Grizzly bear attacks woman in Alaska near lodge
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A 21-year-old woman working at an Alaskan lodge for the summer was attacked by a grizzly bear about 25 yards outside a building....
NYPD, Port Authority agree on WTC security plan
NEW YORK (AP) -- Police and the World Trade Center site's owner sketched out a security agreement Thursday that settles a turf war over who will protect ground zero against terrorism as the Lower Manhattan site is rebuilt....
Report: Hate crimes hit 5-year high in LA County
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Hate crimes in Los Angeles County soared last year to their highest mark in five years even as overall crime dropped across the region, according to a report released Thursday....
Baylor University fires school president
WACO, Texas (AP) -- Baylor University regents on Thursday fired the school president, the second in three years to leave amid clashes with the faculty at the world's largest Baptist university....
PHOENIX (AP) -- Fire department spokesman says 3 wounded in shooting at Phoenix community college....
Grand jury to call reporter on indictment sources
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- A federal judge decided Thursday that a reporter who used confidential sources in a story on export-conspiracy indictments would not have to reveal those sources to him, but it became public during the hearing that the journalist will be called to appear before a grand jury seeking the same information....
Okla. crane fall kills man watching construction
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Church members watching the steeple being raised on their new building looked on in horror Thursday as a crane holding the structure toppled, crushing a car and killing a 79-year-old man who had been watching from inside the vehicle, firefighters said....
South Texas begins cleanup after Hurricane Dolly
HARLINGEN, Texas (AP) -- Residents across south Texas slogged through knee-deep muddy waters, tiptoed around downed power lines and dug through debris Thursday, but were thankful that Hurricane Dolly didn't pack the wallop they had feared....
1 dead in N.H. storms that leveled several homes
DEERFIELD, N.H. (AP) -- Violent storms on Thursday in a 25-mile-long swath of central New Hampshire destroyed several homes, damaged dozens of others and left at least one person dead, authorities said as police and firefighters went door-to-door searching for more possible victims....
Judge opens some conserved land to grazing, haying
SEATTLE (AP) -- A judge allowed hay production and cattle grazing on certain lands designated for conservation Thursday, helping farmers and ranchers struggling with high grain prices....
Another courtroom victory for religious colleges
A federal appeals court ruling that a Christian university in Colorado can receive state scholarship money is the latest in a string of legal victories for religious schools seeking public dollars....
Ark. man accused in 4 boat deaths pleads guilty
MIAMI (AP) -- One of two men accused of killing four people aboard a fishing charter last year pleaded guilty Thursday in exchange for an agreement that prosecutors will not seek the death penalty....
Mom accused of poisoning son sent to Pa. hospital
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A mother accused of repeatedly injecting her 4-month-old son with salt water will be sent to a state mental hospital after a psychiatrist testified Thursday that the woman is severely depressed....
4 Spitzer appointees accused of ethics violations
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Three former aides to ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the former head of the state police were charged with ethics violations Thursday over travel records released to discredit a political rival, a scandal that consumed Spitzer's administration before it was wrecked by another involving a prostitute....
Judge: Idaho child-killer is mentally competent
BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Convicted child-killer Joseph Edward Duncan III is mentally competent to face a death penalty hearing, a federal judge in Idaho ruled Thursday....
Ex-con gets life in prison for NY student torture
NEW YORK (AP) -- An ex-convict was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for the sadistic, 19-hour rape and torture of a Columbia University graduate student....
Woman accused in baby snatching is ruled competent
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The suspect accused of cutting a baby from his mother's womb was found mentally competent by a judge Thursday to assist in her defense, despite a psychiatrist's testimony that she is a paranoid schizophrenic....
Giuliani's son sues Duke over golf team dismissal
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The son of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is suing Duke University, claiming his golf coach manufactured accusations against him to justify kicking him off the team to whittle the squad....
Feds say Utah mine operator courted danger
PRICE, Utah (AP) -- The operator of a collapsed Utah mine violated safety protocols by cutting coal pillars that should have been left standing to prevent cave-ins, federal regulators said Thursday....
Ohio man gets 8 years in $8M armored-car co. heist
AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- A man received eight years in prison Thursday for masterminding an $8 million armored-car heist, a crime he said was born of financial desperation....
Dolly destroys Texas cotton, sorghum crops
Hurricane Dolly probably doomed South Texas's cotton and sorghum crops already damaged by heavy rains earlier in the summer. But analysts said the loss, while devastating for local producers, will have only a short-term effect on the markets....
State highway patrols struggle with big gas bills
HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- In big, wide-open Montana, a state trooper might have to drive more than 100 miles to answer an emergency call, and routinely puts several hundred miles on the odometer in a day....
Ex-mayor who lied about Army record to face judge
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) -- Robert Levy's record in the Vietnam War was impressive: two Army tours and several honors, including a Bronze Star. It just wasn't as impressive as he claimed....
Math study finds girls are just as good as boys
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sixteen years after Barbie dolls declared, "Math class is tough!" girls are proving that when it comes to math they are just as tough as boys. In the largest study of its kind, girls measured up to boys in every grade, from second through 11th. The research was released Thursday in the journal Science....
New disability regs prompt chorus of concern
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thousands of gallons of water pulse through cascading waterfalls and rapids at Adventure Mini Golf in Lake Worth, Fla. The course, which covers about an acre, features different elevations....
Kids run off to join the circus (for the summer)
GREENSBORO, Vt. (AP) -- Fourteen-year-old Thula Martin knows exactly what she'll say if her teacher asks the class what they did this summer: "I ran away and joined the circus."...
Walcott wins journalism medal for Iraq coverage
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) -- McClatchy's Washington bureau chief has won the Nieman Foundation's first I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence for pre-Iraq war coverage....
Executions rising in Iran, Saudi Arabia
ROME (AP) -- Executions jumped by a third in Iran and quadrupled in Saudi Arabia last year, causing the total number of executions around the world to rise yet again in 2007, a human rights group reported Thursday. It said China remained far in front as the world's top executioner....
Reports of wire taps emerge in Drew Peterson case
CHICAGO (AP) -- Two friends of former police officer Drew Peterson told a newspaper he made incriminating statements during secretly taped conversations following the disappearance of his fourth wife - claims that Peterson denies....
Killings turn focus on San Francisco sanctuary law
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The scene repeats itself daily on city streets: a driver gets stuck bumper to bumper, blocking an intersection and preventing another car from turning left....
Schwarzenegger threatens minimum wage for workers
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is threatening to pay thousands of state employees the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour until lawmakers reach a deal on California's overdue state budget....
Cost big factor in decision to sack destroyer
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Growing costs and vulnerability to anti-ship missiles sank the Navy's once-heralded "stealth destroyer," a highly advanced warship designed to slip close to the shore unnoticed and pummel targets with big guns....
Western governors offer greenhouse emissions plan
SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- Seven Western states are joining four Canadian provinces to propose a plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions through use of a "cap and trade" system....
Mass. House initially approves gender-neutral law
BOSTON (AP) -- The Massachusetts House of Representatives has given its initial approval to a bill that would require all future legislation be written in language that is gender neutral....
Dismissal of federal Internet suicide case sought
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An attorney for a Missouri woman charged in a MySpace hoax that allegedly led a 13-year-old girl to commit suicide filed motions Wednesday to dismiss the federal case....
