US to drop shooting case against Blackwater guard
6:14
The Justice Department intends to drop manslaughter and weapons charges against one of the Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting, prosecutors said in court documents Friday. ...
Levin: May be more troubling e-mails from Hasan
6:05
A Democratic senator says there may be additional e-mails that could have tipped off law enforcement or military officials to the Fort Hood shooter before he went on his rampage. Senate Armed Services Committee...
Couple pleads guilty in Cuban spying case
5:44
A retired State Department worker and his wife accused of a three-decade-long plot to spy for Cuba have pleaded guilty in federal court. Walter Kendall Myers and wife, Gwendolyn _ both in their 70s _ were caught in an...
Ethics committee: No punishment for Burris
5:14
The Senate ethics committee on Friday admonished Democratic Sen. Roland Burris for misleading investigators about his maneuvering to get Barack Obama's old Senate seat from the governor who was ousted for trying to sell...
Army announces review of how it tests body armor
3:05
The Army says there will be an outside review of how body armor for its soldiers is tested. The Government Accountability Office said last month that the Army made mistakes in testing a new body armor design. And it...
AP sources: Giuliani leaning toward Senate run
1:19
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, encouraged by many Republicans to run for governor in 2010, is instead leaning toward a run for U.S. Senate, according to two party advisers. "From staff, we have been hearing...
Sen. Nelson a 'yes' on health care test vote
12:30
Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska is a "yes" in a crucial weekend test vote on health care. The moderate lawmaker told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that he would vote with rank-and-file Democrats to...
Health care issues: Bundling payments
10:25
A look at key issues in the health care debate: THE ISSUE: What can the government do to get doctors and hospitals to deliver cheaper medical services? THE POLITICS: Medicare's fee-for-service structure means that...
Atty seeks psych care for Mo. teen murder suspect
6:17
A teenager accused of killing a 9-year-old neighbor should be sent to a psychiatric hospital because she shows signs of severe depression and anxiety, her attorney said. A judge had not approved the move Friday, though...
Colo. billboard links Obama with jihadists
6:17
A billboard showing President Barack Obama wearing a turban has sparked a lot of attention at the suburban Denver used car dealership that put it up. The sign, completed Friday by artist David Lee, shows a grinning,...
Calif. launches probe into scam targeting churches
6:13
California is investigating several companies suspected of bilking churches nationwide of hundreds of thousands of dollars through fraudulent computer leasing schemes, authorities said Friday. State Attorney General...
AP News in Brief
6:11
Three Democratic moderates to decide fate of health bill _ for now _ in crucial Saturday vote WASHINGTON (AP) _ Suitably opaque, Section 2006 takes up only a few dozen lines in a sweeping health care bill that runs to...
Indian boy mirrors plight of millions of kids
6:11
Arun Kumar was born to disabled parents, beaten by his grandparents, ran away from home, got a job in a garment factory and had all his savings stolen by the police. He was only 11. Today, at 13, he shares a cramped,...
Former Marine charged in 'Cathouse' star's death
6:10
A former Marine was charged Friday with six counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of four people whose bodies were found in a burning home, including a prostitute featured on the HBO reality series...
Measure to change U. of Neb. stem-cell rule fails
6:07
The University of Nebraska's governing board on Friday voted not to place tighter restrictions on embryonic stem cell research than those outlined under federal guidelines, which were expanded after President Barack...
Senator: USPS to resume North Pole Santa letters
6:04
An Alaska senator says the U.S. Postal Service is resuming a program allowing volunteers to respond to letters sent to Santa Claus in care of the North Pole, Alaska, post office. Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski...
Argentina forces dirty war orphans to provide DNA
5:39
Valuing truth over the right to privacy, Argentina's Congress has authorized the forced extraction of DNA from people who may have been born to political prisoners slain a quarter-century ago _ even when they don't want...
Kidnapped Britons say Somali pirates may kill them
5:15
A retired British couple snatched from their yacht by Somali pirates said in an interview broadcast Friday they fear they could be killed within a week or handed to a terrorist group if a ransom demand is not paid. ...
McCain urges Obama to speed up Afghan decision
5:14
U.S. Sen. John McCain predicted success in the Afghan war effort Friday if President Barack Obama makes a decision quickly to send the reinforcements requested by his top commander there. The Arizona senator told a...
Researcher: Faint writing seen on Shroud of Turin
5:09
A Vatican researcher has rekindled the age-old debate over the Shroud of Turin, saying that faint writing on the linen proves it was the burial cloth of Jesus. Experts say the historian may be reading too much into the...
Museum: Galileo's fingers, tooth are found
5:09
Two fingers and a tooth removed from Galileo Galilei's corpse in a Florentine basilica in the 18th century and given up for lost have been found again and will soon be put on display, an Italian museum director said...
Afghan police are weak link in security force
5:08
Underpaid, under-equipped and under-trained, Afghanistan's 93,000-member police force is the weak link in an ambitious security strategy to hand over defense of the country to Afghans so American and other foreign...
Floods devastate UK Lake District, much of Ireland
5:08
Raging floods engulfed northern England's picturesque Lake District on Friday following the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Britain, killing a police officer and trapping dozens in their swamped homes. Military...
Lesbian US war deserter wins stay of deportation
5:08
A lesbian who deserted the U.S. military and fled to Canada must be given another chance to plead her case for refugee status, Canada's Federal Court ruled Friday. Judge Yves de Montigny said the board erred last...
Small Florida bank shuttered, 124th this year
6:13
Florida banking regulators on Friday shut down Commerce Bank of Southwest Florida, marking the 124th U.S. bank to succumb this year to the struggling economy and rising loan defaults. The Federal Deposit Insurance...
Moderate Dems pivotal in Saturday health care vote
6:11
Suitably opaque, Section 2006 takes up only a few dozen lines in a sweeping health care bill that runs to 2,074 pages and mentions neither Sen. Mary Landrieu nor her state of Louisiana. But the section's purpose is...
GOP: Health test recommendations could affect care
6:10
Republicans are seizing on this week's recommendations for fewer pap smears and mammograms to fuel concern about government-rationed medical care _ and to try to chip away support by women for President Barack Obama's...
Fla. commissioner OKs Citizens Property rate hikes
6:09
More than 15,000 mobile home owners insured by state-backed Citizens Property insurance Corp. will see an 11 percent increase on their insurance policies in 2010. Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty signed an...
How the major stock indexes fared on Friday
6:08
Stocks fell for a third straight day Friday as a disappointing outlook from computer maker Dell Inc. suggested that an economic recovery could be uneven. The market, which has been shuttling between concerns about the...
Americans save more but earn less as rates fall
6:04
The U.S. is finally becoming a nation of savers. Now if only we could get something for our money. Interest rates are sinking to near zero for the first time since last year's financial meltdown, dampening spending as...
TD Ameritrade offering $1.25B in senior notes
6:04
Online retail brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. said Friday that it will sell $1.25 billion in senior unsecured notes in a public offering and use proceeds to retire debt and stagger the maturity of its long-term...
New Hampshire AG seeks bankruptcy for mortgage co.
5:59
The New Hampshire attorney general's office wants to force a mortgage company that closed suddenly into bankruptcy. Financial Resources Management of Meredith closed abruptly Nov. 9 as did two other businesses sharing...
NYC TV newsman guilty of attempted assault on wife
6:15
A judge has convicted an influential New York City television newsman of attempting to assault his wife. The Rockland County district attorney's office issued a one-sentence statement Friday saying Dominic Carter was...
Guests for the Sunday TV news shows
6:07
Guest lineup for the Sunday TV news shows: ___ ABC's "This Week" _ Sens. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Ben Nelson, D-Neb.; Reps. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. ___ CBS' "Face the Nation"...
Jennifer Lopez, Adam Lambert ready for AMA stage
5:56
Jennifer Lopez plans to include fireworks and an on-stage costume change in her performance at the American Music Awards. "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert will incorporate leather and chains into his. Lopez and...
Ohio chief trial in Parker-Broderick case to jury
5:47
A prosecutor says an Ohio police chief accused of breaking into the home of a woman who carried twins for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick abused his authority and tried to "blame it all on being a joke." ...
Winfrey: Prayer, careful thought influenced exit
4:20
Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience Friday that she would end her show in 2011 after a quarter-century on the air, saying prayer and careful thought led her to her decision. Winfrey told the...
Q&A: Debut CD from Wale taps into his emotions
4:10
Wale wanted to infuse his debut album with a woman's touch, so the rapper recruited singing divas like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Chrisette Michele and Jazmine Sullivan to get that feeling across. "I need a woman to help me...
Eminem says 'Relapse 2' now will come out in 2010
3:50
Eminem's comeback year of 2009 was expected to include the release of two new albums. That turned out to be only partially true. "Relapse," the Detroit rapper's first original studio album in more than four years,...
Miley Cyrus tour bus overturns in Va., killing 1
3:38
The driver of a Miley Cyrus tour bus was killed Friday when the bus overturned, but the 16-year-old "Hannah Montana" star wasn't on board, Virginia State Police said. Sgt. Thomas Molnar said the bus ran off the left...
FIRST-PERSON: The AP 'goes rogue'
6:00
ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--I don't know which frustrates me more: hypocritical politicians -- Democrats and Republicans - who are more concerned about their own power than their constituents concerns, or liberal members of...
FIRST-PERSON: 'Blind Side' one of the best of the year
6:00
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (BP)--The key words in John 3:16, for the purpose of this article, are "world" and "whosoever." Those two words indicate that God finds value in each person. So God bless those who understand that each...
FIRST-PERSON: Your tax dollars, funding abortion
6:00
WASHINGTON (BP)--It will be a while before we know all that Senate majority leader Harry Reid is proposing in the name of health care reform in his "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," which exceeds 2,000 pages...
LIFE DIGEST: 40 Days for Life reports more than 580 unborn babies saved
6:00
WASHINGTON (BP)--The 40 Days for Life campaign reported more than 580 unborn children were saved and eight abortion clinic workers left the business by the close of the initiative Nov. 1.In the waning days of this...
Bingo machines illegal, Ala. high court rules
6:00
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BP)--The Alabama Supreme Court dealt the state's electronic bingo gambling industry a severe blow Nov. 13 when it ruled that so-called "electronic bingo machines" are in fact an illegal form of...
Alabama affirms CP, adopts $46M budget
6:00
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (BP)--Messengers to the Alabama Baptist State Convention affirmed the effectiveness of cooperative missions and adopted a $46 million 2010 Cooperative Program budget during their annual meeting, Nov....
Reaching the Berbers of North Africa
6:00
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering supplements Cooperative Program giving to support more than 5,600 Southern Baptist missionaries as they share the Gospel overseas. This year's offering goal is $175...
WORLDVIEW: A tale of five cities
6:00
EDITOR'S NOTE: Visit "WorldView Conversation," the blog related to this column, at http://worldviewconversation.blogspot.com/RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--My son wants to go to school next year in New York City.In midtown...
Tamiflu-resistant swine flu cluster reported in NC
5:18
Four North Carolina patients at a single hospital tested positive for a type of swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu, health officials said Friday. The cases reported at Duke University Medical Center over six weeks...
Guidelines for cancer screening differ by group
4:24
Several doctors groups and advocacy groups set guidelines for cancer screening, and they update that advice periodically as new information emerges. Sometimes they agree, sometimes they don't. Last year, a number of...
Military experiment seeks to predict PTSD
2:50
Two days before shipping off to war, Marine Pfc. Jesse Sheets sat inside a trailer in the Mojave Desert, his gaze fixed on a computer that flashed a rhythmic pulse of contrasting images. Smiling kids embracing a...
Tamiflu-resistant swine flu cluster reported in NC
2:32
Health officials say four people in North Carolina have tested positive for a type of swine flu that's resistant to the drug Tamiflu. It's the first cluster of that many cases seen in the U.S. Health officials said...
Report: 20-somethings can go 2 years between Paps
1:27
First mammograms. Now _ in an apparent coincidence _ Pap smears. New guidelines by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say most women in their 20s can have a Pap smear every two years instead of...
Correction: Plavix story
10:32
In a Nov. 17 story about drug interactions between heartburn medications and the blood thinner Plavix, The Associated Press misidentified Johnson & Johnson's Mylanta as part of the H-2 blocker drug family. Mylanta...
Cost of child vaccines fall, more kids saved
10:23
Babies squirmed and wailed as needles plunged into their chubby thighs at a public health clinic on the outskirts of Hanoi on Friday. Like little ones everywhere, the reaction to the sting was never pretty. Starting...
AP IMPACT: Gripes about swine flu vaccine abound
9:51
When the nation's swine flu vaccination program began in early October, health officials predicted it was going to be "messy." They were right. The program has been plagued with problems and information gaps: _Health...
Europe: Proton beams circulate in Big Bang machine
6:07
Scientists switched on the world's largest atom smasher Friday night for the first time since the $10 billion machine suffered a spectacular failure more than a year ago. It took a year of repairs before beams of...
Asian carp may have breached electronic barrier
5:08
Asian carp may have breached an electronic barrier designed to prevent the giant invaders from upsetting the ecosystem in the Great Lakes and jeopardizing a $7 billion sport fishery, officials said Friday. Scientists...
Flurry of IPOs signals IPO rebound to continue
4:38
The flurry of initial public offerings this week is confirmation that this fall's rebound in the market wasn't a fluke and sets the stage for more companies to raise money through IPOs in 2010. But the response to two...
Suit over search-engine keywords tries new angle
3:26
A lawsuit in Wisconsin is bringing a fresh challenge to the practice of paying for keywords on Google and other search engines to boost one company's link over a rival's. The practice has occasionally prompted a rival...
Ask AP: Shuttle complexity, credit union agency
2:46
A space shuttle is no tinker toy. But is it the most complex machine ever built? Curiosity about the complexity of the reusable spacecraft inspired one of the questions in this edition of "Ask AP," a weekly Q&A...
Microsoft offers about 24K training vouchers in NC
11:58
Microsoft Corp. is giving away nearly 24,000 vouchers to North Carolina residents who want to improve their computer skills so they can improve their lot in the work force. Gov. Beverly Perdue and the software giant...
Astronauts await word of baby girl on Earth
11:30
Atlantis' astronauts anxiously awaited word on the birth of one crewman's daughter Friday, as they moved more supplies into the International Space Station and geared up for another spacewalk. Astronaut Randolph...
Dell's profit, stock drop on weak quarterly report
10:57
Some of the computer industry's biggest players _ such as IBM Corp., Intel Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. _ have wowed Wall Street this fall with stronger-than-expected profits. Dell Inc. didn't join them Thursday. The...
The nation's weather
5:57
The remnants of Tropical Storm Ida were expected to continue tracking through the Southeastern U.S. on Thursday. The system was forecast to continue pulling abundant moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and allow for wet...
The nation's weather
4:43
A strong storm in the center of the country was expected to continue bringing wintry weather to the Central Rockies and Plains on Thursday. A strong low pressure system that developed over the Rockies would continue...
The nation's weather
5:18
Unsettlement was expected over most of the country Friday as two strong systems were forecast to continue kicking up wet weather. In the East, a strong low pressure system was expected to sweep eastward from the...
The nation's weather
4:57
Wet weather was forecast to sweep through the Central U.S. on Thursday as a strong low pressure system pushed off the Rockies and into the Plains. The system that developed over the Great Basin and spread light...
The nation's weather
5:26
Drier conditions were expected for the Eastern U.S., while a strong storm would continue tracking over the Rockies. A high pressure system would continue building over the East Coast as a low pressure system slowly...
The nation's weather
4:54
Wet weather was forecast to persist in the Northeast while diminishing across the Southeast as a front pushed off the East Coast on Tuesday. A strong low pressure system would continue to track over the Great Lakes and...
The nation's weather
5:05
Monday's main weather event was forecast to develop in the Midwest as a deepening area of low pressure in the northern Great Lakes swung a cold front through the Upper Great Lakes. Significant precipitation with...
The nation's weather
7:29
A low-pressure system will begin Sunday over the Ohio Valley before tracking over New England into the Atlantic Ocean by the end of the day. This storm will carry a significant amount of moisture that will produce...