U.S. National News

3 swimmers dead, 3 missing in N.Y. ocean waters

AP - 23 minutes ago

NEW YORK - Authorities say three swimmers drowned and three are missing in two days of treacherous ocean currents at Long Island and New York City beaches. At least three more have been rescued.

  • Navajo tribe approves ban on commercial tobacco AP - 1 hour, 57 minutes ago

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Navajo Nation Council has approved a ban on commercial tobacco in public places on its vast reservation — including such outdoor venues as rodeos and fairs.

  • In this May 22, 2008 file photo, Senate Judiciary Committee member, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, listens to Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., ranking Republican on the committee, not shown, speak to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, accusing Democrats of partisan delays in dealing with judicial nominees. Kenneth Copeland is one target of a Senate Finance Committee investigation into allegations of questionable spending and lax financial accountability at six large televangelist organizations that preach health-and-wealth theology. Copeland has fought back the hardest, refusing to answer most questions from the inquiry's architect, Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)
    AP IMPACT: Relatives of televangelist prosper AP - Sat Jul 26, 7:11 PM ET

    NEWARK, Texas - Here in the gentle hills of north Texas, televangelist Kenneth Copeland has built a religious empire teaching that God wants his followers to prosper.

  • Mourners are seen at a memorial service held on the Denton football field Thursday, July 24, 2008 in Denton, Mont. Four teenagers killed in a single car crash over the weekend were remembered at memorial services here Thursday as adventure seekers who were full of life. (AP Photo/Great Falls Tribune, Larry Beckner)
    Montana town loses 4 teens, their athletic hopes AP - Sat Jul 26, 4:35 PM ET

    DENTON, Mont. - Here in rural Montana, the long roads stretch to the horizon over rolling hills covered with wheat. Drivers casually lift a hand off the wheel to greet oncoming drivers, whether they recognize the car or not.

  • Booms are in place to contain a fuel oil spill in the Mississippi River at the Port of New Orleans, Friday, July 25, 2008. The Coast Guard reopened the Mississippi River to limited traffic, as work continues to clean up fuel oil that spilled when a ship and a barge collided early Wednesday morning. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)
    Impact on wildlife limited in Miss. River spill AP - 56 minutes ago

    NEW ORLEANS - A large fuel spill that has shut down 100 miles of the Mississippi River for four days has had a limited impact on wildlife so far, but officials are worried about fragile wetlands downstream.

  • Elementary school girls participate in a Double Dutch jump rope practice session at the St. Peter Claver Gym in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Wednesday, June 25, 2008. Long popular on New York City sidewalks, Double Dutch will become an officially sanctioned varsity sport in city public schools in the spring of 2009. (AP Photo/Ed Ou)
    NYC adds double dutch rope jumping as school sport AP - 2 hours, 35 minutes ago

    NEW YORK - The popular urban street pastime called double dutch, in which competitors jump between two ropes twirled eggbeater-style, is getting more recognition, becoming an officially sanctioned sport in New York City high schools.

  • The driver of a vehicle, right, attempts unsuccessfully to run over police officers near Christian radio station WTLR in State College, Pa. Friday, July 25, 2008. An official at the radio station in central Pennsylvania says police shot and killed the man who had threatened the station. (AP Photo/Brad Shearer)
    Gunman at Pa. radio station bipolar, ex-wife says AP - Sat Jul 26, 5:09 PM ET

    STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The ex-wife of a gunman fatally shot by police outside a central Pennsylvania radio station says the man struggled with bipolar disorder.

  • Family and friends weep as the remains of Alex Jimenez, 25, are carried into St. Mary's of the Assumption Parish in Lawrence, Mass., Friday July 25, 2008. Jimenez was missing for months after being seized by insurgents in Iraq. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)
    Procession, Mass for long-missing US soldier AP - Sat Jul 26, 1:59 PM ET

    LAWRENCE, Mass. - Hundreds of mourners trekked up a flag-lined street Saturday for the funeral of Army Staff Sgt. Alex Jimenez, whose body was found 14 months after he and two fellow soldiers were captured during an ambush in Iraq.

  • Jill Starishevsky, a prosecutor with the Bronx District Attorney's office, poses on the steps of the Bronx Supreme court in New York Wednesday, June 23, 2008. Starishevsky has written a children's book, titled 'My Body,' to help parents and kids deal with sexual abuse. (AP Photo/Ed Ou)
    Prosecutor's book helps parents discuss sex abuse AP - Sat Jul 26, 2:52 PM ET

    NEW YORK - Prosecutor Jill Starishevsky was working on the case of a little girl who had been consistently raped by her stepfather when she got an idea of how she could help families prevent such horrific acts.

  • New space race heats up with unveiling of aircraft AP - Sat Jul 26, 4:45 PM ET

    LOS ANGELES - Aerospace engineers have been holed up in a Mojave Desert hangar for four years, fashioning a commercial spaceship to loft rich tourists some 62 miles above Earth. Now the wraps come partially off the top-secret project.

  • Falling tree kills firefighter in California AP - Sat Jul 26, 2:18 PM ET

    REDDING, Calif. - Federal forestry officials say a firefighter has died after being struck by a falling tree while working on a wildfire in Northern California.

  • A long row of unsold H3s sits at a Hummer dealership in Castle Rock, Colo., on Sunday, July 6, 2008. GM already has decided to study the sale of its Hummer brand. The big trucks aren't the right product for consumers facing $4 per gallon gasoline. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
    Troubles fail to drive down Hummer owners' passion AP - Sat Jul 26, 1:44 PM ET

    PINE GROVE, Pa. - They rumble in on treads called Super Swampers, wearing their hearts on their license plates.

  • Hirschfield family members, from left, father Al, mother, Nicole and sister, Kristine hold portraits of shooting victim Steven, during a news conference Friday July 25, 2008 in West Hollywood, Calif. Steven Hirschfield, 37, a performer and bodybuilder, was fatally shot July 19 by a San Diego Harbor Police officer aboard a small rescue vessel, allegedly after reaching for an officer's gun. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
    Gay bias alleged in San Diego Bay shooting death AP - Sat Jul 26, 10:41 AM ET

    WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - To police, Steven Hirschfield was violent and out of control when he clambered aboard a patrol boat sent to rescue him in the San Diego Bay during a gay pride party.

  • Coast Guard stops search for missing fisherman AP - Sat Jul 26, 10:48 AM ET

    ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - The Coast Guard has stopped searching for the owner and captain of a Rhode Island fishing boat that sank off the coast of New Jersey.

  • Bermuda leader's son, a doctor, faces sex charges AP - Sat Jul 26, 11:37 AM ET

    LOS ANGELES - About two months ago, Dr. Kevin Antario Brown was hobnobbing with guests at a celebrity poker tournament at the Playboy Mansion, his disaster-relief medical charity the beneficiary of the lavish event.

  • California Gov.r Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks to U.S. Olympic athletes and local officials at the U.S. Olympic Team Processing Facility at San Jose State University in San Jose, Calif., Friday, July 25, 2008. Schwarzenegger was there to greet U.S. Olympic athletes at the facility before they depart to China for the Beijing Olympic Games. (AP Photo/Darryl Bush)
    California becomes first state to ban trans fats AP - Sat Jul 26, 6:43 AM ET

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California on Friday became the first state to ban trans fats from restaurant food, following several cities and major fast-food chains in erasing the notorious artery-clogger from menus.

Crimes and Trials News

  • Britney Spears and Kevin Federline arrive for the 2004 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada in this December 8, 2004 file photo. (Steve Marcus/Files/Reuters)
    Britney Spears to pay $20,000 a month child support Reuters - Fri Jul 25, 8:29 PM ET

    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer Britney Spears will pay $20,000 a month in child support to ex-husband Kevin Federline for the care of their two children and will make a final payment of $250,000 to his lawyers, according to a final custody agreement filed in court on Friday.

  • Assault claim tightens terms against Detroit mayor AP - Fri Jul 25, 5:04 PM ET

    DETROIT - Investigators alleged Friday that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick berated and attacked them as they tried to serve a subpoena to a friend, and a judge ordered the troubled mayor to pay $7,500 and undergo random drug testing.

  • US Democratic presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, leaves the stage after making a speech in front of the Victory Column in Berlin on July 24. Republican presidential candidate John McCain's campaign on Saturday blasted Obama for not meeting US soldiers during his visit to Germany this week.(DDP/AFP/Michael Gottschalk)
    Marine pleads innocent to murder of comrade AP - Fri Jul 25, 3:49 PM ET

    SANTA ANA, Calif. - A Marine has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of a Camp Pendleton comrade who prosecutors say was killed in a dispute over stolen drug money.