NATIONAL NEWS
Ariz. governor considers changing immigration law
PHOENIX (AP) — The fight over Arizona's immigration law showed no signs of letting up Friday as the federal judge who blunted its force faced threats and the Republican governor who signed it considered changes to address any faults. ...Read More
Calif. wildfire jumps aqueduct, approaches homes
PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) — A huge wildfire in the high desert wilderness north of Los Angeles jumped an aqueduct on Friday, rushing toward hundreds of houses as firefighters also tried to keep flames from damaging power lines that bring electricity to Southern California. ...Read More
Signs of oil spill recovery entering new phase
BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — BP's new boss says it's time for a "scaleback" in cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Federal officials say there is no way the crude could reach the East Coast. And fishing areas are starting to reopen. ...Read More
Ore. district attorney says no Gore prosecution
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Former Vice President Al Gore was cleared Friday of allegations he groped and assaulted a masseuse in a luxury Portland hotel room in 2006, closing a case that could have tarnished the Nobel prize winner's reputation. ...Read More
Bill Clinton emerges on Chelsea's NY wedding eve
RHINEBECK, N.Y. (AP) — Bill Clinton made a long-anticipated appearance in the upstate New York village where his daughter is getting married, drawing crowds of onlookers Friday afternoon as preparations continued largely out of sight for the grand and secretive occasion. ...Read More
12-year-old girl injured on Wis. 'free fall' ride
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A 12-year-old girl at an amusement park plunged more than 40 feet to the ground on Friday, seriously injuring herself when a safety net under a "free fall" attraction failed to catch her. ...Read More
Wildlife rescue escalates at Mich. river oil spill
MARSHALL, Mich. (AP) — Volunteers and government officials scrambled on Friday to save geese and other wildlife damaged by an oil spill in a southern Michigan river as the Canadian company that owns the ruptured pipeline said the crude had been contained. ...Read More
2 killed in plane crash pulled from Lake Michigan
LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP) — State police divers on Friday recovered the remains of two of four missing passengers who were on a medical plane that crashed into Lake Michigan last week. ...Read More
Deadly gas explosion destroys building in Calif.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A deadly gas explosion obliterated an industrial building with such violent force Friday that a worker was hurled into the street, car windows were shattered and a survivor had his hair singed in the inferno. ...Read More
Grizzly bear euthanized after Mont. triple mauling
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife officials euthanized a grizzly bear Friday after DNA tests confirmed that the sow and her cubs were responsible for a triple mauling that killed a Michigan man and injured two other campers. ...Read More
Calif. wildfire grows, threatens structures
PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says a wildfire in the high desert north of Los Angeles has grown to more than 20 square miles and threatens 2,000 structures. ...Read More
Ore. prosecutor says no Gore prosecution
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Former Vice President Al Gore won't be prosecuted over allegations by a masseuse that he groped and assaulted her in his Portland hotel room in 2006, the county prosecutor said Friday. ...Read More
Mother gets life term in Texas starvation case
DALLAS (AP) — A mother whose three children were found starving after being shut away in a hotel bathroom for as long as nine months has been sentenced to life in prison. ...Read More
Bodies of 2 plane crash victims recovered in Mich.
LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP) — Michigan state police divers have recovered the remains of two people who were passengers on a medical plane that crashed into Lake Michigan last week. ...Read More
4th bear caught after deadly MT campground attack
COOKE CITY, Mont. (AP) — The fourth grizzly bear believed involved in a triple mauling at a Montana campground has been captured, with DNA tests due Friday that could confirm the family of grizzlies killed a Michigan man and injured two other people. ...Read More
Attorney: Returned Russian boy back in orphanage
SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — An attorney for an adoption agency says a Russian boy who was sent back to Moscow by his American adoptive mother has been placed back in an orphanage. ...Read More
Judge bars evidence linked to Anna Nicole overdose
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The judge in the trial of Anna Nicole Smith's doctors and lawyer-boyfriend said Friday he was barring all evidence linking the defendants to Smith's fatal drug overdose. ...Read More
Mo. Senate race may narrow to Blunt, Carnahan
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — He calls her a "rubber stamp" for President Barack Obama and liberal congressional leaders. She "calls bull" on his attempts to represent regular folks, suggesting he's more attuned to lobbyists and corporate interests. ...Read More
NJ man gets jail for Phillies game vomit-assault
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A 21-year-old man who intentionally vomited on a spectator and his 11-year-old daughter at a Philadelphia Phillies game was sentenced Friday to up to three months in jail and community service, which the judge suggested be fulfilled by cleaning ballpark toilets and trash. ...Read More
DC Metro crash spurs federal oversight push
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supporters of a bill that would give federal regulators power to force transit agencies to make safety improvements are rallying around a ruling that the lack of federal oversight contributed to the fatal Metro crash in Washington last year. ...Read More
Feds arrest Polish immigrant in NM smuggling case
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An Illinois man faces human smuggling charges after investigators say he placed an ad in a Chicago-area Polish language newspaper, offering to drive illegal immigrants to New Mexico to take advantage of the state's lax driver's license rules. ...Read More
Gov: 'Significant progress' in Mich. oil cleanup
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm says there has been "significant progress" in cleaning up an oil spill in the Kalamazoo River. ...Read More
Army: Chemical weapons off Hawaii should stay put
HONOLULU (AP) — Chemical weapons dumped in deep water five miles south of Pearl Harbor after World War II should remain at the site because moving them could pose more of a threat to people and the environment, the Army said Friday. ...Read More
Wildfire explodes in rural hills near Los Angeles
PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters plan an aggressive air attack at first light Friday against a fast-moving wildfire that exploded in northern Los Angeles County, chewing through more than 7 square miles of dry brush, forcing thousands of evacuations and burning at least three structures. ...Read More
BP hiring former FEMA head for Gulf recovery
BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — BP announced Friday that it is hiring a former Clinton-era emergency management official and his consulting firm to help with the recovery from the massive Gulf oil spill. ...Read More
LA building explosion hurls people into street
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fire officials say a suspected natural gas explosion rocked a large South Los Angeles commercial building and hurled people into the street, wedging at least one man beneath a parked car. ...Read More
Dudley to outline BP plans to help Gulf recover
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Incoming BP CEO Bob Dudley was set to outline his company's long-term efforts to help the Gulf of Mexico recover from the oil spill Friday morning, and will be getting help from a Clinton administration-era emergency management official. ...Read More
Immigration skirmish brews in quiet SC town
SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (AP) — In a quiet Southern bedroom community of gardens and parks across the country from Arizona, another skirmish in the battle over illegal immigration is brewing. ...Read More
Mont. officials await test results in bear attack
COOKE CITY, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife officials expected DNA test results to confirm Friday that a captured grizzly bear and her three cubs were the animals that killed one camper and injured two others in a rampage that has set tourists in this Yellowstone National Park gateway community on edge. ...Read More
Aspiring police officers train, compete at event
ATLANTA (AP) — Shoot or don't shoot? Eighteen-year-old William Bryant takes a deep breath and gulps before he aims his pistol and shoots a passenger in a van who appears to be reaching for a weapon. ...Read More
In Rhinebeck with Chelsea: Rocky Horror, cows
RHINEBECK, N.Y. (AP) — If some of Chelsea Clinton's wedding guests want to make a weekend of it in Rhinebeck, there's a stage production of "The Rocky Horror Show" on the boards Saturday night and Sunday. ...Read More
Wildfire explodes in rural LA County hills
PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters plan an aggressive air attack at first light Friday against a fast-moving wildfire that exploded in northern Los Angeles County, chewing through more than 7 square miles of dry brush, forcing hundreds of evacuations and burning at least three structures. ...Read More
Arizona sheriff not relenting after court ruling
PHOENIX (AP) — Lost in the hoopla over Arizona's immigration law is the fact that state and local authorities for years have been doing their own aggressive crackdowns in the busiest illegal gateway into the country. ...Read More
US gas stations: Stay BP or change name to Amoco?
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — BP gas station owners across the country are divided over whether the oil giant stained by its handling of the Gulf spill should rebrand U.S. outlets as Amoco or another name as part of its effort to repair the company's badly damaged reputation. ...Read More
Moms work full-time for hikers' release from Iran
PINE CITY, Minn. (AP) — Cindy Hickey was sitting in her home office last summer, preparing a receipt for a client of her animal physical therapy business when the phone rang. She picked up, then nearly hung up, thinking it was a sales call. ...Read More
NM governor considers pardon for Billy the Kid
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The showdown between Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid has fascinated the American public for nearly 130 years with its classic, Old West storyline of the frontier lawman hunting down the notorious gunslinger. ...Read More
Time to scrap BP brand? Gas-station owners divided
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — BP gas station owners across the country are divided over whether the oil giant stained by its handling of the Gulf spill should rebrand U.S. outlets as Amoco or another name as part of efforts to repair the company's badly damaged reputation. ...Read More
Firefighters attack river of flame northeast of LA
PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) — Aircraft and about 500 firefighters attacked a river of flame running through grassy hills northeast of Los Angeles Friday as residents of about 1,000 homes waited to see if the blaze is kept away. ...Read More
Texas mom in starving case changes plea to guilty
DALLAS (AP) — A mother whose three children were found starving after being shut away in a hotel bathroom for as long as nine months changed her plea to guilty Friday, bringing her trial to a sudden end. ...Read More
No homes in imminent danger from SoCal wildfire
PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters say most people who were asked to leave about 2,000 homes overnight have returned as crews continue battling a wildfire in the high desert northeast of Los Angeles. ...Read More
Incoming BP CEO: Time for 'scaleback' in cleanup
BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — BP's incoming CEO said Friday that it's time for a "scaleback" of the massive effort to clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but stressed the commitment to make things right is the same as ever. ...Read More
Official: 1 person dead in LA building explosion
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A suspected natural gas explosion Friday at an industrial plastic-coating shop collapsed part of the building and hurled two workers into the street, killing one and leaving the other in critical condition, fire officials said. ...Read More
Defense opens for Ark. doctor charged in bombing
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Lawyers for a doctor accused of masterminding a bombing that disfigured the chairman of the Arkansas Medical Board opened their defense Friday, hoping to show that prosecutors "cobbled together" a theory when they couldn't link the physician to the bomb or the scene. ...Read More
Calif. wildfire forces hundreds from homes
PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) — A huge wildfire churned through high desert wilderness north of Los Angeles on Friday, destroying a few buildings and forcing people from about 2,000 homes. Most of the displaced residents were allowed to return as the threat eased. ...Read More
NY reps. spar in House over 9/11 responder bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House's rejection of bill that would have provided up to $7.4 billion in aid to people sickened by World Trade Center dust has opened a sharp rift between two New York congressmen, Republican Peter King and Democrat Anthony Weiner. ...Read More
South bakes, humidity feels like 100-plus degrees
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Heat advisories were posted from the Carolinas to the Great Plains as the South continued to roast Friday under temperatures and humidity that made beaches feel more like bakeries. ...Read More
Prosecutors: Smith part of conspiracy to get drugs
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a surprise move, prosecutors in the case of Anna Nicole Smith's doctors and her lawyer-boyfriend say the former Playboy model conspired with the defendants to illegally obtain massive amounts of prescription drugs. ...Read More
Grizzly bear euthanized after triple mauling
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Wildlife officials euthanized a grizzly bear Friday after DNA tests determined that the sow and her cubs were responsible for a triple mauling that killed a Michigan man and injured two other campers. ...Read More
Calif. Rep. Lungren caught speeding while on air
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Rep. Dan Lungren was forced to cut short a radio interview when he was stopped by police in Virginia for speeding while he was live on the air. ...Read More
Company says Michigan river oil spill contained
MARSHALL, Mich. (AP) — A Canadian company that owns the pipeline that leaked oil into Michigan's Kalamazoo River says the oil has been contained. ...Read More
