News For Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 News For Wednesday Nov 19, 2008

U.S. U.S.

Elderly Md. woman fends off burglar with reacher - Added 7 weeks ago

Police said an elderly woman fended off a man who broke into her Annapolis-area home using a reacher device used to grasp objects. Police say two elderly women were in their home on Cedar Lane in the Hillsmere...

Pastor gets 17 months for stealing relief funds - Added 7 weeks ago

A former pastor has been sentenced to 17 months in prison for stealing his church's hurricane relief funds. Noah Thomas pleaded guilty to a federal charge in April. Thomas was pastor of Pilgrim Missionary Baptist...

Man accused of stealing empty beer truck - Added 7 weeks ago

Police arrested a 21-year-old man for allegedly stealing a beer truck, then dumping the vehicle after determining it contained no cargo. Police arrested the man on Monday on suspicion of felony theft of an automobile....

Man with no pants at doughnut shop pleads guilty - Added 7 weeks ago

A man who took his pants off before going out for doughnuts at a shop just north of New York City has pleaded guilty to public lewdness. John Greco admits he exposed his genitals in February while placing an order at a...

Pistol-packing Pa. soccer mom loses gun permit - Added 7 weeks ago

Officials in Pennsylvania have revoked a woman's concealed-weapons permit because other parents complained that she was carrying her loaded handgun at her daughter's soccer games. Meleanie Hain said she's fighting the...

Man cited for allegedly buying beer for young sons - Added 7 weeks ago

A father who bought a beer for his 4-year-old son at the Fond du Lac County Fair and shared it with the boy's 2-year-old sibling was cited after becoming belligerent when he was approached by police. A woman working at...

Man names 4.68-carat diamond 'Sweet Caroline' - Added 7 weeks ago

The good times have never seemed so good for one Michigan man who found a diamond Saturday in an Arkansas state park. Richard Burke, a retired high school counselor and golf coach from Flint, found a 4.68-carat white...

Oregon woman accused of setting tow truck on fire - Added 7 weeks ago

A Portland woman who allegedly set a tow truck on fire as the driver was preparing to take her car faces arson and criminal mischief charges. A twenty-year-old woman was arraigned last week. Court papers said the tow...

Man arrested for stuffing dead animals in lockers - Added 7 weeks ago

Police have arrested a 20-year-old man on suspicion of stealing dead animals from a veterinary hospital morgue and stuffing them into empty lockers at a Bay Area high school. Police say the man admitted that he took...

Elvis Is Alive Museum up for sale again on eBay - Added 7 weeks ago

The Elvis Is Alive Museum is once again for sale on eBay. The museum's owner, Andy Key of Mississippi, says military duties will keep him away from home for at least five months. The 39-year-old Key set a minimum...

Woman named Bacon wins Idaho hog-calling title - Added 7 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:IDLEW101-0920082235 -->Jolee Bacon really sizzles when it comes to hog-calling. The northern Idaho woman took first place Saturday in the competition at the Nez Perce County Fair. She has raised several...

Order up! Free Pa. diner for the right customer - Added 7 weeks ago

Jerry Grubb cares so deeply about the future of his former diner that he is offering to give away the 1950s-style restaurant for free. He has only one stipulation: The new owner must move it and reopen it. "These...

Thieves steal hood from ice cream delivery truck - Added 7 weeks ago

Dave Tracy said he can understand thieves snatching ice cream from one of the Hershey's delivery trucks he manages. But stealing a hood off the truck? The branch manager at Hershey's Augusta warehouse said "nothing like...

Son's advice becomes dad's sentence for stealing - Added 7 weeks ago

A judge has decided the best punishment for a man found guilty of stealing should be to take his son's words to heart _ and wear them on his sleeve. Kalamazoo County circuit Judge Pamela Lightvoet ordered Daniel...

Drunk driving suspect thanks officers after stop - Added 7 weeks ago

Instead of having a hostile reaction, a driver offered his thanks when officers pulled him over on suspicion of drunken driving for a fifth time. A criminal complaint quoted 52-year-old David Hyland of Plymouth as...

Man, 112, says secret to long life is being active - Added 7 weeks ago

Walter Breuning of Great Falls said the secret to living a long life is staying active. And he should know. The retired Great Northern Railway worker celebrated his 112th birthday on Sunday. Breuning said that if "you...

House passes rail safety bill - Added 7 weeks ago

Spurred by the recent train crash that killed 25 people in Los Angeles, the House passed sweeping rail safety legislation Wednesday requiring more rest for workers and technology that can stop a train in its tracks if...

US finds emboldened Russia holding the cards - Added 7 weeks ago

The U.S. has found an emboldened Russia wielding enormous leverage at a critical stage in disputes over the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs, a once-promising partnership with Moscow in doubt. After a month of...

Kidnapped Mo. boy recounts captivity in interview - Added 7 weeks ago

A Missouri teenager who was kidnapped and held for four years said he figured his days were numbered when his abductor decided to take another boy, according to transcripts from a television interview released Wednesday...

Seahawks fan accused of spitting on man's burger - Added 7 weeks ago

A fast-food cook and Seattle Seahawks fan has been accused of spitting on a hamburger ordered by a man wearing Pittsburgh Steelers attire. Kittitas County sheriff's deputies say the 37-year-old customer was with his...

House removes timber payments from spending bill - Added 7 weeks ago

The House on Wednesday rejected a Senate-backed measure extending a multiyear program of payments to rural counties hurt by federal logging cutbacks. The House removed the provision from a huge spending bill after the...

House approves alternative minimum tax fix - Added 7 weeks ago

The House took steps Wednesday to rein in the alternative minimum tax, carrying out what has become an annual ritual to protect millions of people from getting squeezed by the unwanted tax. The House voted 393-30 to...

8 generals disciplined in nuke mistake - Added 7 weeks ago

Eight generals, ranging in rank from one to three stars, have been disciplined as a result of the mistaken shipment of fuses for nuclear warheads to Taiwan, The Associated Press has learned. Defense officials said...

US bans all personnel from big Pakistan hotels - Added 7 weeks ago

The State Department has banned all U.S. personnel from staying at or even visiting major hotels in Pakistan's capital and two other cities over fears of new attacks following the deadly truck bombing at the Marriott...

House OKs increase in digital transition funding - Added 7 weeks ago

The House on Wednesday voted to raise a cap on administrative costs for a government coupon program that helps consumers make the transition to digital television broadcasting. The National Telecommunications and...

Obama effigy found hanging from Ore. campus tree - Added 7 weeks ago

Officials of a small Christian university say a life-size cardboard reproduction of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was hung from a tree on the campus, an act with racial undertones that outraged students...

House votes to end offshore drilling ban - Added 7 weeks ago

The House, responding to growing public demand for more domestic energy, voted Wednesday to end a quarter-century ban on oil and natural gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, giving Republicans a major...

House ethics launches investigation of Rangel - Added 7 weeks ago

The House ethics committee said Wednesday it was establishing an investigative panel to determine whether Rep. Charles Rangel, the influential chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, had broken House rules as a result...

House clears huge defense bill, sends it to Senate - Added 7 weeks ago

Bowing to President Bush's demands, the House passed a mammoth package for the Pentagon on Wednesday that contains a pay raise for troops, billions of dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan _ and some political...

Scientist accused of selling rocket data to China - Added 7 weeks ago

A scientist who heads a high-tech company in Newport News has been charged with illegally selling rocket technology to China and offering bribes to Chinese officials, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Shu Quan-Sheng,...

Calif. beef plant worker sentenced in abuse case - Added 7 weeks ago

A former worker in a Southern California slaughterhouse has been sentenced to jail and probation after being caught on video abusing sick and injured cattle. Forty-nine-year-old Daniel Ugarte (ooh-GAR'-tay) Navarro was...

Ga. officer's family angered by execution delay - Added 7 weeks ago

After a Georgia inmate convicted of murdering a police officer was spared from execution a second time, the condemned man's widely publicized supporters erupted in joy. But far from television cameras, the victim's...

House approves Pentagon budget, aid to automakers - Added 7 weeks ago

The House passed a $630 billion-plus spending bill Wednesday that wraps together a record Pentagon budget with aid for automakers and natural disaster victims, and increased health care funding for veterans returning...

Ariz. official lifts stay on speed photo contract - Added 7 weeks ago

Motorists speeding on Arizona highways will soon run the risk of getting tickets generated from a groundbreaking photo enforcement system. The state on Friday will begin to deploy some mobile camera units that will...

NY gym owner charged with 3 murders 9 years apart - Added 7 weeks ago

An owner of a Long Island gym was arrested Wednesday on charges that he murdered an armored-van guard during a heist 14 years ago and later killed two other men to cover up the first shooting. One of those killed was...

Report: Briefly stolen key helped in NM jailbreak - Added 7 weeks ago

An agent investigating last month's escape of eight jail inmates says prisoners probably stole a key left in a door by a corrections officer doing plumbing work at the time, then returned it before anyone noticed. Four...

2 in Iowa plant's HR department plead not guilty - Added 7 weeks ago

Two women accused of helping illegal workers obtain and submit false documents at a kosher slaughterhouse in Iowa have pleaded not guilty. The pleas by 38-year-old Laura Althouse and 29-year-old Karina Freund were...

States, medical groups oppose abortion rule - Added 7 weeks ago

Several medical associations and 13 state attorneys general voiced their opposition Wednesday to a proposed federal rule that they fear would open the door for hospitals and physicians to deny access to contraception. ...

Mental health groups make final push for parity - Added 7 weeks ago

Many people battling addiction or suffering from mental health problems could get better health insurance coverage under legislation that has widespread, bipartisan support but still faces some hurdles before getting to...

Editorial Roundup - Added 7 weeks ago

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad: Sept. 16 The Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader, on standardized testing: Almost everyone bemoans overtesting in public schools. Yet...

Bush, Iraqi leader thank a dwindling coalition - Added 7 weeks ago

The coalition of the willing that went to war in Iraq is becoming the coalition of the disappearing. President Bush and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani formally thanked the diminishing band of allies at a meeting...

Planned explosion goes awry at Vermont airport - Added 7 weeks ago

Officials at a Vermont airport say a planned explosion at a rock quarry went awry and showered planes and cars with large rocks. Burlington International Airport Manager Brian Searles says rocks hit four small...

Colorful study probes climate change, fall foliage - Added 7 weeks ago

Could climate change dull the blazing palette of New England's fall foliage? The answer could have serious implications for one of the region's signature attractions, which draws thousands of "leaf peepers" every...

Ellis Island adding histories of Indians, slaves - Added 7 weeks ago

Ellis Island is expanding its story of U.S. immigration history, including for the first time Native Americans and African slaves and adding modern arrivals. A new center being created within the Ellis Island...

Classes at NC college canceled due to gas shortage - Added 7 weeks ago

A gas shortage that's frustrating drivers in the Southeast has prompted a community college in North Carolina to cancel classes for the rest of the week. Officials say an increasing number of the 25,000 commuter...

US presses NATO allies to target Afghan drug lords - Added 7 weeks ago

U.S. defense officials are pressing their NATO allies to do counter-narcotics operations in Afghanistan, targeting an opium trade that fuels terror networks there. So far, the effort has not been successful, and...

FBI raids court chambers in Ohio corruption probe - Added 7 weeks ago

The FBI raided the chambers of two judges in a corruption probe that began with earlier seizures at the offices and homes of two elected officials in Ohio's most populous county, officials said Wednesday. Agents...

Calif. religious leaders push for gay marriage ban - Added 7 weeks ago

Hundreds of pastors have called on their congregations to fast and pray for passage of a ballot measure in November that would put an end to gay marriage in California. The collective act of piety, starting Wednesday...

Heavyweights talk world issues at Clinton event - Added 7 weeks ago

Bill Clinton's annual summit of world leaders and celebrities opened Wednesday with the former president sharing the stage with rock star Bono and dignitaries including his former vice president, who warned that...

Officer: Ex-Blink 182 drummer in intense pain - Added 7 weeks ago

One of the first responders to a fiery South Carolina plane crash said Wednesday that a pair of musicians escaped the flaming wreckage by sliding down the wing. "They said the plane went down. They didn't say how or if...