News For Friday Sep 5, 2008 News For Friday Sep 5, 2008

U.S. U.S.

Speedy Tropical Storm Hanna charges for Carolinas - Added 21 minutes ago

Tropical Storm Hanna picked up speed Friday as it cruised toward the Carolinas, promising to deliver gusty winds and heavy rain during a dash up the Eastern Seaboard that could wash out the weekend for millions of...

3 killed, 1 missing in Coast Guard copter crash - Added 24 minutes ago

Rescuers on Friday searched for a missing crew member from a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter that crashed in ocean waters off Oahu, killing the three others on board. The Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter went down...

Dentist charged with dumping waste on Jersey Shore - Added 27 minutes ago

!!-- pobj:PAPHQ101-0813041405 -->A Pennsylvania dentist has been charged with the Jersey Shore's most serious beach-dumping case in two decades, medical waste that sullied the coast in a popular area and forced beach...

Oldest gorilla in captivity dies in Dallas at 55 - Added 27 minutes ago

The oldest gorilla in captivity, a 55-year-old female named Jenny, has died at the Dallas Zoo _ her home for more than half a century, a spokesman said Friday. Zoo officials decided to euthanize Jenny on Thursday night...

NJ cops kick in door over bird's cries for help - Added 31 minutes ago

Cries for help inside a Trenton, N.J., home turned out to be for the birds. Neighbors called police Wednesday morning after hearing a woman's persistent cry of "Help me! Help me!" coming from a house. Officers arrived...

FAA investigating 11 air carriers on safety issues - Added 37 minutes ago

Federal aviation officials said Friday they are investigating 17 cases in which 11 air carriers did not comply with government safety directives. The cases were uncovered during a major effort by the Federal Aviation...

Ask AP: Maximum heat, oil wells set on fire - Added 38 minutes ago

You may have experienced the feeling on a steamy summer day: Nowhere in the universe could possibly be hotter than this. Think again. Scientists have used high-tech equipment to generate temperatures in the billions of...

Team dumps logo near buttocks after 70-0 loss - Added 38 minutes ago

The Idaho Vandals football team is dumping the letter "I" from the buttocks region of players' new pants following a season-opening 70-0 loss to the Arizona Wildcats. Rob Spears, the school's athletic director, says...

FCC plans to go through with DTV test in NC - Added 39 minutes ago

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said Friday that he is unlikely to delay plans for an important test in North Carolina that could disrupt television service for some viewers in the path of Tropical...

Doctor fired for allegedly drinking on the job - Added 46 minutes ago

A Massachusetts doctor has been fired and lost the right to renew his medical license for allegedly trying to give a pregnant woman an epidural while drunk. The state Board of Registration in Medicine says 39-year-old...

W.Va. man accused of drunk driving on a tractor - Added 1 hour ago

A Charleston man faces drunken driving charges after police spotted him riding a farm tractor on a highway without lights or proper warning signs. Kanawha County sheriff's deputies arrested 22-year-old Joshua David...

Transportation Dept. almost out of highway funds - Added 1 hour ago

The federal highway trust fund will run out of money this month, requiring delays in payments to states for transportation construction projects, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said Friday. The trust fund _ a...

Parrots wreak havoc at New Zealand bird sanctuary - Added 1 hour ago

A gang of unruly teenage bush parrots have wrought havoc at a bird sanctuary in New Zealand by using their powerful beaks to destroy nesting boxes. The native Kaka parrots _ juvenile birds that haven't reached sexual...

US commander sees a 'slow win' in Afghanistan - Added 1 hour ago

U.S.-led forces are achieving a "slow win" in Afghanistan, but the less-than-decisive approach must be accelerated soon, a key American commander there said Friday. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, in a video...

New York Fashion Week starts with a message: Relax - Added 1 hour ago

The glamorous set had a message for economic worrywarts as New York Fashion Week kicked off Friday: Chill out. A loose, beachy vibe infused the first collections for spring 2009, drawing inspiration from fantasies of...

When storms batter islands, taxpayers pick up tab - Added 1 hour ago

Scraped away by two storms since last year, the beach vanishes behind Carlyle Buelvas' home at high tide, when waves lick the dune a few feet from her back porch and lap at the unprotected rental condos next door. ...

Rice, Gadhafi meet in house US bombed 22 years ago - Added 1 hour ago

The United States and Libya sealed a historic turnaround in their troubled relations with a meeting between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The mercurial Gadhafi welcomed...

Ohio preacher, 71, avoids jail in road rage case - Added 1 hour ago

A 71-year-old Cincinnati preacher convicted of waving a gun and threatening another driver won't be going to jail. A Hamilton County judge on Thursday sentenced Thomas Howell to two years' probation and 100 hours of...

Bush aide's House testimony temporarily halted - Added 1 hour ago

A federal appeals court has blocked former White House counsel Harriet Miers from testifying about the firing of nine U.S. attorneys until judges decide whether they have authority to wade into a battle that pits...

Hey! You have a snake hanging from your car! - Added 1 hour ago

Think rush hour is bad enough? What if a three-foot python were part of the drive home? The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Friday that biochemical engineer Marika Suominen-Yeh got the surprise of her life last...

Court refuses to dismiss pathologist's charges - Added 1 hour ago

A federal appeals court refused Friday to dismiss fraud and theft charges against celebrity pathologist Cyril Wecht and said he can be tried again with a new judge presiding. The judge at Wecht's first trial didn't...

Boy doles out hundreds of fake $20 bills at school - Added 1 hour ago

Authorities say an 8-year-old boy was handing out hundreds of dollars in fake $20 bills at an Ocala elementary school. School officials reported the boy to police on Tuesday. The fake bills were discovered when a child...

Last dance: Ga. town closes its only strip club - Added 2 hours ago

The windowless building that once housed the town's only strip club sits empty in the middle of a sprawling gravel parking lot, made all the uglier by the scars from its final party. This summer, a mob led by the mayor...

Rangel had no-interest mortgage more than 10 years - Added 2 hours ago

Rep. Charles Rangel paid no mortgage interest on a beach resort property for more than 10 years, a lawyer for the powerful House committee chairman said Friday. The New York congressman's lawyer, Lanny Davis, told The...

Black bear busts secret Utah pot farm - Added 2 hours ago

One Utah community is cheering a special bear _ but don't call him Smokey. Investigators say a large black bear raided a clandestine marijuana growing operation so often that it chased the grower away. "This bear is...

Charges dismissed against cyclist in YouTube shove - Added 3 hours ago

A judge dismissed charges Friday against the bicyclist who was body-checked and knocked to the pavement by a police officer in a widely viewed YouTube video. At the prosecution's request, Criminal Court Judge James...

Man with explosive device detained near US Capitol - Added 3 hours ago

Capitol Police said Friday they had detained a man after a rifle and an improvised explosive device were discovered in his vehicle near the Capitol building. Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said a...

Rev. Jesse Jackson released from Chicago hospital - Added 3 hours ago

The Rev. Jesse Jackson has been released from a Chicago hospital, two days after he was admitted for severe stomach pains. A spokeswoman for Jackson's civil rights organization, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, says Jackson was...

Bush to announce US troop levels in Iraq next week - Added 3 hours ago

President Bush will announce his decision on future troops levels in Iraq next week and is expected to largely follow the recommendations of military leaders to reduce the number by up to 8,000 by mid-January. The...

Bush keeps tabs on storms in busy hurricane season - Added 4 hours ago

President Bush is keeping tabs on the Gulf Coast's recovery from Hurricane Gustav while monitoring the threat from two other looming storms, Hanna and the even more-powerful Ike. From the Camp David presidential...

3 killed, including toddler, in Colo. hit-and-run - Added 5 hours ago

Three people were killed, including a toddler, after an SUV crashed into a pickup and shoved it into an ice cream shop outside Denver, Colo. Witnesses say the SUV broadsided the truck Thursday night as the smaller...

Upstate NY woman hid weapons in baby stroller - Added 5 hours ago

An upstate New York mom has pleaded guilty to packing more than diapers on her baby's stroller. Stephanie Wilson of Utica cut a deal with prosecutors Thursday over the unloaded sawed-off shotgun stashed on the ride...

Detroit mayor, soon off to jail, talks of comeback - Added 9 hours ago

Only hours after agreeing to resign and serve time in jail as part of plea deal, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick expressed regret for the scandal that has engulfed the city _ and left the door open for a return to public life. ...

'Broken man' Abramoff gets 4 years in prison - Added 9 hours ago

Broken and disgraced, lobbyist Jack Abramoff will spend four years in prison for his role in a corruption scandal that upended Washington politics and contributed to the Republicans' loss of Congress in 2006. The once...

Montana motorcyclist dies in 239 mph crash - Added 10 hours ago

!!-- pobj:MTBIL101-0328082113 -->A 47-year-old record-setting motorcycle racer from Montana has died when he lost control and crashed while traveling at 239 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Investigators weren't sure...

Feds warn climate change could harm giant sequoias - Added 10 hours ago

!!-- pobj:CAFRE501-1211052138 -->Federal researchers are warning that warming temperatures could soon cause California's giant sequoia trees to die off more quickly unless forest managers plan with an eye toward climate...

Gunman's rampage shows pitfalls for mentally ill - Added 10 hours ago

Isaac Zamora's mother begged him to get help when he was released from jail a month ago. State and federal laws prevented her from doing much more for the man who has now been arrested after a shooting spree in rural...

San Francisco delays rollout of ID card program - Added 11 hours ago

San Francisco is delaying a controversial program that would provide identification cards to all residents regardless of legal status. Mayor Gavin Newsom requested last month that the ID card plan _ closely watched by...

Texas UPS driver goes 1 million miles, no crashes - Added 11 hours ago

A routine package delivery turned into a milestone for a UPS driver in East Texas. Brent Boyd on Thursday surpassed 1 million miles on his UPS delivery van, the same vehicle he's driven for 22 years with the company. ...

Greek rural postmen top odd book title list - Added 11 hours ago

It may not be a best-seller, but "Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers" has won a literary accolade: oddest book title of the past 30 years. The book topped a poll to find the weirdest-ever winner of...

Remains of 3 sailors from Pearl Harbor identified - Added 12 hours ago

!!-- pobj:ORPOR111-0814082006 -->!!-- pobj:ORPOR110-0814082004 -->Two-thirds of a century ago, Kathleen Wyman drove her brother to California to join the Navy. From there, he shipped out to the USS Oklahoma at Pearl...

Philly school rekindles same-sex education debate - Added 12 hours ago

Calling all ninth-grade boys! Raise your hand if this school sounds like fun: wearing jackets and ties every day, staying until 5 p.m., learning Latin and _ to top it all off _ no girls. Who's in? Turns out, about 270...

Southeast braces for Hanna as Ike strengthens - Added 13 hours ago

Some Southeastern states declared emergencies and officials urged residents to head inland Thursday as Tropical Storm Hanna headed toward the Atlantic coast, where it could bring high winds and rain from South Carolina...

People convicted in the Abramoff investigation - Added 13 hours ago

Lawmakers, lobbyists, Bush administration officials, congressional staffers and businessmen caught up in the Jack Abramoff public corruption probe: _Abramoff was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison on charges of...

New Zealand parrots wreak havoc at bird sanctuary - Added 13 hours ago

A gang of unruly teenage bush parrots have wrought havoc at a bird sanctuary in New Zealand by using their powerful beaks to destroy nesting boxes. The native Kaka parrots _ juvenile birds that haven't reached sexual...

Army: soldier suicide rate may set record again - Added 15 hours ago

Soldier suicides this year could surpass the record rate of last year, Army officials said Thursday, urging military leaders at all levels to redouble prevention efforts for a force strained by two wars. As of the end...

Sources: Bush advised to delay troop cuts in Iraq - Added 15 hours ago

President Bush's top defense advisers have recommended he maintain 15 combat brigades in Iraq until the end of the year contrary to expectations that the improved security in Iraq would allow for quicker cuts, The...

Today in History - Sept. 5 - Added 17 hours ago

Today is Friday, Sept. 5, the 249th day of 2008. There are 117 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Sept. 5, 1972, Arab guerrilla members of Black September attacked the Israeli delegation at the...

Rev. Jesse Jackson hospitalized for stomach pains - Added 17 hours ago

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized and undergoing tests Thursday after complaining of severe stomach pains. Jackson told The Associated Press that he entered Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Wednesday after...

FEMA to cover hotel costs for some Gustav evacuees - Added 17 hours ago

Victims of Hurricane Gustav who can't return to their homes over the next month because of storm damage or power outages can have their hotel costs covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, officials said...