Whiteout preventing search for Mount Hood climbers
11:51
Whiteout conditions Tuesday prevented mountaineers or aircraft from searching for two climbers who have been missing on Oregon's tallest mountain since the weekend. A winter storm was expected to dump at least a foot...
4 family members found dead in upscale Calif. home
11:49
A woman killed herself and three other family members, including two young children, in what may have started as a child custody dispute in an upscale, gated Orange County community, authorities said Tuesday. Sheriff's...
DNA testing clears man who served 28 years
11:44
A judge in Washington has ordered a man who spent 28 years in prison for a rape and murder be released after DNA testing showed he's innocent. Prosecutors say 58-year-old Donald Eugene Gates is expected to be released...
Ohio justices: Cell phone searches require warrant
11:35
Police officers must obtain a search warrant before searching the contents of a suspect's cell phone unless their safety is in danger, a divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled Tuesday on an issue that appears never to have...
Female vets face homelessness, dearth of services
11:17
The $15,000 that former Army Pvt. Margaret Ortiz had in the bank when she left Iraq is long gone, spent on alcohol and cocaine. By the time she found her way to a program run by the nonprofit U.S. Vets for homeless...
DC City Council to vote on gay marriage
10:35
A bill to legalize gay marriage is going to the D.C. City Council for a final vote. The bill is co-sponsored by 10 of 13 council members and is expected to pass Tuesday. Opponents have vowed to try to get voters or...
Levy defendant pleads not guilty to new charges
10:24
The man accused of killing federal intern Chandra Levy in Washington in 2001 has pleaded not guilty to charges he threatened a witness in the case. Ingmar Guandique (gwan-DEE'-kay) was indicted this month on counts...
Lindsay Lohan's father arrested in NY
9:39
Police on New York's Long Island say Lindsay Lohan's father has been arrested and charged with criminal contempt, for allegedly violating an order of protection. Suffolk County police say Michael Lohan was arrested...
Schools close as heavy rains drench the South
9:04
Schools are closed in parts of Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia as heavy rain continues to drench the already-soggy South. More than an inch of rain an hour was falling in south Louisiana, and the New Orleans airport...
Missing woman's dad: Doubts son-in-law hurt her
8:54
The father of a 28-year-old woman who went missing more than a week ago says he doesn't think his son-in-law would do anything to hurt his daughter, and understands why he felt the need to hire an attorney. Charles Cox...
AP Enterprise: Gaps in DNA banks lead to tragedy
8:50
During what police say was a 20-year killing spree in Milwaukee, Walter Ellis left his DNA behind all along the way _ everywhere but the one place where it might have saved a life. Ellis should have given a DNA sample...
Porn star gets 3-year sentence for NJ burglaries
8:47
A man known to police as "Spider-Man" for his daring escapes and who starred in gay porn videos with his twin brother has been sentenced to three years in prison for burglary in New Jersey. Taleon Goffney received the...
Feds: Chicago suspect knew of Mumbai attack
8:42
A Chicago man accused of planning a terrorist attack against a Danish newspaper knew in advance about a plot to attack Mumbai and offered congratulations to the killers afterward, federal prosecutors charged Monday. In...
Detroit artists use city's blight as their canvas
8:28
Houses with dreary urban facades covered in polka dots. A traveling dollhouse made from the remnants of abandoned homes. A dilapidated residence covered in ice. Artists across the Detroit area are using the city's...
Motivational speaker accused in Las Vegas death
6:39
Authorities say a motivational speaker accused in the slaying of a Las Vegas woman told police the two were in a meditation session in her home when he decided to kill her. Michael Lane, a British citizen, faces...
NC mom sentenced for putting son in boiling water
6:37
A 22-year-old North Carolina woman who put her toddler in boiling water and burned his foot with a cigarette has been sentenced to prison. Media outlets reported Tuesday that Tabitha Rich pleaded guilty to two felony...
The nation's weather
3:57
Two weather systems were forecast to produce unsettling weather activity in the West and East on Tuesday. A strong Pacific front was set to hit the Pacific Northwest and northern California with significant onshore...
Female vets face homelessness, dearth of services
3:07
The $15,000 that former Army Pvt. Margaret Ortiz had in the bank when she left Iraq is long gone, spent on alcohol and cocaine. By the time she found her way to a program run by the nonprofit U.S. Vets for homeless...
Pa. police: Armed teens tried to carjack officer
2:51
Pittsburgh police say an armed gang of teenagers tried to carjack an officer who was sitting in her personal vehicle while getting ready to go to work. Officer Caytlin Wood had her engine running Monday afternoon...
Family members found dead in S. California home
2:00
Members of a family living in Southern California were found dead Monday in a home inside an upscale gated community in Orange County, authorities said. Sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said deputies were called to the...
Boy, 14, accused of raping girl at Calif. school
1:02
A 14-year-old boy is facing charges, and two school officials are on administrative leave, after authorities say a 12-year-girl was raped in a stairwell at a San Francisco Bay-area school. El Cerrito police say the...
Fetus found in gift box, Texas couple charged
12:40
A south Texas couple put an aborted 7-month-old fetus in a gift box under a Christmas tree after they were unable to flush the remains down a toilet, authorities alleged Monday. Ruby Lee Medina, 31, and Javier...
Today in History - Dec. 15
12:01
Today is Tuesday, Dec. 15, the 349th day of 2009. There are 16 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Dec. 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights went into effect following ratification by Virginia. On this...
3 Rhode Island detectives shot during drug raid
12:01
Three Providence, R.I., police detectives have been shot and wounded during a drug raid. Detective Charles Boranian told The Associated Press on Monday night that the three detectives suffered non-life-threatening...
New VA patients younger, more likely to be women
12:00
Doctors at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in this quiet, bucolic town tucked between coal country and the nation's capital used to go months without treating a female veteran. Today, they're reporting the...
Judge's ruling puts Navajo president back on job
11:44
Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. is back on the job. A Window Rock judge issued a permanent injunction late Monday against a Tribal Council resolution that placed Shirley on leave, saying lawmakers acted outside of...
Mo. reported inflated food stamp figures to feds
10:27
Missouri acknowledged Monday that it reported inflated numbers of food stamp recipients to the federal government, calling into question millions of dollars of bonuses paid to the state for running one of the nation's...
Man convicted of torturing 76-year-old Calif woman
10:18
A man has been convicted of torture and attempted murder for beating and kidnapping a 76-year-old California woman and holding her in a car trunk for 26 hours. Jurors in El Cajon reached their verdict Monday against...
La. student falls under bus during scuffle, dies
10:06
A Louisiana high school student was killed after she fell into the path of a departing school bus during a fight with another student. Officials say the Monday afternoon fight was between a Rayville High School student...
Police: 1 killed in Anchorage hotel robbery
9:46
One man was killed and another wounded during an early Monday robbery at a downtown Anchorage hotel, police said. Officers arrived at the low-budget Inlet Inn just after 2:30 a.m. and found the two gunshot victims. One...
2 guilty of killing CA teen, hiding body in drum
9:40
Two Riverside County men have been found guilty of murdering an 18-year-old girl, putting her body in a 55-gallon drum and leaving it in a field in Southern California. Two separate Riverside Superior Court juries on...
NJ high school reopens after threat
9:28
Students returned Monday to a New Jersey high school that prosecutors say was the target of a "Columbine-like" plot and were greeted by a police presence that was intended to reassure that Bridgewater-Raritan High...
Cops: Man accused of rifle attack after drunk ride
9:16
Police arrested a 51-year-old man accused of attacking a relative with a rifle after driving home drunk on a snowmachine. The Tundra Drums reported that Hooper Bay police responded to a complaint of a man shooting a...
Germans flee into container after wild boar scare
9:16
German police have rescued four frozen walkers who called up from a waste container begging to be saved from roving wild boars. Police in Darmstadt, south of Frankfurt, said they received an emergency call at nearly 3...
Texas police arrest intruder suspect as he bathed
9:16
A 25-year-old man suspected of breaking into an east Texas house is jailed after police found him taking a bath in the house. The incident happened about 3:30 a.m. Sunday in a blue-collar neighborhood of northwest...
1881 gold coin found in Conn. donation kettle
9:16
A Connecticut Salvation Army chapter got a pleasant surprise when its members were counting change dropped into one of the organization's holiday donation kettles. Members found a rare 1881 "half eagle" coin last week...
Police: Mass. suspect mutilated fingers to hide ID
9:16
Police say a Boston man wanted for drug trafficking tried to conceal his identity by cutting the tips of his fingers to hide the prints. State Police spokesman David Procopio said Monday that Francis Viliar admitted to...
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,370
9:11
As of Monday, Dec. 14, 2009, at least 4,370 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes nine military civilians killed...
New species of coral, sponges found near Hawaii
9:00
New and dramatic species of coral and sponges have been found in the Pacific during deep sea dives near the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, scientists said Monday. Submersibles operated by the Hawaii Undersea Research...
NYPD must show GOP convention surveillance files
8:27
A federal judge has ruled the New York Police Department must release 2,000 pages of documents related to its surveillance of protesters before the 2004 Republican National Convention. Judge Richard Sullivan's ruling...
Boxer's opponents capitalize on 'ma'am' exchange
8:07
The widely played video clip of U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer reprimanding a general for calling her "ma'am" is the gift that keeps on giving for the two Republicans hoping to challenge her next year. Republicans Carly...
Zion forms relationship with nat'l park in China
8:05
Zion National Park is establishing a sister relationship with a national park in China. Zion Superintendent Jock Whitworth said the agreement with Danxiashan National Park will involve sharing ideas, staff and research...
Ex-Marine indicted in slayings of 5 Calif. women
7:55
A convicted triple murderer has been indicted in the slayings of five Southern California women in the 1980s and '90s. Andrew Urdiales, who's currently on death row in Illinois, was indicted Monday by an Orange County...
Satellites eye dwindling water in central Calif.
7:51
New data from satellites show the vast underground pools feeding faucets and irrigation hoses across California are running low, a worrisome trend federal scientists largely attribute to aggressive agricultural pumping....
Group threatens lawsuit over 144 species
7:37
A conservation group is threatening to go to court if the Obama administration doesn't start making progress on a backlog of endangered species listings. The Center for Biological Diversity on Monday filed a formal...
Group: Pot measure has enough sigs for 2010 ballot
7:33
A group campaigning to put a marijuana legalization measure before California voters said Monday it has enough signatures to qualify for the 2010 ballot. The measure has far more than the nearly 434,000 signatures...
Officials: Inmate who took hostage is shot, killed
7:24
Illinois prison officials say an inmate who took an employee hostage at the Pinckneyville Correctional Center in southern Illinois has been shot and killed. The Illinois Department of Corrections says the 37-year-old...
UN likely to extend Bhutto investigation
7:23
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday he is "positively considering" a request to extend a U.N. investigation into the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto for an additional three months. ...
Report: Islamic terror rising as al-Qaida fades
7:15
Targeted by drone strikes in Pakistan, al-Qaida is losing ground and financing even as attacks by Islamist groups are on the rise, according to a report obtained by The Associated Press. Attacks by Islamist militant...
Critics bash Quinn on early release of inmates
7:13
Critics heaped scorn on Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn on Monday over a secret prison program that allowed hundreds of inmates _ some violent offenders _ to be released early, including some who only spent 11 days behind bars....