An Andrew Wyeth painting of his teenage son standing on a bluff overlooking the St. George River in Maine has set the second-highest auction price for the artist's work.Search on for missing Ore. Christmas tree cutters

Searchers combed dark and snowy forests near the crest of the Cascade Range in southern Oregon on Wednesday night for a couple who told their kids they were off to cut down...

Former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday said he supports President Barack Obama's plan to sent an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan."I decided several weeks...

Immigrants who have been arrested in zero-tolerance zones along the Mexican border must not be tried at mass criminal immigration hearings because the proceedings violate f...

NFL teams now have new, stricter instructions for when players should be allowed to return to games or practices after head injuries, guidelines that go into effect this we...

As of Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, at least 851 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in...

As of Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, at least 4,367 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.NYC tree lighting ushers in tourist season

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has lit the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, ushering in tourist season in one of New York's busiest holiday shopping districts.Tens of tho...

A New Mexico man is in custody after authorities say he fatally shot his 9-month-old daughter after an argument with the infant's mother.Police say 22-year-old Chris...

A former Army contract officer has been sentenced to 17 1/2 years in federal prison for taking more than $9 million in bribes for supply contracts in Kuwait.Former M...

Federal prosecutors in Colorado say they had no choice but to dismiss 2002 charges against a Muslim cleric who later had contact with the Army psychiatrist accused in the F...

A juvenile humpback whale entangled in hundreds of feet of heavy rope off the Hawaii coast was being tracked by marine experts Wednesday."The entanglement is life-th...

Two people are under arrest for allegedly burglarizing the home of a Northern California family of four killed in a weekend vehicle crash, police said Wednesday.Inve...

Officials at a historic black cemetery in suburban Chicago where former workers allegedly dug up graves in a scheme to resell burial plots are again finding human remains i...

A government prosecutor on Wednesday portrayed a Marine Corps officer facing demotion as a negligent, substandard commander for not investigating the killing of 24 Iraqi me...

New York's Senate has joined the Assembly in approving a measure to reduce the state's budget deficit by about $2.8 billion.But officials say the actions on Wednesda...

A federal judge in New Jersey has denied a request by the Republican National Committee to dissolve a 27-year-old court order aimed at preventing intimidation of minority v...

Tradition is taking a back seat at a window display on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan this holiday season.Directly across the street from the traditional Lord & Taylo...

She's no longer the chief executive of Alaska, but Sarah Palin should still be called "governor." And in English only, please.That was the message sent out by offici...

Seventy-four bison from Yellowstone National Park would go to billionaire Ted Turner's private ranch under a plan given preliminary approval Wednesday by the head of Montan...

The convicted murderer who drove Maurice Clemmons away from the coffee shop where he massacred four suburban police officers waited with a newly purchased cigar in the geta...

Longtime sponsors are sticking with Tiger Woods — for now.But the world's most famous athlete, who offered a "profound apology" Wednesday following allegations of ...

Bank of America Corp. said Wednesday it plans to repay its $45 billion in government bailout funds in the next few days, a move that will help the troubled bank recruit a n...

Two people are under arrest on charges of burglarizing the home of a Northern California family of four who were killed in a weekend vehicle crash, police said Wednesday.Former Arizona congressman's trial postponed

The trial for former U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi of Arizona on money laundering, insurance fraud, racketeering and other charges has been postponed until March 16.Renzi and...

House Republicans pointed to controversial e-mails leaked from climate scientists and said it was evidence of corruption. Top administration scientists looking at the same ...

An attorney for the fiancee of a Yale University lab technician charged with killing a graduate student said Wednesday he's been told authorities are seeking a sample of he...

Experts on retail sales are obsessed with Thanksgiving weekend — particularly the Black Friday shopping frenzy. That's especially true this year, as analysts look to the ...

A man accused of driving Maurice Clemmons away from the Seattle area coffee shop where he killed four police officers made his first court appearance Wednesday.Darcu...

Police said whoever donated a water jug to a charity in southeast Ohio probably didn't mean to be so generous. The jug contained about $1,500 worth of marijuana. Police sai...

Scientists can start using taxpayer dollars to do research with 13 batches of embryonic stem cells and the government says dozens more cell lines should be available soon, ...

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says Mexican authorities discovered an incomplete tunnel that extends into San Diego and is equipped with a lift system, ventilatio...

The FBI says no bodies turned up in a search of the former home of an Ohio serial killing suspect who later lived on another property that held the remains of 11 women....

Two stolen ancient artifacts are being returned to Italy from New York City.An Italian government representative is taking possession of them at a ceremony Wednesday...

Google Inc. is launching a new feature to let Californians see the results of climate change.Google unveiled the new interactive tool in San Francisco on Wednesday a...

Police in southwest Ohio said a man was so angry that a park revoked his privileges that he destroyed the park gate with an assault rifle and an ax. Police said 23-year-old...

(Stations: Please substitute the following for V4162, slugged Gay Marriage-NY, 5th Ld, which moved at 3:05 p.m. Eastern time and the corresponding items in the Right Nows. ...

Harvard University's law school will stop offering a year of free tuition to students who go into public service law after graduation, Law School Dean Martha Minow announce...

The question is jobs, but there's no one right answer.When President Barack Obama convenes a jobs summit Thursday, he and all the brainstorming economists and CEOs, ...

Two stolen ancient artifacts are being returned to Italy from New York City.An Italian government representative is taking possession of them at a ceremony Wednesday...

Fears that giant, voracious species of carp will get into the Great Lakes and wipe out other fish have led to rising demands that the government close the waterway connecti...

The annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting is ushering in tourist season in the busy holiday shopping district in New York.Rockefeller Center spokesman Ke...

A guard at one of South Carolina's maximum security prisons is recuperating in the hospital after he was assaulted by two death row inmates.Corrections Department sp...

A Fort Drum soldier was arrested at a hotel in southern Ohio early Wednesday on a warrant charging him in the stabbing deaths of two fellow servicemen at an apartment near ...

Gay service members who reveal their sexual orientations during congressional testimony would be immune from forced discharges under a bill introduced Wednesday, as lawmake...

A group of lawmakers wants to give gay servicemembers the ability to testify before Congress without fearing they'll be discharged under the military's "don't ask, don't te...

An Iranian man who secretly pleaded guilty to plotting to ship sensitive U.S. military technology to Iran will be sentenced this month, federal authorities said Wednesday a...

The Pulitzer Prize board is opening the door wider to journalism entries from online-only news publications.The board changed its entry requirements a year ago to al...

A Marine officer suspected of not investigating the deaths of 24 Iraqi men, women and children is being accused of not visiting the scene for 24 hours and submitting incomp...

Sarah Palin says she supports President Barack Obama's decision to boost the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.But she warns that his plan to send 30,000 additio...

The United Nations forecast Wednesday that the world economy will bounce back in 2010 with a global growth rate of 2.4 percent, but it warned that the recovery will be frag...

The 700 poinsettias lined up in a University of New Hampshire greenhouse are all red, but the technique used to grow them is a bit more green than usual.Growing the ...

Court officials say a Birmingham woman who changed her name to Jesus Christ didn't live up to it when she reported for jury duty this week. The woman, previously named Doro...

A Kansas man credited his dog with saving his life in a fire at a Wichita duplex. Billy King said he was asleep when the fire broke out around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday on the othe...

With twins on the way, Stacey Blackmar and her husband were looking to be prepared first-time parents when they started researching baby products. Instead, they found thems...

Detroit authorities said a 29-year-old woman who was upset because her boyfriend broke up with her has been arrested after she lit his porch on fire. Fire Department invest...

An Army psychiatrist who may face the death penalty after the mass shooting at Fort Hood was charged Wednesday with 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder relating to t...

The 700 poinsettias lined up in a University of New Hampshire greenhouse are all red, but the technique used to grow them is a bit more green than usual.Growing the ...

A mistrial has been declared for two Los Angeles men accused of spraying bullets into a crowd in a 2006 gang attack that killed a 10-year-old boy and two other people.<...

Richard Phillips, the ship captain toasted as a hero after he was taken captive by Somali pirates, ignored repeated warnings last spring to keep his freighter at least 600 ...

Police said a dresser positioned near a window kept a bullet from hitting a woman and her two young children as they slept at a southwestern Pennsylvania housing project. U...

A jury has found Minn. businessman Tom Petters guilty on 20 counts in a $3.5B fraud scheme....

Top White House science officials defended the validity of global warming research against repeated Republican attacks Wednesday that cited leaked e-mails from some climate...

New York lawmakers on Wednesday rejected a bill that would have made their state the sixth to allow gay marriage, stunning advocates who suffered a similar decision by Main...

Mayor Sheila Dixon's misdemeanor fraud conviction fails to meet a key standard necessary for her removal from office, her attorney said Wednesday as the mayor resumed her r...

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:Dec. 1The New York Times, on gray wolves:Not everyone was happy wh...

The Dixie Chicks can't be sued for libel by the stepfather of one of three 8-year-old boys killed in Arkansas 15 years ago because singer Natalie Maines based her statement...

An Indiana baby sitter convicted of videotaping herself performing sex acts with children as young as 2 months old has been sentenced to 125 years in prison.Samantha...

Police are investigating whether a high-profile federal prosecutor used his position to get out of a DUI charge after he failed field sobriety tests and refused a breathaly...

Vallejo's mayor is under fire from demonstrators who gathered on the steps of City Hall to protest his remarks that gays will not go to heaven.Dozens of protesters w...

Two pieces of mail arrived at Michael Tolson's house on Nov. 24. Neither had a return address.One contained a collage of paper scraps. The other, a small saucer with...

Black-tailed prairie dogs were denied protection under the Endangered Species Act on Wednesday after federal officials concluded the once prevalent species shows signs of r...

"I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be sha...

One of several trailer manufacturers accused of building government-issued shelters containing hazardous fumes is negotiating a settlement with Gulf Coast hurricane victims...

A 28-year-old man accused of setting a deadly 2003 California wildfire that destroyed 1,000 houses wants a quick trial, and it could start next month.Rickie Lee Fowl...

An 89-year-old woman has died from injuries suffered in a weekend shooting in northeast Kansas that also left her granddaughter and two great-granddaughters dead, prosecuto...

Authorities say they've arrested a Fort Drum soldier in Ohio in the stabbing deaths of two fellow servicemen at an apartment near the northern New York Army post.The...

A former Arizona school district employee is accused of using school computers in an experiment to find space aliens, costing the worker his job and the district more than ...

An FBI agent said Wednesday the man charged with kidnapping Elizabeth Smart told him that he expected the world would see him as a "child predator, sexual deviant, a monste...

A military panel has convened at Camp Pendleton to decide if a Marine Corps officer should be demoted for allegedly failing to investigate the deaths of civilians during a ...

The man who built Blackwater USA into one of the world's most respected and reviled defense contractors feels that he was thrown under the bus after serving the nation's se...

A home outside Cleveland where a suspected serial killer once lived was searched in vain by FBI agents and cadaver dogs Wednesday for any remains in addition to the 10 fema...

One of six remaining defendants awaiting trial in the fatal stabbing of an Ecuadorean immigrant in New York has pleaded guilty to gang assault as a hate crime.Jose P...

2010 Buick LaCrosse CXSBASE PRICE: $27,085 for base CX; $29,645 for front-wheel drive CXL; $31,820 for all-wheel drive CXL; $33,015 for CXS.AS TESTED: $35,955...

An attractive, premium-looking sedan pulled up, and for a moment I thought I had been given the wrong car — a Lexus. But no, it was the 2010 Buick LaCrosse, with Lexus-li...

Police found blood on the kitchen floor of the home of a Yale University lab technician charged with killing a Yale graduate student days before her wedding, according to s...

A city councilwoman says she plans to seek a recount in Atlanta's tight mayoral runoff.Former state Sen. Kasim Reed led by 620 votes over Mary Norwood after Tuesday'...

El Greco's vision of the veil of Veronica hangs near a golden crown with 447 emeralds. Just a few steps away, a recumbent sculpture of the crucified Jesus Christ rests befo...

New York's Senate will take a long-awaited vote on a bill to legalize gay marriage.But the outcome of the vote Wednesday that could give final legislative approval t...

A court in northern China has sentenced five leaders of an unauthorized Protestant church to prison terms of up to seven years on charges including illegal assembly, rights...

A Salvation Army bell ringer whose red kettle was stolen last weekend is back on the job outside a northwest Ohio store.Brenda Webb says she won't let the theft frig...

Affidavits show that Connecticut police found blood on the kitchen floor of the home of a Yale University lab technician charged with murder two days before his arrest....

With an ex-convict suspected in the coffee-shop ambush killings of four police officers now dead, authorities focused on pursuing those who may have helped him escape and s...

Thieves in Orange County have stolen $100,000 in toys and food donated to the poor, leaving an agency scrambling to recover just 24 days before Christmas.Sgt. James ...

An elderly woman has died from injuries suffered in a weekend shooting in northeast Kansas that also left her granddaughter and two great-granddaughters dead.Kansas'...

A registered sex offender attacked 14 women and killed 11 of them, leaving their remains in and around his home, a prosecutor said Tuesday in announcing a grand jury indict...

Authorities say two upstate New York police officers who were shot while responding to an emergency call at an apartment building are in stable condition.Police say ...

Will he become known as "Teflon John"?A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday at the racketeering trial of John "Junior" Gotti — the son of the late Gambino crime fami...

Battle-weary troops and their families braced for a wrenching round of new deployments to Afghanistan, but many said they support the surge announced Tuesday as long as it ...

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 2, the 336th day of 2009. There are 29 days left in the year.Today's Highlights in History:On Dec. 2, 1859, militant abolitionist Joh...

With a slim lead of 620 votes, a former state senator claimed victory in the race for Atlanta's mayor early Wednesday, though the contest was too close to call and could be...

Obama turns to Congress, allies to support massive, costly troop expansion in AfghanistanWASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are complaining about President Barack Obama's...

Bobby Bowden orchestrated one of the great runs in college football, building Florida State into a powerhouse that produced two national titles, dozens of All-Americans and...

Two weather features were expected to continue bringing wet weather to the U.S. on Wednesday.One strong low pressure system was forecast to persistently advect north...

David Martin is sickened by the suggestion that Texas executed an innocent man when Cameron Todd Willingham was put to death for setting a fire that killed his three childr...

The leader of the new General Motors was done in by an old problem at the nation's largest car maker: Change wasn't happening fast enough.GM's board and CEO Fritz He...

An ex-con accused of gunning down four police officers patched the gunshot wound to his belly with gauze and duct tape and managed to elude a massive manhunt until a lone o...

Baltimore's mayor has vowed to fight a misdemeanor conviction that could lead to her removal from office, saying the verdict won't slow down City Hall.A jury found S...

A Marine Corps officer whose criminal charges of failing to investigate the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians were dismissed must clear one final hurdle before retirement.Atlanta mayor's race to close to call, Errin Haines

With a slim lead of 620 votes, a former state senator claimed victory in the race for Atlanta's mayor early Wednesday, though the contest was too close to call and appeared...

The infectious bacterial disease brucellosis has been found in a beef cow in eastern Idaho, and state agriculture officials are scrambling to see if the infection is isolat...

A man who spent 28 years on death row for killing three people while robbing a Nashville convenience store has been executed.A Tennessee Corrections Department spoke...

Two New York police officers have been shot while responding to an emergency call at an apartment building, but their injuries don't appear to be life-threatening.Po...

Bobby Bowden orchestrated one of the great runs in college football, building Florida State into a powerhouse that produced two national titles, dozens of All-Americans and...

The leader of the new General Motors was done in by an old problem at the nation's largest car maker: Change wasn't happening fast enough.GM's board and CEO Fritz He...

Battle-weary troops and their families braced for a wrenching round of new deployments to Afghanistan, but many said they support the surge announced Tuesday as long as it ...

A broadcasters union is threatening to boycott a popular television special of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony unless NBC's entertainment division r...

A lone officer on patrol in the middle of the night Tuesday spotted a stolen car, its hood up and engine running, and pulled over to check it out. As the patrolman sat in h...

A World War II veteran says a woman who pretended her car had broken down so she could get into his Pennsylvania home grabbed two guns from his collection and engaged him i...

Declaring "our security is at stake," President Barack Obama ordered an additional 30,000 U.S. troops into the long war in Afghanistan Tuesday night, nearly tripling the fo...

The race for Atlanta mayor appeared headed for a recount early Wednesday, with the two candidates separated by only 620 votes.Former state senator Kasim Reed had the...

Hawaii's chief elections officer on Tuesday proposed closing more than a quarter of the state's polling places in response to deep budget cuts imposed by the Legislature an...

Nearly 2 million acres of water off Alaska's largest and busiest city were proposed Tuesday as critical habitat for beluga whales, raising concerns that the effort to save ...