News For Tuesday Oct 7, 2008 News For Tuesday Oct 7, 2008

U.S. U.S.

Woman to return to prison in human smuggling case - Added 5 minutes ago

A woman who spent nearly three years in prison for her role in the nation's deadliest human smuggling attempt will return to prison for up to an additional four years, a judge ruled. Prosecutors won an appeal to return...

6 die in family murder-suicide in upscale LA home - Added 38 minutes ago

An unemployed man with an advanced finance degree who was despondent over his own financial problems shot and killed his wife, three children, mother-in-law and then himself in an upscale home in a gated community,...

NYC council takes up term limit change this week - Added 44 minutes ago

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's crusade to change term limits law so he can run again gets its first official test this week with a bill in the City Council, where it will compete with legislation intended to stop him. ...

Hurricane Norbert forms off Mexico's Pacific coast - Added 51 minutes ago

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Norbert has formed far off Mexico's Pacific coast. The center says Norbert is centered 315 miles (510 kilometers) south-southwest of the port city of Manzanillo, and is...

Philly won't enforce tour guide testing _ for now - Added 1 hour ago

Philadelphia's plan to test and license tour guides is on hold. Lawyers for three tour guides who challenged the plan say a federal judge Monday temporarily blocked the city from enforcing the testing law. It was...

'Bride' and 'groom' to be restored to Calif. forms - Added 1 hour ago

The words "bride" and "groom" will reappear on all marriage license applications issued in California starting next month, state health officials said. In a notice posted on its Web site, the California Department of...

Lehman sought millions for execs while seeking aid - Added 1 hour ago

!!-- AUDIO:187,209,210,189,186,185 -->The now-bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers arranged millions in bonuses for fired executives as it pleaded for a federal lifeline, lawmakers learned Monday, as Congress began...

Mistrial ends San Diego gay pride harassment case - Added 1 hour ago

A mistrial was declared Monday after a jury could not decide whether to award damages to four firefighters who claimed they were sexually harassed after being forced to participate in a gay pride parade last year. The...

Bus driver in fatal California crash is arrested - Added 1 hour ago

A bus driver with a string of motor vehicle offenses and a history of substance abuse was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence Monday, hours after his casino-bound charter bus ran into a ditch, killing...

Stevens, contractor on tapes made public at trial - Added 1 hour ago

In October 2006, a longtime loyalist of Sen. Ted Stevens called him up with a big problem: The FBI, he said, was breathing down his neck about a makeover of the senator's mountain cabin. Stevens responded by cautioning...

Kan. gov. reports for jury duty, but gets excused - Added 1 hour ago

Being the governor of Kansas didn't excuse Kathleen Sebelius from jury duty, but knowing a lot of attorneys did. Sebelius spent several hours Monday in the Shawnee County courthouse in Topeka after reporting for jury...

Police say Louisville woman kills self, daughters - Added 1 hour ago

Police in Louisville say a woman and her two young daughters were found dead in her home in an apparent murder-suicide. Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley says investigators believe the woman killed her...

Defense: 'Precious Doe' defendant kicked girl, 3 - Added 1 hour ago

The man accused of murdering 3-year-old Erica Green kicked her in the head but didn't mean to kill her, his attorney told a jury Monday in the case of a victim the city mourned for four years only knowing her as...

Calif. mom who drove son to gang fight convicted - Added 2 hours ago

A mother was convicted of second-degree murder Monday for driving her teenage son and his friends to a fatal fight with a rival gang. Eva Daley, 31, had been charged with first-degree murder but the jury opted for the...

Defense: Reputed Klansman acquittal should stand - Added 2 hours ago

Lawyers for a reputed Klansman argued Monday that prosecutors are citing an irrelevant civil case in their efforts to reverse his acquittal in the abductions of two black teenagers slain in 1964. James Ford Seale, 73,...

Court allows 'choose life' license plate in Ariz. - Added 2 hours ago

An anti-abortion group has won a long legal fight to force Arizona to issue "choose life" license plates, and the proposed new plates could be available to the group's members within several months. The U.S. Supreme...

Woman seeks new route after 2 intersection wrecks - Added 2 hours ago

An intersection in southeastern Idaho has proven unlucky for a woman who's been in two car accidents at the same crossroads since August. Kris Payne was driving at the intersection of Pole Line and Eldredge roads on...

Colombian pleads guilty in cocaine-for-arms deal - Added 2 hours ago

A Colombian right-wing paramilitary member has pleaded guilty in the U.S. to attempting to acquire anti-aircraft missiles, grenade launchers and other powerful weapons in exchange for $25 million worth of cocaine. ...

86 cats rescued from 2-bedroom condo in Colorado - Added 2 hours ago

A Glenwood Springs animal shelter was trying to find homes for 86 cats rescued from a two-bedroom condominium. The Colorado Animal Rescue Shelter received the cats on Wednesday. Since then, workers have been scrambling...

Extremely drunk R.I. driver pleads no contest - Added 2 hours ago

A man who state police said had a blood alcohol level more than six times the legal limit when he was arrested in July has pleaded no contest to drunken driving. As part of a plea deal, Stanley Kobierowski was...

'Bra Bandit' strikes again in southwest Florida - Added 2 hours ago

There's a bra bandit on the loose in southwest Florida. The Lee County Sheriff's Office was searching for an individual they say stole 160 bras valued at nearly $6,000 on Thursday from a Victoria Secret store, the...

Prosecutor: Phoenix shooting suspect kept records - Added 2 hours ago

The man accused of leading the notorious Serial Shooter attacks two years ago watched with excitement as news reports logged his alleged killings and fear spread through neighborhoods across the Phoenix area, a...

Prosecutors move to delay Rezko sentencing - Added 2 hours ago

Federal prosecutors moved Monday to delay indefinitely the sentencing of convicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko, sending their strongest hint yet that he is ready to spill his political secrets. The filing asks for a...

Latest warning highlights dangers of microwaving - Added 2 hours ago

Zapping frozen meals in the microwave may be fast and easy, but it also can make you sick if it's not done properly. That message has been slow to catch on, despite a spate of illnesses last year from improperly...

AP Exclusive: FBI file details Knievel's dark side - Added 2 hours ago

Evel Knievel never denied his scrapes with the law _ the late motorcycle daredevil often reveled in them. But even he objected to a 1970s FBI investigation of whether he was involved in a string of beatings. According...

US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 539 - Added 2 hours ago

As of Monday, Oct. 6, 2008, at least 539 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department....

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,178 - Added 3 hours ago

As of Monday, Oct. 6, 2008, at least 4,178 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians...

Frank says GOP housing attacks racially motivated - Added 3 hours ago

Rep. Barney Frank said Monday that Republican criticism of Democrats over the nation's housing crisis is a veiled attack on the poor that's racially motivated. The Massachusetts Democrat, chairman of the House...

SEC sues Democrat fundraiser for alleged $60M scam - Added 3 hours ago

Federal regulators on Monday sued political fundraiser Norman Hsu for allegedly operating a $60 million investment scam and using some proceeds to contribute to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and other prominent Democrats....

17,000 could get Purple Heart under new policy - Added 3 hours ago

An estimated 17,000 deceased U.S. prisoners of war could be awarded Purple Hearts under a new Pentagon policy announced Monday. Purple Hearts are awarded to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines wounded by enemy...

Ky. authorities e-mail suspect in woman's death - Added 4 hours ago

A sheriff's deputy accused of killing his ex-girlfriend in Kentucky taunted state police in an e-mail exchange Monday, threatening a county jailer and telling police he was going to "make them earn their money" in their...

Hundreds gather to watch ND bridge demolition - Added 4 hours ago

!!-- pobj:NDBIS101-1107020601 -->!!-- pobj:NDBIS102-1107020601 -->Pigeons scattered and several hundred people watched Monday when a 450-foot section of a historic Missouri River bridge was blown up to make way for a...

Gates: Afghan militants key to country's future - Added 4 hours ago

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday endorsed efforts to reach out to members of the Taliban or other militants in Afghanistan who may be considered reconcilable, much like what has happened in Iraq. And he...

Hurricane victim found near Galveston; toll now 71 - Added 4 hours ago

Searchers found a body on an island near where Hurricane Ike barreled ashore last month, pushing the national death toll from the storm to 71. The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office said Monday that the body...

RI jury convicts 1 ex-hospital exec of corruption - Added 5 hours ago

A former hospital executive was convicted Monday of buying the influence of a Rhode Island lawmaker, while his former colleague was found not guilty of similar charges. A federal jury deliberated over five days before...

Bush says rescue plan will take some time to work - Added 5 hours ago

!!-- AUDIO:183,182,181 -->As Wall Street reeled and global markets plunged, President Bush on Monday said the U.S. economy is going to be "just fine" in the long run. But he cautioned that the massive rescue plan will...

China cancels military contacts with US in protest - Added 5 hours ago

China has abruptly canceled a series of military and diplomatic contacts with the United States to protest a planned $6.5 billion package of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, American officials told The Associated Press on...

NKorean defector gives piano recital - Added 5 hours ago

A North Korean defector gave a piano recital Monday at the State Department, telling assembled diplomats and officials that the ability to freely listen to music from other countries can influence repressed North...

Ex-hostage held by accused court gunman testifies - Added 5 hours ago

The woman credited with helping bring about the surrender of accused courthouse gunman Brian Nichols recounted at his murder trial Monday how she appealed to his religious beliefs during hours in captivity before...

NKorean defector gives piano recital - Added 6 hours ago

A North Korean defector gave a piano recital Monday at the State Department, telling assembled diplomats and officials that the ability to freely listen to music from other countries can influence repressed North...

Top court rejects Abu-Jamal appeal for new trial - Added 6 hours ago

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal for a new trial for death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted in the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia police officer. The justices did not comment on their action Monday, which...

NRC delays decision on waste import application - Added 6 hours ago

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday it is delaying a decision on whether to allow EnergySolutions Inc. to import the largest-ever amount of nuclear waste into the U.S., opening the window for Congress to block...

Former CIA official: 9/11 could not be averted - Added 6 hours ago

A top former CIA official said the intelligence agency had more than 100 Afghans acting as spies before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but told a magazine in a rare interview that nothing could have averted the...

Tips on safer microwave cooking - Added 6 hours ago

The uneven nature of microwave cooking can make it a dangerous way to prepare frozen raw foods. When not all of the food is heated to a safe temperature, pockets of bacteria can survive and sicken people. U.S....

Sharpton: Bell verdict protests were peaceful - Added 6 hours ago

The Rev. Al Sharpton says he convened civil rights leaders after the Sean Bell police-shooting acquittals to come up with a way for all New Yorkers to express their outrage. Sharpton testified Monday: "We wanted to...

Bush aides win delay for congressional testimony - Added 6 hours ago

A federal appeals court on Monday rejected House Democrats' demands to force two of President Bush's top aides to cooperate with an investigation about the firings of nine federal prosecutors in 2006. Time will run out...

High court could block 'light' cigarettes lawsuit - Added 7 hours ago

The Supreme Court picked up Monday where it left off last term, signaling support for efforts to block lawsuits against tobacco companies over deceptive marketing of "light" cigarettes. The first day of the court's new...

Nobel is postscript to bitter 1980s HIV dispute - Added 8 hours ago

The awarding of the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday writes a postscript to a bitter scientific dispute in the 1980s over who deserved credit for discovering HIV and the resulting test to screen blood for it. The...

Atlantic City may delay casino smoking ban - Added 8 hours ago

With the economy crumbling and revenues plunging, the city may put off the Oct. 15 start of a blanket ban on smoking in casinos to avoid further losses. The ban, opposed by casino owners but supported by workers, was...

Court denies appeal of judge's sentencing goof - Added 8 hours ago

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from an Alabama man who was sentenced to five years in prison when a judge wrongly thought the law required him to serve time. U.S. District Judge William Steele...