Former Rep. Eligio "Kika" De la Garza was being treated in a hospital Wednesday for injuries he and his wife suffered when the SUV they were riding in was involved in a hea...

Today is Thursday, Sept. 18, the 262nd day of 2008. There are 104 days left in the year.Today's Highlight in History:On Sept. 18, 1793, President Washington l...

The son of former Boston mayor and ambassador to the Vatican Raymond Flynn says his father is undergoing medical tests after collapsing during a speaking engagement....

A misprint in a telephone book has led to some callers dialing a phone sex service while trying to reach a New Jersey political organization.A listing for the Sussex...

In the years leading up to his death in the locomotive of a commuter train, engineer Robert Sanchez's life was marked by personal tragedy, jail time, and concerns about his...

Residents trying to get back to this hurricane-ravaged city Wednesday spent hours fuming in gridlocked traffic, only to be turned away at the bridge by officials worried th...

A man has pleaded not guilty to shooting four people in New Jersey and setting their house on fire to cover up the crime.Attorneys for 36-year-old Rolando Terrell en...

A federal appeals court on Wednesday reinstated a jury verdict against two former police detectives who were convicted of moonlighting as gangsters and carrying out a serie...

As of Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008, at least 4,160 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count....

The wreckage of a plane carrying Mexican and U.S. officials checking on border-area flooding was found Wednesday in a mountainous area two days after it disappeared, and of...

Efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next 12 years ultimately will benefit California's economy and save its residents money, according to a report released ...

A man who raped and murdered a 93-year-old woman in her Dallas-area home was executed Wednesday after he apologized to his victim's relatives."I'm sorry for what I d...

An official says a rocket motor exploded and caused a fire at a weapons factory in southern Arkansas, and that one worker is unaccounted for.Aerojet spokesman Glenn ...

Eight people and eight corporations have been charged with illegally shipping to Iran electronic parts that could be used in weapons, including microchips that have been fo...

Researchers are hoping a large cache of ancient crocodile bones in western North Dakota will yield the state's first complete croc skeleton."In all the years we've b...

Texas has executed a man who raped and strangled a 93-year-old woman during a burglary of her Dallas-area home more than a decade ago.William Murray was executed Wed...

A head-on collision that left 25 people dead has brought new scrutiny to the safety of Southern California's regional rail service — a system that has logged more fatalit...

The state's political dysfunction reached a new low this week with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowing the first veto of a California budget in modern history. The spat goes ...

A man acquitted a month ago of robbing a bank has been arrested in another robbery at the same bank. The man, 35, was accused of robbing Liberty Bank on Tuesday, police say...

The death toll from Hurricane Ike is remarkably low so far, considering that legions of people stayed behind as the storm obliterated row after row of homes along the Texas...

A stream of data will flow from hundreds of sensors on a new bridge Thursday morning when commuters on Interstate 35W drive across the Mississippi River for the first time ...

The U.S. Border Patrol said Wednesday that it found the wreckage of a small plane that disappeared two days earlier while carrying top U.S. and Mexico officials on a missio...

The stock market took another nosedive Wednesday as the American banking system appeared even shakier and investors worried that the financial crisis is spinning so far out...

A late-evening fire swept through a home in this central Wisconsin town, killing three children, authorities said Wednesday.Authorities said the mother escaped the T...

Ailing bank Washington Mutual Inc. appeared headed toward a sale Wednesday after a major investor removed a potential stumbling block and nervous banking regulators began a...

Hurricane Katrina made them worthless feds in windbreakers, a four-letter agency for which some couldn't find enough four-letter words. And in the aftermath of Hurricane Ik...

An intergovernmental agency says all four of those on board a plane that crashed in Mexico after taking off from Texas are dead.The International Boundary and Water ...

A soldier was detained in Iraq after he allegedly opened fire on a superior and another unit member, killing them both, the Army said Wednesday.The soldier was subdu...

An FBI expert testified via videotape Wednesday in O.J. Simpson's armed robbery trial that it's impossible to tell whether an audio tape of the hotel room confrontation was...

The October launch date of NASA's shuttle flight to the Hubble Space Telescope is in jeopardy because of a problem with insulation on the replacement batteries for the tele...

The October launch date of NASA's shuttle flight to the Hubble Space Telescope is in jeopardy because of a problem with insulation on the replacement batteries for the tele...

It wasn't the preferred way to enter the Knoxville Museum of Art, but Richard Anthony Smith told police he was on a mission. The 25-year-old Knoxville man called 911 from h...

A federal appeals court has reinstated conspiracy convictions against two former New York Police Department detectives accused of moonlighting as hitmen for the mob....

Descendants of President James Madison and the slaves who lived on his plantation joined U.S. Supreme Court justices and politicians on Wednesday to celebrate the end of a ...

A long-awaited federal study of an X-ray alternative to the dreaded colonoscopy confirms its effectiveness at spotting most cancers, although it was far from perfect.Mo. woman who faked birth of sextuplets absconds

A suburban Kansas City woman who faked the birth of sextuplets to get financial support from her community is missing after walking away from a community release center.Plane carrying IBWC officials found in Mexico, Alicia A. Caldwell

The U.S. Border Patrol says it has found a plane carrying two International Boundary and Water Commission officials and two others in a rugged section of the Sierra Madre m...

Residents trying to get back to this hurricane-ravaged city Wednesday spent hours fuming in gridlocked traffic, only to be turned away at the bridge by officials worried th...

After years of professing their parents' innocence, the sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are acknowledging that their father was a spy.The about-face came after th...

The lawyer for an 86-year-old suburban Seattle man accused of being part of a Nazi death squad in World War II has asked a federal judge to throw out the government's attem...

Officials urged patience Wednesday on the part of Midwesterners waiting for power to be restored as crews worked feverishly to clean up the soggy mess left by the deadly re...

State police said somebody has made off with an electronic message sign used by the Department of Transportation to provide information to motorists on Interstate 84 in Wat...

A mob hit man who claims responsibility for 20 killings testified Wednesday that he fatally shot a gambling executive in 1982 but that a former FBI agent on trial for murde...

Steve Oswald isn't getting back the $156.94 he charged the city for cleaning a public bathroom. However, he did get the attention of city officials who promised to take bet...

When residents of several neighborhoods near Orlando International Airport go to bed, they wonder what most homeowners don't: Is there a bomb under my house?They rec...

A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld an Arizona law that penalizes businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants and requires them to verify the employment statu...

Search crews pulled out of Galveston on Wednesday after completing their sweep of the island for survivors of Hurricane Ike. Thousands remained on the island despite author...

An Alaska state senator caused a disturbance on an Alaska Airlines flight, including throwing a glass of water when flight attendants refused to serve her alcohol, but will...

A government agency has dropped plans for a study of a controversial treatment for autism that critics had called an unethical experiment on children.The National In...

It's a haunting, high-pitched scream that is commonly misunderstood by newcomers to Arizona's high country and the state's city dwellers. It's called bugling, and male elk ...

A medical marijuana user has his pot back, nearly three years after police in Huntington Beach, Calif., seized it.A judge Tuesday ordered police to return about four...

Testimony resumed Wednesday in O.J. Simpson's armed robbery and kidnapping trial with a videotaped appearance by an FBI audio analyst who prosecutors hope can authenticate ...

A man charged with failing to help a toddler who died of dehydration under his sister's care accepted a plea deal that will likely keep him out of prison.Robert Patt...

In a Sept. 11 story about the Navajo Nation seeking full control of Canyon de Chelly National Monument, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Canyon de Chelly is t...

The swelling Rio Grande flowed over a levee Wednesday, sending water cascading onto the golf course and some ranch land in this dusty-turned-muddy West Texas border town.Pa. jury convicts man in child pornography case

A man who produced thousands of images of himself sexually abusing children as young as 3 months old was convicted Wednesday on more than 50 child pornography charges.<...

Agents dealt a substantial blow to an extremely violent Mexican drug cartel with 175 arrests in the U.S. and Italy, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Wednesday.T...

Hurricane Ike's death toll in the U.S. climbed past 50 on Wednesday and appeared to level off in Texas, where search teams pulled out of Galveston having searched the entir...

The swelling Rio Grande flowed over a levee Wednesday, sending water cascading onto the golf course and some ranch land in this dusty-turned-muddy West Texas border town.County, feds swap land, expand Arlington Cemetery, Matthew Barakat

A land swap between the federal government and a Virginia county will allow Arlington National Cemetery to eliminate a road that was an obstacle in its plans to add more sp...

Medical experts told lawmakers Wednesday that new television advertisements for medical devices pose even greater risks to patients than ads for drugs, which have been scru...

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:Sept. 16The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, on why the feds were right to deny a taxpay...

Wall Street stumbled again Wednesday, with anxieties about the financial system still running high after the government bailed out insurer American International Group Inc....

Hurricane Ike's death toll in the U.S. is up to 50 as authorities on the Texas coast are reporting another fatality from the storm.Galveston County Medical Examiner ...

The Florida Highway Patrol has closed part of Interstate 95 after a truck carrying $187,000 worth of nickels crashed and scattered coins across the road, killing one person...

U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey says officials have dealt a substantial blow to an extremely violent Mexican drug cartel with 175 arrests in the U.S. and Italy.Ike's US toll climbs to 55 with 6 deaths in Texas, Juan A. Lozano

Hurricane Ike 's death toll in the U.S. is up to 55 as authorities on the Texas coast are reporting six more fatalities from the storm.Galveston County Medical Exami...

State police on Wednesday arrested the parents of a 2-year-old boy who died last month after accidentally shooting himself with a gun he found in the family's home.J...

A judge has decided a law banning sagging pants in this town is unconstitutional after a teenager spent a night in jail on accusations he exposed too much underwear....

Water has topped a stressed levee that separates the West Texas border town of Presidio from the swelling Rio Grande.It wasn't immediately clear Wednesday morning wh...

Five e-mails sent by the chief justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court to the head of coal company Massey Energy show the justice was concerned with a Democratic primary...

Divers prepared Wednesday to clear debris clogging navigation routes into Houston and crews kept up the search for bodies on the coast, as residents entered a fifth day aft...

Napster Inc., the online music community that rose from a dorm room project to became the scourge of the global recording industry, is being purchased by Best Buy Inc. for ...

A late-evening fire swept through a home in this central Wisconsin town, killing two children and critically injuring a third, authorities said Wednesday.Authorities...

Authorities have reported a total of 50 deaths in 11 states as Ike moved from Texas northeastward across the U.S. midsection:Texas — 17, including at least five in...

Intergovernmental agency says four die in crash of small plane in Mexico near U.S. border....

Another day, but not just another bailout. This one's more like a government takeover.The U.S. government stepped in Tuesday to rescue American International Group I...

Hurricanes that whip the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of Southern states take a human toll, but they also claim another victim on an enormous scale — the majestic trees, many...

A city council candidate in McCook, Neb., is apologizing for an automated phone call campaign — in advance.Mike O'Dell says the call being used later this week add...

Active weather was expected for portions of the East and West coasts on Wednesday, while a cold front lingered across the northern Midwest.In the East, showers and t...

Actor Jack Nicholson, rocker Jon Bon Jovi and NBA star Shaquille O'Neal are among 30 nominees to the New Jersey Hall of Fame.Members of the public will help select t...

Yellowstone National Park officials, attempting to balance competing demands for cell phone service and preserving the park's tranquility, have released a draft plan to gui...

The engineer of a commuter train ran through a red light and never hit his brakes in the final moments before last week's fatal collision with an oncoming freight train, au...

Legal experts are harshly criticizing a former judge and an ex-Texas prosecutor, saying their alleged sexual affair while handling cases together represents a black eye to ...

A key character is waiting to testify in the O.J. Simpson armed robbery-kidnapping trial.From a downtown Las Vegas hotel, Thomas Riccio, the colorful collectibles br...

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's name no longer is in its prominent place at the Detroit Zoo.A crew on Tuesday replaced his name on the water tower at the zoo in the...

A levee holding back the swelling Rio Grande near this West Texas border town is in danger of bursting as the river continues to rise.Presidio Mayor Lorenzo Hernande...

Tens of thousands across the Midwest snapped up batteries, generators and coolers as they waited Wednesday for crews to restore power amid the soggy mess left behind by Hur...

A state representative is seeking to change a law that forces homeless shelters to turn away runaways and homeless children seeking refuge for the night."The point i...

With fuel prices soaring, energy was the hot topic at a meeting of governors from energy-hungry New England states and leaders in eastern Canada, where there's a surplus of...

When controversy looms on Wall Street, chances are that Geoffrey Raymond isn't far behind, magic markers in hand.The 54-year-old Brooklyn artist has become a regular...

The elementary school at the edge of this rural town has a playground that boasts little more than a swing set. That's no problem — the hot new game is inside.Ches...

Life after Ike has come to mean misery by degree for many along the Texas coast. Up in Houston, most residents in the nation's fourth-largest city remained without power in...

Gov. Ed Rendell has ordered an immediate hiring freeze, a ban on out-of-state travel and other spending cuts to save $200 million, saying the moves are needed to maintain a...

Trucking companies should work harder to enforce that their drivers get rest, and the government should move toward mandating the use of alarm systems to alert exhausted tr...

Arizona's attorney general has sued the Phoenix Country Club, alleging it discriminates against women by prohibiting them from enjoying the same amenities and networking op...

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was due back in hurricane-ravaged Texas for a second time to check on recovery efforts Wednesday as misery dragged on for many ...

Property rights advocates are squaring off with sportsmen and ranchers as the state Legislature decides whether to extend a ban on selling the right to hunt on property sep...

The engineer whose commuter train struck an oncoming freight train in Los Angeles last week didn't hit the brakes moments before the crash and was in the midst of an 11 1/2...

Alabama authorities say a jail inmate charged with murder is on the loose after he overpowered a bailiff, took his weapon and uniform, and stole a van at gunpoint.Au...

The conventions are over, the lineups are set, and the debates are coming. In other words, we're finally getting a better shape of this presidential race.What we kno...

The whole world took notice as Barack Obama started rising in the polls, climbing to the top of the Democratic Party's crowded field of would-be presidents. By the time onl...

A few weeks ago, at the Democratic National Convention, I attended a town hall meeting sponsored by the anti-abortion group Democrats for Life.Fifty-six people packe...

The following editorial appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday, Sept. 14:___Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama offers sound solutions to mammoth de...

The following editorial appeared in the Kansas City Star on Monday, Sept. 15:___Excessive secrecy makes government less trustworthy and the public less safe. ...

The following editorial appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Tuesday, Sept. 16:___Natural disasters like Hurricane Ike, which slammed into the Houston a...

For a while, it looked as if U.S. politics had entered a new era in the way presidential campaigns were conducted and covered.For people who grieved over the decay o...

Prior to each national party convention, I examined health plans of presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. Both appear to be long on wishful thinking in term...

When John McCain tapped Sarah Palin as his running mate, he splashed kerosene on America's culture wars.The VP candidate's conservative stances on hot-button social ...