Massive Yosemite blaze may have been sparked by illegal marijuana growers

The massive forest fire that has scorched 348 square miles in and around Yosemite National Park may have been sparked by illegal ...

Police: College football player knocked officer unconscious

MINOT, N.D. –  Police arrested four Minot State University football players on misdemeanor drug charges and charged a fifth with ...

Minnesota teen cheerleader pleads guilty to prostitution charges

A former high school cheerleader pleaded guilty to three prostitution-related charges in which she admitted to placing online sex...

Couple who died hours apart after 71 years of marriage described as inseperable by family

The family members of an Illinois couple who died just hours apart after 71 years of marriage have described the couple as insepa...

California principal arrested for allegedly killing husband

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. –  An elementary school principal has been arrested for investigation of murder after her husband's body ...

Protesters across US, world demonstrate for and against prospect of US-led attack on Syria

HOUSTON –  Protesters nationally and globally are taking to the streets to express support for and against a possible U.S.-led at...

Neighbors sue rural Ga. city to fix sewer system that spews waste into yards and fouls creek

ROCHELLE, Ga. –  Residents in rural south Georgia are suing their tiny city over a particularly icky problem — raw sewage that b...

Naval Academy case involving former football players continues on holiday weekend

WASHINGTON –  Prosecutors and three separate legal defense teams will gather for the resumption of a hearing to determine whether...

Man rescued after clinging to Utah quarry cliff for hours

A 23-year-old man clung to a rocky cliff 200 feet in the air for two hours early Friday before a worker at a nearby gas station h...

Alaskan Aleutian Island region hit by large quake, aftershocks; no tsunami danger

ANCHORAGE, Alaska –  Several aftershocks rattled a remote Aleutian Island region off Alaska in the hours after a major 7.0 temblo...

A look at US military strikes ordered by last 5 presidents

A look at major U.S. military strikes as ordered by the last five U.S. presidents and the degree of international support behind ...

Homeless woman pleads guilty to stabbing deaths of Canadian tourists in Atlantic City

MAYS LANDING, N.J. –  A homeless woman has pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in the fatal stabbings of a Canadian mother and...

3 Massachusetts teens accused of sports camp sex assaults

Three male soccer players at a suburban Boston high school were arrested Friday on charges they sexually assaulted three younger ...

Progress made against Yosemite wildfire, but smoke spreads

FRESNO, Calif. –  Nearly a third of the huge forest fire burning in and around Yosemite National Park was contained Friday and so...

Authorities: Father charged after 18-month-old dies in BB gun shooting at Atlanta apartment

ATLANTA –  Atlanta police say a father has been charged with felony murder in the BB gun shooting death of his 18-month-old son. ...

NY judge declines to toss terror case facing Egyptian Islamic preacher extradited from England

NEW YORK –  A New York judge has refused to toss out terrorism charges brought against an Egyptian Islamic preacher extradited fr...

Jury finds teen guilty of murdering Georgia baby in stroller

A jury has found 18-year-old De'Marquise Elkins guilty of murder and other charges, including aggravated assault and attempted armed rob...

Prosecutors: Evidence links 6th killing to former photographer convicted of 4 Calif. murders

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. –  Authorities say they've linked a sixth killing to a former photographer facing a possible death sentenc...

Dad faces charges after baby dies in hot car; Phoenix police suspect he was smoking pot

PHOENIX –  A 31-year-old father whose infant son died after being left in a parked car in the Phoenix summertime heat has been ar...

Illinois couple married for 71 years die 16 hours apart

ROCKFORD, Ill. –  A man and wife who were married for more than seven decades died hours apart this week at a hospice in northern...

Foul-mouthed Pennsylvania chief could learn fate for racy videos

GILBERTON, Pa. –  A northeastern Pennsylvania police chief suspended for posting videos in which he fired borough-owned automatic...

Providence bus monitor suspended after 5-year-old girl is dropped off alone, wanders streets

PROVIDENCE, R.I. –  Officials in Providence, R.I., say they've suspended a school bus monitor after a 5-year-old girl was dro...

Closing arguments to begin in trial of man accused of fatally shooting baby in coastal Georgia

MARIETTA, Ga. –  Closing arguments are set to begin in the trial of a man accused of fatally shooting a baby in a stroller in coa...

Funeral for beaten World War II veteran draws hundreds of mourners

Hundreds of people attended the funeral of a World War II veteran who police say was beaten to death by two teens last week in a ...

Yosemite wildfire puts some holiday tourists in quandary

SACRAMENTO, Calif. –  The huge Sierra Nevada wildfire and its smoke plume have caused some fearful tourists to opt out of plans f...

High school football returns to Texas town devastated by plant explosion

Four months after the local fertilizer plant exploded, killing 15 people, transforming the lives of everyone in town and damaging...

Police: NYC woman offered undercover officer $60,000 stamp collection to kill her husband

NEW YORK –  New York City police say they've arrested a woman after she offered an undercover officer a $60,000 stamp collect...

Man accused of trying to bomb Chicago bar accused of seeking to have FBI agent killed

CHICAGO –  Prosecutors say a man facing terrorism charges for allegedly trying to bomb a downtown Chicago bar is now accused of s...

3 more accused in southwestern Illinois attack on Red Lobster waitress over wrong fish order

ST. LOUIS –  Three more women are accused in the 2011 attack on a southwestern Illinois Red Lobster waitress who was pummeled aft...

Delaware judge says lender is entitled to seize former presidential yacht from current owners

DOVER, Del. –  A Delaware judge says a lender is entitled to seize the former presidential yacht Sequoia from its current owners....

Popsicles, fans no match for late-summer heat, proves too much for some schools in Minn., Iowa

LINCOLN, Neb. –  Popsicles, fans and outdoor classes were no match for a late-summer heat wave in Minneapolis, where schools fina...

Police raid Maryland mall, find fake Apple products

HANOVER, Md. –  Maryland State Police say raids at Arundel Mills Mall turned up hundreds of counterfeit Apple products for sale a...

Average US rate on 30-year mortgage falls to 4.51 pct.; 15-year loan at 3.54 pct.

WASHINGTON –  Average U.S. rates for fixed mortgages declined this week but stayed close to their highest levels in two years. ...

Texas boy crashes car during joyride, leaving 6-year-old sister dead, police say

PHOENIX –  An 8-year-old boy was driving his mother's car on a nighttime joyride with his 6-year-old sister when it crashed i...

US economy grew at revised 2.5 percent annual rate in April-June quarter, double first quarter

WASHINGTON –  The U.S. economy grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate from April through June, much faster than previously estimated. ...

Roughly 5 percent of men in US cities solicit online sex ads, study finds

Roughly 5 percent of men over the age of 18 in U.S. cities are potentially soliciting online sex ads, according to a study. T...

Before an execution date, Fort Hood shooter faces years of appeals

FORT HOOD, Texas –  Maj. Nidal Hasan may welcome a death sentence as a pathway to martyrdom. But the rules of military justice wo...

Senders of texts to drivers can be held liable, New Jersey court rules

TRENTON, N.J. –  A New Jersey appeals court has found a person who knowingly sends a text to a driver can share liability if the ...

Accuser testifies at Naval Academy sex assault hearing

WASHINGTON –  A midshipman testified Wednesday that she didn't remember being sexually assaulted by three former Navy footbal...

Kentucky man says he killed wife to end her cancer pain

A southeastern Kentucky man charged with killing his wife says he fatally shot her because she asked him to end her suffering fro...

Panama says skeletal remains found in backpack belong to missing Calif. woman

Authorities in Panama say they have positively identified skeletal remains found last week as those of an American woman who vani...

Man allegedly tries to shoot arrow with marijuana attached into Wash. jail

A man is accused of trying to get marijuana into a Washington state jail by attaching it to an arrow he shot onto the roof. A...

Man accused of shooting marijuana-wrapped arrow at Wash. jail says he was hunting squirrel

BELLINGHAM, Wash. –  A man is accused of trying to get marijuana into a Washington state jail by attaching it to an arrow he shot...

Dallas megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes brings MegaFest event home to Dallas for first time

DALLAS –  Megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes is bringing his MegaFest inspirational event — which features everything from a film fest...

Back then: The March on Washington, as reported by The Associated Press on Aug. 28, 1963

WASHINGTON –  EDITOR'S NOTE — On Aug. 28, 1963, AP reporter Raymond J. Crowley went to the National Mall and chronicled the ...

Some Trump University students say they felt cheated

NEW YORK –  Bob Guillo spent almost $35,000 hoping to learn some of Donald Trump's real estate secrets. Instead, he says, he ...

Montana physician who told of handling Roswell UFO debris as boy dies at 76

HELENA, Mont. –  Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr., who said he handled debris from the 1947 crash of an unidentified flying object near Roswe...

Texas woman in ricin case found competent for trial

TEXARKANA, Texas –  A federal judge says a northeast Texas woman accused of sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama...

Medical records dispute holds up hearing for 3 midshipmen in Naval Academy sex assault case

WASHINGTON –  A hearing on whether three U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen should be court-martialed on sexual assault accusations is...