Today is Thursday, Nov. 26, the 330th day of 2009. There are 35 days left in the year. This is Thanksgiving Day.Today's Highlight in History:Nov. 26, 1789, wa...

Santa Ana winds fanned a fire across 80 acres of Southern California hills before firefighters reduced it Wednesday to a smoldering — but still dangerous — black scar.<...

A Nebraska man who told a judge he fled with his wife and children into the South Dakota wilderness to avoid Nebraska authorities has been sentenced to three years in priso...

Nebraska prosecutors have dismissed all charges against two car dealership executives accused of stealing more than 80 vehicles off their own lot.John Childress, a S...

Authorities are asking for the public's help in finding a man, who won the Florida lottery in 2006, and has now gone missing. The Polk County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday sa...

Police say they have found four bodies in a home near Chicago.Bullet shell casings were found near the bodies Wednesday, but authorities in suburban Addison would no...

This blue-collar suburb on the edge of Los Angeles once helped send men to space. After the collapse of its aerospace industry, its ambitions are now more down-to-earth but...

Investigators found more charred human remains at the home of one of two missing Southern California boys as a third teen turned up safe Wednesday.Felicia Sharp appa...

One of three Southern California teenagers was found safe Wednesday as investigators said they continued to find charred human remains at the home of one of the still-missi...

A fight broke out Wednesday among more than 100 inmates at an Arizona prison, injuring 7 inmates and a corrections officer, a corrections official said.The officer s...

A young woman from Mexico was smuggled over the border and forced to work as a prostitute for years in Brooklyn, and the remains of an infant were found in concrete at the ...

Massachusetts prosecutors say a J.C. Penney children's department salesman sexually assaulted a boy in a dressing room when the boy's mother stepped away to make a phone ca...

A deep pink silk dress worn by Jacqueline Kennedy for her second holiday season in the White House has gone on display at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museu...

Prosecutors charged a physician Wednesday with first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of his 9-year-old son in their upscale suburban Oklahoma City home.Dr. Steph...

An activist group has begun posting 573,000 pager messages purportedly sent on Sept. 11, 2001, from "Second World Trade Center tower collapses" to "I'm ok & love you..x...

AP IMPACT: Lobbyists, health care heavyweights visited White House early and often for revampWASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's top aides met frequently wi...

A package for Tennessee's governor turned out not too jolly for staffers at the Capitol. Safety Department spokesman Mike Browning says officials evacuated the building for...

There's still family, turkey and football, but one Thanksgiving tradition is taking a hit this year. Millions of Americans are spending the holiday at home, saying the poor...

Portland's mass transit agency has fired a light-rail train operator who ignored a father's calls for help after his 3-year-old son was left behind at a station last week.<...

Police in Southern California say they are interviewing one of the three teenagers last seen in a home where charred human remains were found.Hemet police said Wedne...

Jackson police are working to crack a case of fowl play. They're searching for a man who broke into an apartment about 11 p.m. Tuesday and stole a family's holiday turkey. ...

An activist Web site has posted what it says are 573,000 pager messages sent on Sept. 11, 2001.Wikileaks says some of the messages were sent by federal and local off...

A flurry of good news this week — including falling jobless claims, stronger consumer spending and higher new-home sales — suggests the economic rebound, modest though ...

An anonymous letter with $500 and a plea for forgiveness sheds some light on a long-forgotten crime at an Iowa Catholic college.The writer admitted stealing a portab...

Scientists say they believe toxins from a blue-green algae plaguing lakes and rivers around the West are harming an endangered fish in the Klamath Basin, adding another obs...

A Northern California mayor is apologizing for comments he made to The New York Times that gays will not go to heaven.Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis issued a prepared stat...

Alexandria police have arrested a man they said broke into an home to cook a meal. The Alexandria Daily Town Talk reported Wednesday that 29-year-old man, who told police h...

Police said a serial shoplifter from central Pennsylvania has taken three sweet steps over the line and now faces a felony charge. Sonya Mosey, 33, was jailed on a felony r...

Pittsburgh City Council has tentatively approved paying $50,000 to settle a free speech lawsuit filed by a man cited for giving a city police officer the middle finger....

Betty Corey first thought the hissing from her Lakebay, Wash., kitchen might be one of her dogs. Wrong. It was a 4-foot-long ball python. Not a fan of snakes, Corey called ...

Police in Southern California have found charred and fragmented human remains in a deserted home where three missing teens were last seen.Police serving a search war...

Police said a North Carolina man rammed his car into a hot dog stand when the vendor refused to sell him a hot dog and drink for a dollar. WRAL-TV reported 23-year-old Davi...

The mothers of three Americans held captive in Iran have recorded video messages they hope Iranian authorities will deliver to their children.From their homes in Min...

Santa Ana winds fanned a fire across 80 acres of Southern California hills before firefighters reduced it Wednesday to a smoldering — but still dangerous — black scar.<...

Cutting global warming pollution would not only make the planet healthier, it would make people healthier too, new research suggests.Slashing carbon dioxide emission...

Authorities say a truck carrying illegal immigrants from Guatemala and Mexico has plummeted more than 40 feet off a cliff in southwest Texas. All 18 aboard were injured.Drywall investigation expands into US products, Brian Skoloff

A federal probe of tainted Chinese drywall has broadened because a small number of homeowners are reporting that American-made drywall is causing some of the same problems:...

Victoria Rogers had originally planned to make an early stop the day after Thanksgiving last year at the Walmart store in Valley Stream on Long Island. Her last-minute deci...

Customers at one Gulf coast gas station might be surprised at who responds to the counter when they pull up to the drive-through window: The store owner's dog. Dozens of ti...

It didn't take Knoxville police gumshoes to track down a suspected shoe thief. He was sauntering barefoot through the parking lot of a Knoxville store called the Shoe Show ...

The City of New York has agreed to pay $340,000 to an autistic man who spent a year in jail after confessing to a killing he didn't commit.Ozem Goldwire, of Brooklyn...

An inmate whose execution was put on hold as he argued that Ohio's method of lethal injection was unconstitutional can die as scheduled next month, now that the state has i...

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:____Nov. 22Houston Chronicle on climate change:As world government...

As stores prepare for hordes of Black Friday shoppers and mark down high-definition TVs and hot toys, they're also pushing deals on something more mundane — necessities l...

Rescuers chipped away with air-powered tools in a narrow tunnel Wednesday to free a man trapped upside down about 150 feet below ground in a popular Utah cave.Utah C...

A metro Atlanta nurse anesthetist has been charged with molesting and sodomizing anesthetized patients in dental and medical offices, and police say the videotaped abuses c...

Toxins from a blue-green algae plaguing lakes and rivers around the West have been found in endangered fish in the Klamath Basin, adding another obstacle to restoring speci...

A fight broke out Wednesday among more than 100 inmates at an Arizona prison, injuring three inmates and a corrections officer, a corrections official said.The offic...

There's no evidence that the swine flu vaccine is causing any serious side effects, U.S. health officials said Wednesday, in their first report on the safety of the new vac...

The widow of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy told Oprah Winfrey in an interview broadcast Wednesday that even as her husband knew he was dying of brain cancer he had been "in traini...

Sarah Palin is taking a Thanksgiving break from her book tour to spend time with family members in Washington for a 5K run to benefit the Red Cross.Palin detailed he...

The Justice Department is dropping all charges against a prominent Florida lawyer in a drug money-laundering case.Prosecutors asked Wednesday to dismiss the indictme...

Familiar Bible phrases in contemporary culture:All things to all people (1 Corinthians)Cast the first stone (John)Doubting Thomas (John)Eat, dri...

When the envelope arrived, Windy Horner was talking with her husband, Nick — Windy on a cell phone, Nick in the Blair County jail.Windy did not recognize the retur...

Police say a paralyzed Indiana man was unable to leave his bed as his house was being robbed after burglars put a T-shirt over his face.Authorities say two men enter...

Eight men have pleaded guilty to federal charges for selling stolen goods at five St. Louis area convenience stores and funneling part of their profits to the Palestinian t...

Energy prices rose Wednesday even as the amount of unused crude, gasoline and natural gas being placed into storage rose again.Natural gas, which each week sets new ...

The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the state improperly adopted the same three-drug lethal injection protocol that was upheld in the nation's highest court and...

The U.S. Navy plans to give away the retired aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy for a museum or memorial.The ship is currently in docked in Philadelphia with other...

Judge Lance Ito's fame has ironically made his courtroom the most difficult to find in downtown Los Angeles.Since presiding over O.J. Simpson's murder trial more tha...

A search-and-rescue team is working to free a man stuck about 150 feet underground in a popular Utah cave.The 26-year-old man has been trapped since late Tuesday nig...

Two fledgling political action committees that support allowing some illegal immigrants to become citizens are raising more money than their immigration-control counterpart...

The Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday postponed a planned roundup of thousands of wild horses in Nevada because of a lawsuit and to allow time for appeals of its decis...

A federal judge has denied a convicted murderer's request for more hair removal treatments as she waits to find out if she can get state-funded sex change surgery.U....

About 35 pipe bombs, an assortment of firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition were found in a former doctor's apartment following two loud explosions, police said Wednes...

Vicki Kennedy tells Oprah Winfrey that she will never run for the seat in the U.S. Senate that was held by her husband for nearly a half century.In an interview aire...

A Colonial-era skull believed to belong to a Revolutionary War soldier is set to be reburied in Connecticut with full military honors.The unidentified skull was disc...

The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that the state improperly adopted its three-drug method of lethally injecting condemned inmates.The court says in a ruling issue...

A previously blocked execution set for Dec. 8 can now go forward due to a change in Ohio's lethal injection policies, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.The dec...

Woe is me: If you want to be all things to all people, remember that many are called but few are chosen.If those phrases have a familiar ring, they should: They come...

Firefighters battling a 60-acre blaze in Orange County are keeping an eye on the weather.Capt. Greg McKeown of the Orange County Fire Authority says 50-mph wind gust...

In the days after 15-year-old Michael Brewer was set on fire by a group of teens, his mother, Valerie Brewer, sat at his hospital bedside and worried."How are we goi...

Earthquakes continue to rattle the California-Mexico border, but there are no reports of damage or injuries.The U.S. Geological Survey says a quake with a preliminar...

An Oregon legislative leader plans to introduce a bill to repeal a 1923 state law that bans teachers from wearing religious garb.House Speaker Dave Hunt, D-Gladstone...

Let us give thanks — and pass the Purell.Your family might be sharing more than turkey and pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving. Swine flu may also be on the table — an...

Stocks are narrowly mixed as reports showing a smaller rise in new claims for jobless benefits and strong consumer spending were offset by an unexpected decline in durable ...

There could be less jingle in the Salvation's Army's hallmark red kettles this season. The charity is testing kettles that take debit and credit cards.The growth of ...

Google Inc. is apologizing for a racially offensive image of the first lady that appears at the top of the list when users search for pictures of Michelle Obama on its site...

The Catholic Diocese of Fairbanks and representatives of almost 300 alleged victims of clergy abuse have agreed on a settlement of almost $10 million.The agreement w...

A federal judge has ordered Connecticut officials to promote 14 firefighters who won a reverse discrimination case in a landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.U.S...

2010 Nissan Armada Titanium 4X4BASE PRICE: $37,210 for 4X2 SE; $42,140 for 4X2 Titanium; $42,810 for 4X4 SE; $44,940 for 4X4 Titanium.AS TESTED: $45,960.<...

Large sport utility vehicles aren't as fashionable as they once were. So today's buyers of big SUVs are apt to be the people who really need them — for towing horse trail...

deear leadStock futures pointed to a higher open Wednesday as investors prepared to examine fresh data on consumer spending and sentiment, new home sales and the job...

A blistery and chilly day was expected in the Midwest and Great Lakes on Wednesday, while the Pacific Northwest was forecast to remain wet and cool.A strong low pres...

Shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station early Wednesday and headed home with one astronaut eager to hold his newborn daughter for the first time and ...

The Washington Post will close its remaining U.S. bureaus in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago at the end of the year to save money and will focus news efforts on covering ...

Ira "Babe" HanfordIra "Babe" Hanford, who as an 18-year-old apprentice rode 20-1 shot Bold Venture to victory in the 1936 Kentucky Derby, died Saturday. He was 91.Honolulu police posting DUI mug shots on Internet, Mark Niesse

Mug shots of drunken driving suspects are landing on the Honolulu Police Department's Web site, creating a virtual wall of shame long before suspects get their day in court...

Firefighters say they are making good progress against a wind-driven wildfire burning in Southern California.Orange County Fire Authority spokeswoman Lynnette Round ...

The Miles family is changing it up this year in the annual American race to make it to the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of booking plane tickets, they opted to ta...

The state-to-state march to legalize gay marriage across the left-leaning Northeast has lost more momentum since a major setback three weeks ago at the ballot box in Maine....

It's time for Atlantis and its seven astronauts to leave the International Space Station.The shuttle will undock early Wednesday morning, then aim for a Friday landi...

When an eastern Kentucky census worker was found naked, bound with duct tape and hanging from a tree with "fed" scrawled on his chest, suspicion fell on the hardscrabble Ap...

Gov. Mark Sanford's tearful confession that he quietly disappeared from the state for five days to rendezvous with his lover in Argentina has shattered his marriage and dim...

Savor that holiday sweet potato pie and those marshmallow yams while you can.Agricultural experts and industry officials expect enough sweet potatoes for Thanksgivin...

A wind-driven wildfire broke out in the hills of Southern California Tuesday night as late season Santa Ana winds blasted down burning slopes toward homes.Gusts of w...

Millions of Americans got an early jump on their Thanksgiving travel Wednesday, with many opting to drive or take trains and buses instead of shelling out more money for fl...

A wind-driven wildfire broke out south of Los Angeles Tuesday night as late season Santa Ana winds blasted down burning slopes toward homes.Gusts of winds are sendin...

On the surface it all seemed like a gruesome hate crime in a rural part of Kentucky with a history of disdain for the government: a census worker found bound with duct tape...