North America News

Astronauts finish another spacewalk, still no baby

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A spacewalking astronaut put aside the impending birth of his daughter and blazed through his first-ever venture outside the International Space Station on Saturday.

5 Long Beach students arrested in alleged groping

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Authorities say five male students have been arrested on suspicion of sexual battery after two ninth-grade girls were attacked at a Long Beach high school.

Ex-Air Force nurse acquitted of killing patients

SAN ANTONIO - A military judge in Texas has found a former Air Force nurse accused of killing three terminally ill patients not guilty of murder.

Obama health drive set to clear first test

WASHINGTON (AFP) - - President Barack Obama's signature drive to remake US health care was on track to clear a key Senate hurdle Saturday, as the last wavering Democrats agreed to vote to formally open debate on the bill.

Suspicious note and package found at Fort Benning

FORT BENNING, Ga. - A Fort Benning spokesman says Army officials are investigating whether a suspicious note and package found at the west Georgia post is a viable threat.

EPA: Uranium from polluted mine in Nev. wells

Historic health care bill nears key Senate vote

WASHINGTON - In a show of unity, Senate Democrats sealed a 60-vote majority needed to advance health care legislation Saturday ahead of an evening showdown with Republicans eager to doom the bill and inflict a punishing defeat on President Barack Obama.

Atheist student groups flower on college campuses

AMES, Iowa - The sign sits propped on a wooden chair, inviting all comers: "Ask an Atheist."

A bad month in Afghanistan rippled across the US

Comparison of Democratic health care bills

A comparison of the health care bills before Congress:

NC man gets life in prison for woman's fatal scare

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was found guilty in what prosecutors said was a case of scaring a 79-year-old North Carolina grandmother to death.

Chicago losing glitz when Winfrey goes off the air

CHICAGO - Oprah Winfrey's decision to take her show off the air after next season is another blow for Chicago.

Hawaii anxiously watching year-end tuna supply

HONOLULU - On New Year's Eve each year, thousands line up at fish counters across Hawaii to buy blocks of raw tuna, hoping that eating it will bring good luck and prosperity in the new year.

AP reporter caught up in Stalin family's agony

WASHINGTON, Conn. - Newly arrived in Moscow on his first foreign assignment, Associated Press correspondent George Krimsky sensed he had a sensational Cold War scoop on his hands and he pounced.

Elderly US couple pleads guilty in Cuba spy case

WASHINGTON (AFP) - - An elderly US couple charged with spying for Cuba for almost 30 years has pleaded guilty in the conspiracy, with the husband agreeing to serve a life sentence, the US Justice Department said.

Emotion as life term sought for US student in Italy

PERUGIA, Italy (AFP) - - Italian prosecutors on Saturday demanded life imprisonment for American student Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito for the 2007 murder of Briton Meredith Kercher.

Iraq working for release of Americans held in Iran

BAGHDAD - An Iraqi official says Baghdad has contacted Tehran in a bid to secure the release of three Americans detained in Iran, but has received no reply.

Obama trumpets Asia trip as boost to US economy

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's eight-day trip to Asia produced no tangible wins for the United States, though he is citing talks with Asian allies that he says could help create thousands of jobs and open new markets for American goods in the future.

Levin: May be more troubling e-mails from Hasan

WASHINGTON - There may be additional e-mails that could have tipped off law enforcement or military officials to the Fort Hood shooter before he went on his deadly rampage, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Friday.