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Mont. ballot proposals thrown out
Sep 13 2006 4:15PM (CT)
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Three ballot proposals to limit state spending, make it easier to recall judges and increase property rights protections were thrown out Wednesday by a judge who said signatures gathered to support them were obtained through deception and fraud.
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Church trial in Presbyterian gay case
Sep 13 2006 4:03PM (CT)
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A Presbyterian minister has been charged with breaking church law for performing a marriage between two women.
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Many La. homeowners plan to rebuild
Sep 13 2006 3:52PM (CT)
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - More than half of the first batch of Louisiana homeowners to apply for federal housing aid because of damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita want to rebuild rather than accept buyouts and move.
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No deal at Episcopal meeting
Sep 13 2006 3:40PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Inching toward a break with the church over homosexuality, conservative Episcopal bishops failed to win approval Wednesday for their request to stay in the denomination without answering to its national leader, who supports gay relationships.
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Judge says ex-diplomat can be extradited
Sep 13 2006 3:33PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A former Bosnian ambassador to the United Nations can be extradited to his homeland to face allegations he stole more than $2.4 million of his government's money, a judge ruled.
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Gotti mob charges thrown out second time
Sep 13 2006 2:43PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - For the second time, a judge on Wednesday tossed out new racketeering charges filed against John "Junior" Gotti, finding the evidence introduced at his trial insufficient to support a conviction.
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County may take over FEMA trailer park
Sep 13 2006 2:13PM (CT)
PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (AP) - County officials are considering taking over a Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer park whose remaining residents face eviction more than two years after they were left homeless by Hurricane Charley.
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Scandal hits Baltimore police unit
Sep 13 2006 2:11PM (CT)
BALTIMORE (AP) - Dozens of criminal cases have been thrown out because of misconduct allegations against a specialized police unit, allegations that have led the department to reassign all seven of the unit's members to desk jobs.
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Terror informant seeks Sen. Clinton help
Sep 13 2006 2:00PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - An unusual exchange of letters between an undercover informant and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's office has apparently angered authorities and may have complicated the case of a man convicted of plotting to bomb a busy subway station.
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Montana Capitol briefly evacuated
Sep 13 2006 1:56PM (CT)
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - The state Capitol and nearby Montana Historical Society were temporarily evacuated early Wednesday because of a natural gas leak.
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Super Bowl crash driver says he panicked
Sep 13 2006 1:44PM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - An SUV driver charged with manslaughter after he plowed into a group of Super Bowl fans testified at trial Wednesday that he panicked because people in the raucous crowd were attacking his vehicle.
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Kansas town adopts tough drug testing
Sep 13 2006 1:32PM (CT)
EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) - Random drug testing of student athletes has become as routine as study hall and lunch at many high schools across the country. But this factory town outside Wichita is taking testing to the extreme.
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Photos said not to depict missing boy
Sep 13 2006 12:48PM (CT)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The photos of bound and gagged boys that were sent to an Iowa woman whose son disappeared 24 years ago were investigated in the late 1970s and are not her missing son, a retired Florida sheriff's investigators said Wednesday.
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Man charged with drowning son in bathtub
Sep 13 2006 12:31PM (CT)
FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) - A man who police say confessed to drowning his 4-year-old son in a bathtub has been charged with murder in what could become a death penalty case.
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73-year-old guilty of killing neighbor
Sep 13 2006 11:58AM (CT)
EASTON, Pa. (AP) - A judge convicted a 73-year-old woman of first-degree murder Wednesday for killing her older neighbor with 37 hammer blows to the head and sentenced her to life in prison without parole.
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Wis. teen charged in group sex assault
Sep 13 2006 11:55AM (CT)
MILWAUKEE (AP) - A fifth person was charged in the case of an 11-year-old girl who authorities say had sex with as many as 20 people as a 16-year-old girl coached her.
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John Mark Karr faces porn charges
Sep 13 2006 10:45AM (CT)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - John Mark Karr returned to California with considerably less attention than when he last arrived in the state as a one-time suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey slaying.
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Shooting victims say no death penalty
Sep 13 2006 10:22AM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - The last of five women who were wounded in a deadly shooting spree at the Jewish Federation office is out of the hospital, and she and another victim say a man charged should not face the death penalty.
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11 L.A. gang members face RICO charges
Sep 13 2006 8:37AM (CT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Eleven members and associates of a notorious street gang have been indicted on federal racketeering charges of using threats and violence to control the drug trade near downtown Los Angeles.
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Lawsuit says gov't funds Christian goals
Sep 13 2006 8:10AM (CT)
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - A group is suing the federal government over grant money that went to a marriage counseling center, saying the Bush administration's initiative to support faith-based organizations has been used to unconstitutionally promote a fundamentalist Christian agenda.
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Former Fla. teacher says 'sex sells'
Sep 13 2006 5:45AM (CT)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A former middle-school teacher serving house arrest for having sex with a 14-year-old pupil said in a television interview that she was a deeply troubled woman at the time and "crossed the line that never should've been crossed."
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Passenger disrupts cross-country flight
Sep 13 2006 5:32AM (CT)
CHANTILLY, Va. (AP) - A man wearing military fatigues and throwing punches into the air tried to open the exit door of a jet during a cross-country flight on Tuesday night, airline officials and passengers said.
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Man gives 100M to Yeshiva University
Sep 13 2006 5:02AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - An oil executive has donated $100 million to Yeshiva University _ the largest gift in the school's 120-year history _ to further undergraduate Jewish education, the university announced.
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Arizona GOP primary won by conservative
Sep 13 2006 4:53AM (CT)
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Former state lawmaker Randy Graf won the GOP primary for an open U.S. House seat despite lobbying from the National Republican Congressional Committee against his candidacy.
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Astronauts do construction on station
Sep 13 2006 4:44AM (CT)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - For a second day in a row, astronauts began toiling like construction workers during a six-hour spacewalk, bringing to life a new 17 1/2-ton addition to the international space station Wednesday.
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Soros gives $50M to anti-poverty project
Sep 13 2006 4:34AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Billionaire financier and global philanthropist George Soros has dedicated $50 million to the anti-poverty work of the Millennium Village project in Africa, his largest commitment to a single entity in almost a decade.
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Islamic TV network widens reach in U.S.
Sep 13 2006 2:25AM (CT)
DETROIT (AP) - Dissatisfaction with media coverage following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks prompted banker Mo Hassan to quit his job to create a television channel aimed at fostering understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims.
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Meredith Vieira makes 'Today' debut
Sep 13 2006 1:44AM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - Her alarm clock set for before dawn, Meredith Vieira was to make her debut Wednesday as Matt Lauer's new partner on NBC's "Today" show, morning television's most popular program for more than a decade.
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