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Wisconsin Democrat sentenced to prison
Dec 15 2005 11:53PM (CT)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A former Democratic Wisconsin Senate leader was sentenced to nine months in jail Thursday for felony misconduct in office and illegally funneling campaign contributions.
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Deadline looms on NYC transit talks
Dec 15 2005 11:10PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - With a midnight deadline looming, the city transit agency and its bus and subway workers struggled to reach a new contract Thursday and avert a strike against the nation's biggest transit system at the height of the Christmas rush.
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W.Va. man pleads guilty to hiding body
Dec 15 2005 11:04PM (CT)
WINFIELD, W.Va. (AP) - A man pleaded guilty Thursday to hiding the body of a Powerball jackpot winner's granddaughter after she had overdosed on drugs.
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One dead, 450,000 in dark after icy storm
Dec 15 2005 11:02PM (CT)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A blast of freezing rain across Georgia and the Carolinas on Thursday closed schools, snarled traffic and caused power outages to more than 450,000 customers. At least one death was blamed on the storm when an ice-laden tree crashed through a man's house.
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'Rubble' made up part of Mo. reservoir
Dec 15 2005 11:01PM (CT)
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Inspectors were shocked to discover that the collapsed portion of a mountaintop reservoir was made of rocky "fill" instead of the granite that was assumed for decades to be the main material, the state's chief reservoir inspector said Thursday.
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NTSB: Plane at Midway needed more runway
Dec 15 2005 10:53PM (CT)
CHICAGO (AP) - A jetliner that skidded off a landing strip and into a city street needed about 800 more feet of runway to come to a safe stop, federal investigators said Thursday.
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Convict pleads guilty in 1999 murder
Dec 15 2005 10:04PM (CT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A convicted felon pleaded guilty Thursday to the kidnapping, molestation and murder of a 7-year-old girl who d
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Lott sues insurance co. in Katrina damage
Dec 15 2005 10:03PM (CT)
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Trent Lott is suing his insurance company over his beachfront Pascagoula home, which was leveled by Hurricane Katrina.
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Texas court withdraws reversed conviction
Dec 15 2005 9:59PM (CT)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A Texas appeals court on Thursday withdrew an opinion it had issued a day earlier that overturned a mother's conviction in the death of her infant son.
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San Diego detectives solve 1933 death
Dec 15 2005 9:43PM (CT)
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Seven decades after the discovery of a little boy's mutilated body sparked panic that a sexual predator had struck again, detectives say they've cracked the case and the fear was unwarranted.
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Ex-Abramoff partner pleads guilty to fraud
Dec 15 2005 9:37PM (CT)
MIAMI (AP) - A former business partner of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty Thursday to fraud and conspiracy in the ill-fated 2000 purchase of a fleet of gambling boats.
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Planned billboard angers Arab Americans
Dec 15 2005 9:14PM (CT)
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A group that is trying to tighten the standards for obtaining driver's licenses has come under fire for plans to post a billboard with a picture of an Arab clutching a grenade and a North Carolina license.
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Fire destroys main building of N.Y. hotel
Dec 15 2005 9:03PM (CT)
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) - Flames engulfed the main building of the historic Lake Placid Lodge, one of the Adirondacks' most exclusive retreats, as firefighters from nearly a dozen companies battled the blaze in freezing temperatures Thursday.
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Sole survivor settles copter crash lawsuit
Dec 15 2005 9:02PM (CT)
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The sole survivor of a Grand Canyon sightseeing air crash that killed six people in 2001 has settled a lawsuit involving the tour company, pilot and helicopter manufacturer.
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Mass. overturns firing of school leader
Dec 15 2005 8:56PM (CT)
WELLESLEY, Mass. (AP) - The state's Board of Higher Education on Thursday reversed the firing of the president of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, who was sacked by the school's trustees earlier this month with little explanation.
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First civil-union couple parting ways
Dec 15 2005 8:51PM (CT)
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) - A lesbian couple who entered into the nation's first same-sex civil union are splitting up amid allegations of violent behavior.
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New Orleans company to offer disaster tours
Dec 15 2005 8:45PM (CT)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - For $35 per person _ $28 for children _ a New Orleans company is offering bus tours of some of the city's most misery-stricken spots, including the Superdome, the Convention Center and neighborhoods ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
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U.S. voters in Iraq election diverse
Dec 15 2005 8:44PM (CT)
McLEAN, Va. (AP) - Some wore the red, white and black colors of the Iraqi flag as they cast ballots in seven U.S. cities for Iraq's elections. Others came in knit caps bearing Kurdistan's red, white and green.
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Federal judges consider evolution stickers
Dec 15 2005 8:37PM (CT)
ATLANTA (AP) - A federal appeals panel Thursday questioned the accuracy of a judge's ruling that a disclaimer in school textbooks describing evolution as "a theory, not a fact" represents an endorsement of religion.
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Texas schools ask for more education aid
Dec 15 2005 8:19PM (CT)
HOUSTON (AP) - School officials in southeast Texas pleaded with the federal government Thursday to keep its promise to pay most of the expenses of educating 21,000 children displaced by Hurricane Katrina _ costs that could run into the tens of millions of dollars.
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GOP official convicted in phone-jamming
Dec 15 2005 8:16PM (CT)
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A former top Republican Party official was convicted on telephone harassment charges Thursday for his part in a plot to jam the Democrats' phones on Election Day 2002.
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Man cleared by DNA leaves Ohio prison
Dec 15 2005 6:56PM (CT)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A man who spent seven years behind bars for the rape and murder of his mother-in-law was released Thursday after DNA evidence from a cigarette butt helped clear him.
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Mom trapped by fire tosses baby from window
Dec 15 2005 4:34PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A mother trapped in a burning third-floor apartment prayed and then dropped her 1-month-old son out a window to the crowd below. The infant was caught safely by a man who plays catcher for his employer's baseball team.
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Ark. court orders more school funding
Dec 15 2005 4:02PM (CT)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered the state Thursday to fix deficiencies in school funding by late 2006, ruling that reforms made after the court stepped in three years ago are not enough.
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Coast Guard temporarily relieves captain
Dec 15 2005 3:48PM (CT)
GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (AP) - The captain of a new Coast Guard icebreaker was temporarily relieved of command after an accident that dented the $90 million ship.
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Priest resigns post over Vatican document
Dec 15 2005 3:13PM (CT)
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (AP) - A priest at St. John's University said he was resigning his leadership position because of the Vatican's latest statement that homosexuals should be barred from entering the Roman Catholic priesthood.
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Life insurance may have paid for breasts
Dec 15 2005 2:36PM (CT)
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Cynthia Sommer didn't fit the role of a grieving Marine widow. Shortly after her husband died suddenly, she hosted boisterous parties at her home on the base. Authorities say she showed Marine wives her newly enhanced breasts _ paid for with her husband's life insurance policy. And within two months, she had taken up with another man.
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Parents charged with murder in tot mauling
Dec 15 2005 2:33PM (CT)
SUFFOLK, Va. (AP) - A man and woman were charged with murder after their two dogs fatally mauled their 2-year-old son, who allegedly had been left alone with the dogs.
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Report: Satellite used after Ok. bombing
Dec 15 2005 12:23PM (CT)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - In the days after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the U.S. government used a spy satellite to gather intelligence on a white separatist compound in Oklahoma, according to a published report.
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Two men charged with killing N.Y. officer
Dec 15 2005 12:20PM (CT)
NEW YORK (AP) - A former "Sopranos" actor and another man were ordered held without bail Thursday at a hearing in the hospital where both men are being treated for gunshot wounds inflicted by the police officer they are charged with killing.
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Religion today
Dec 15 2005 12:02PM (CT)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - The noise of chatting parishioners saturates the foyer after the five weekend Masses at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church.
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Religion news in brief
Dec 15 2005 12:02PM (CT)
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Amid mounting criticism, the Rev. Jon Weese of central Kentucky's largest church said that, in canceling worship on Christmas Sunday, its elders "chose to value families; people over policy."
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Man cuts down airport pine for Christmas
Dec 15 2005 12:00PM (CT)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - A man pleaded guilty to cutting down a pine tree at the airport, saying he did it because he couldn't afford to buy a Christmas tree.
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Suit challenges tuition break for illegals
Dec 15 2005 11:20AM (CT)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A group of out-of-state college students sued to challenge a law that lets some classmates who are illegal immigrants pay the lower in-state rate if they graduated from California high schools.
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Cargo plane goes off runway in N.C.
Dec 15 2005 11:09AM (CT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - A FedEx cargo plane went off a runway and got stuck in mud Thursday at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport after the pilot cut a turn too short, authorities said.
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Ice leaves 100,000 in Georgia without power
Dec 15 2005 10:21AM (CT)
ATLANTA (AP) - North Georgia was hit with a jolt of freezing rain and ice Thursday morning that downed tree limbs, closed schools, snarled traffic and knocked out power to more than 100,000 customers.
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Cargo plane goes off runway in N.C.
Dec 15 2005 10:17AM (CT)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - A FedEx cargo plane went off a runway and got stuck in mud Thursday at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport after the pilot cut a turn too short, authorities said.
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Calif. man sues co-workers for jackpot share
Dec 15 2005 8:54AM (CT)
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A medical lab technician has sued seven co-workers who shared a $315 million Mega Millions multistate lottery jackpot, claiming he deserves a share of the money.
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Mass. Gov. Romney to skip re-election bid
Dec 15 2005 6:45AM (CT)
BOSTON (AP) - After earning two Harvard degrees, making millions as a businessman and turning around a scandal-plagued Winter Olympics, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has created quite a list of accomplishments, some political analysts say. Those analysts believe the Republican announced Wednesday he will not to seek re-election next year because he did not want to risk tarnishing his resume if he decides to run for president in 2008.
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Nursing home fire said began in curtains
Dec 15 2005 5:54AM (CT)
ISHPEMING TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - A fatal fire at a nursing home began in the curtains in one of the rooms, but it's unclear if the blaze was an accident or intentional, police said.
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Six years makes a difference for Clinton
Dec 15 2005 5:37AM (CT)
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - What a difference six years make. In 1999, Hillary Rodham Clinton was skewered as a carpetbagger from Illinois and Arkansas who would get her comeuppance at the hands of the mayor of New York City. Today, she appears to be coasting to a 2006 Senate re-election victory that could set her up for a White House run two years later.
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Wash. students sue school district
Dec 15 2005 5:30AM (CT)
SEATTLE (AP) - The co-editors of a high school newspaper are suing their school district, claiming their free-speech rights are being violated by officials demanding to review editions of the paper before distribution.
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Police charge man in Pa. trooper's death
Dec 15 2005 12:04AM (CT)
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Police charged a man with criminal homicide Wednesday night, accusing him of fatally shooting a state trooper during a traffic stop and with stealing the trooper's gun.
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