Fla. minister: Sept. 11 Quran burn still planned

The leader of a small Florida church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy said Wednesday he was determined to go through with his plan to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, despite pressure from the White House, religious leaders and others to call it off.

Ohio officials: We can't take man's exotic animals

Officials in the Cleveland suburb where a captive bear killed a man say they can't force the bear's owner to give up his exotic animals.

Fiancee of man killed by NYPD seeking Council seat

The fiancee of an unarmed man killed by New York City police in a 50-bullet barrage says she's running for a City Council seat.

Chicago mayor race wide open as Daley steps aside

Suddenly, the race for Chicago mayor is on. Mayor Richard M. Daley has thrown the competition for the city's top job wide open by announcing he won't run for a seventh term, ending 21 years of token opposition and prompting speculation about who's next in line to lead the nation's third largest city.

Former NM gov is little known but has big ideas

Despite two terms as governor of New Mexico and recent visits to 26 states, most Americans have never heard of Gary Johnson.

Old Farmer's Almanac: Global cooling to continue

Most of the country will see a colder-than-usual winter while summer and spring will be relatively cool and dry, according to the time-honored, complex calculations of the "Old Farmer's Almanac."

Accused gunman in hospital standoff due in court

A former Army soldier accused of taking workers hostage at a Georgia military hospital is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court in Savannah.

The nation's weather

Tropical Depression Hermine was expected to slowly weaken as it moved farther inland.

Winds pushing fire through 2 dozen Detroit homes

Fire officials say flames have swept through at least two dozen Detroit homes, fanned by strong winds that toppled power lines across the city and knocked out service to at least 113,000 Michigan homes and businesses.

Colo. wildfire's toll of destroyed homes rises

Will Esposito describes an otherworldly scene after a wildfire tore through a canyon in the Colorado foothills: Some houses in his neighborhood burning while others stood intact, a propane tank shooting flames into the sky, and an eerie quiet interrupted only by firefighting helicopters and airplanes.

LAPD brass plead for calm; protesters egg station

Police Chief Charlie Beck pleaded for calm and vowed his department would conduct an exhaustive investigation into a bicycle officer's fatal shooting of a drunken day laborer with a knife.

FBI: Aircraft searched, no credible threat found

Investigators found no explosives aboard a Los Angeles-bound Thai Airways flight in which a bomb threat was found scrawled on a bathroom mirror, the FBI said Wednesday.

Florida pastor has legal right to burn Qurans

Florida pastor Terry Jones will undoubtedly offend and infuriate many people around the world if he follows through on a plan to burn Muslim Qurans at his church this weekend.

Abstinent Mormon farmers grow barley for beer

Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo might seem like an unlikely person to be pushing a bill to cut federal taxes on small beer-makers: A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he abstains from alcohol.

Florida pastor has legal right to burn Qurans

A Florida pastor's plans to burn Qurans at his church on the ninth anniversary of Sept. 11 might offend and infuriate people across the world.

Imam: NYC Islamic center to include other faiths

A proposed Islamic community center near ground zero will include separate prayer spaces for Muslims, Christians, Jews and people of other faiths, the imam behind plans for the facility wrote in an op-ed piece published online Tuesday.

Longtime friend testifies in Islamic charity trial

A longtime friend of a man accused of using an Islamic charity to smuggle money to Muslim fighters in Chechnya has testified that defendant Pete Seda wanted to promote peace and help orphans.

WTC steel column installed at ground zero

Officials hoisted a 70-foot piece of World Trade Center steel at ground zero Tuesday and vowed to open the Sept. 11 memorial by next year, although they acknowledged that the ongoing construction at the site would limit where and how the public could visit.

Missile launcher tape at NY synagogue-bomb trial

A videotape shows the alleged mastermind of a plot to bomb New York synagogues and shoot down military planes practicing with a shoulder missile launcher and praying two weeks before the planned attack.

Sect leader Jeffs fights extradition to Texas

Polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs on Tuesday refused to sign a waiver that would have allowed his extradition to Texas, where he faces bigamy, aggravated sexual assault and assault charges over alleged incidents with underage girls at a church ranch.

UN reports over 500 rapes in eastern Congo

The United Nations reported Tuesday that more than 500 systematic rapes were committed by armed combatants in eastern Congo since late July _ more than double the number previously reported _ and accepted partial responsibility for not protecting citizens.

Clinton calls plan to burn Quran 'disgraceful act'

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday called a Florida church's threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book to mark the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks a "disrespectful, disgraceful act."

Amid deadly attacks, Wyo. landfill draws grizzlies

From a grizzly bear's perspective, the small landfill in this tiny northwest Wyoming community might smell like a buffet dinner, with dead livestock and meat processing waste dumped in a pit not far from the other trash.

APNewsBreak: Philly housing director suing board

Philadelphia's embattled housing director is suing the city agency as he fights to keep his job amid money woes and a string of sexual harassment complaints, his lawyer said.

San Francisco reconsidering gun ban in transit ads

The image of a woman brandishing a gun is gracing more than a dozen San Francisco bus stop shelters after the city suspended a policy banning firearms in advertisements on public transportation.