National Nation

Attorney describes binding incident as 'horseplay'

The attorney for a man accused of binding the hands of a teenage girl on a Southwest Airlines flight and trying to do the same to her sister said it was merely "horseplay" and pointed out that the girls didn't scream.

Death toll rises to 9 in Calif. charter bus crash

The death toll has risen to nine in the crash of a charter bus that was on its way to a casino in Northern California.

US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 540

As of Friday, Oct. 10, 2008, at least 540 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. The department last updated its figures Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/

Ohio death row inmate appeals to US Supreme Court

Lawyers for an Ohio death row inmate who unsuccessfully argued that he is too fat to die by lethal injection have filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to halt Tuesday's execution.

Japanese man held in LA in wife's 1981 slaying

A Japanese businessman accused of conspiring to have his wife killed 27 years ago was returned to Southern California on Friday to face trial.

Tuskegee Airmen honored with historic site in Ala.

Lt. Col. John Mulzac stood on the asphalt at Moton Field Friday - the same grounds where he trained decades ago to become one of the country's first black military pilots - and wept.

Atheist soldier to leave Army, drops religion suit

An atheist soldier who accused U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Defense Department of violating his religious freedom dropped the lawsuit Friday, citing his plans to leave the Army next spring.

Military Religious Freedom Foundation

Fort Riley

Defense Department

3 BLM workers held at gunpoint at Nev. pot patch

Three federal biologists were held at gunpoint for several minutes by suspected members of a Mexican drug cartel after happening upon a large marijuana patch in a remote stretch of public land in northern Nevada, authorities said Friday.

Feds acknowledge Mich. arsonist was key informant

Federal prosecutors are seeking a major sentencing break for an activist who committed arson at Michigan State University, publicly acknowledging for the first time his wide-ranging undercover role in investigations of eco-terrorism.

New York teachers sue over ban on campaign buttons

The teachers' union for the nation's largest public school system accused the city on Friday of banning political campaign buttons and sued to reverse the policy, declaring that free speech rights were violated.

Stocks got slammed, but was it a `crash'?

Did stocks "crash"?

Court makes Conn. 3rd state to allow gay marriage

A sharply divided Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Friday that gay couples have the right to get married, saying legislators did not go far enough when they approved same-sex civil unions that were identical to marriages in virtually every respect except the name.

OJ Simpson seeks new robbery trial in Las Vegas

O.J. Simpson's lawyers cited judicial errors and insufficient evidence Friday in seeking a new trial for the former football star, who was convicted of kidnapping and robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a casino hotel room.

Maryland State Police lists nuns as terrorists in database

Dominican nuns Sister Ardeth Platte and Sister Carol Gilbert have spent more than 40 years protesting nuclear weapons and war, even doing time in federal prison for their actions.

As storm nears, west Texas braces for more floods

Officials planned to activate an emergency operations center in west Texas, where the remnants of Hurricane Norbert are expected to bring rain to already saturated areas, an official said Friday.

A new day for dogs: Pa. law targets puppy mills

Sammy, a Shetland sheepdog, wouldn't touch his food, retreating to a corner of the yard and devouring mouthfuls of dirt - behavioral oddities his owner later learned came from a lifetime of abuse as a "stud" in a large puppy mill.

1 dead, another injured at Mass. construction site

One construction worker is dead and another seriously injured after a hydraulic lift platform collapsed in Massachusetts.

Mom of missing Fla. girl can access evidence

The mother of a missing 3-year-old Florida girl will have access to her car and forensic tests completed by authorities trying to figure out what happened to the child, a judge ruled Friday. But she'll have to wait to find out whether she can leave her home while on house arrest to help explain her version of events to her attorneys, because Ninth Circuit Judge Stan Strickland delayed ruling on that request.

Mo. man gets death sentence in taped sex killing

A suburban Kansas City man who videotaped the death of a woman he suffocated during sex has been sentenced to death.

Former SF supervisor pleads guilty to corruption

A former San Francisco supervisor pleaded guilty to three felony charges Friday and admitted to trying to shake down city business owners with planning permit problems.

Suicide-prevention net under Golden Gate endorsed

A stainless steel net may soon hang underneath the Golden Gate Bridge to stop people from attempting suicide by jumping off.