Archive By Section - Signal AP
Explosives plant cleanup disrupts Louisiana town
DOYLINE, La. (AP) - The cleanup of 3,000 tons of explosives haphazardly stored at a munitions plant has frayed the nerves of residents who evacuated, closed the high school and spawned a criminal investigation of the company that owns the materials.
Costas gun control commentary gets notice
NEW YORK (AP) - Bob Costas' "Sunday Night Football" halftime commentary supporting gun control sparked a Fox News Channel debate Monday on whether NBC should fire him and a Twitter storm involving Ted Nugent, Rosie O'Donnell, Herman Cain and many more.
John Wayne Gacy's blood could solve old murders
CHICAGO (AP) - Detectives have long wondered what secrets serial killer John Wayne Gacy and other condemned murderers took to the grave when they were executed - particularly whether they had other unknown victims.
US manufacturing shrinks in November to 3-year low
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. manufacturing shrank in November to its weakest level since July 2009, one month after the Great Recession ended. Worries about automatic tax increases in the New Year cut demand for factory orders and manufacturing jobs.
CDC says US flu season starts early, could be bad
NEW YORK (AP) - Flu season in the U.S. is off to its earliest start in nearly a decade - and it could be a bad one.
UN pulling staff from Syria, violence near capital
BEIRUT (AP) - Fighting between rebels and government forces raged near the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday, forcing an inbound commercial jet to turn back while the U.N. said it was withdrawing staff because of deteriorating security conditions.
Silicon Valley investor killed in home invasion
MONTE SERENO, Calif. (AP) - Authorities say a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and his wife were the victims of a violent home-invasion in an upscale Santa Clara County suburb.
Police search for suspect in Calif slayings
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Police sought a motive and a suspect Monday in the slayings of four people who were found in the yard of a suburban Southern California home that apparently served as an unlicensed boarding house. A 911 call led police to the large house in Northridge around 4:30 a.m. Sunday, where they discovered the bodies on a side yard of the property, police said. Three of the bodies were ...
Coast Guardsman dies when boat rammed off Calif
MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (AP) - A suspected smuggling vessel rammed a U.S. Coast Guard chase boat during a counter-drug operation off the California coast, killing one Coast Guardsman and injuring another, authorities said.
Storm delays lift already strong US auto sales
DETROIT (AP) - Superstorm Sandy gave an extra boost to already strong U.S. auto sales last month, although carmakers warned that uncertainty over the "fiscal cliff" could undo some of those gains.
Not your mother's gingerbread
NEW YORK (AP) — Out of the kitchen and into the hotel lobby: Gingerbread houses have gone from being a homemade project done with mom to professional exhibits designed by pastry chefs and sometimes even architects. And never mind the humble miniature: Some displays are life-size, while others depict entire villages. A few extravaganzas raise money for charity, while some include contests for home bakers. Many are part of larger Christmas celebrations at luxury hotels ...
Family of Chiefs linebacker speak about tragedy
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The family of Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, who shot and killed his girlfriend before killing himself, says they're having difficulty dealing with the "inconceivable tragedy." Police say Belcher killed 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins at their Kansas City home Saturday before driving to Arrowhead Stadium, where he committed suicide in the practice facility's parking lot. One of Belcher's cousins, Yamiesse (yah-MEES') Lawrence, read a statement outside Belcher's boyhood home in West Babylon, ...
Annie awards nominees announced
LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Rise of the Guardians," ''Wreck-It Ralph," ''Brave" and "Frankenweenie" are among the nominees for best animated feature at the 40th annual Annie Awards. Other best-picture nominees announced Monday are "ParaNorman," ''Hotel Transylvania," ''The Pirates! Band of Misfits" and "The Rabbi's Cat." The Annie Awards recognize animated productions in 30 categories. "Rise of the Guardians," ''Brave" and "Wreck-It Ralph" each have 10 bids. "Hotel Transylvania" and "ParaNorman" earned eight nods apiece. "Frankenweenie" ...
More rain expected in Northern California
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Northern California residents recovering from a series of wet, windy storms won't get much of a break. The National Weather Service says another significant system is expected to hit parts of the region on Tuesday, with rain continuing into the following day. As much as 5 more inches of rain could fall before the storm moves out. National Weather Service meteorologist Dan Keeton says the rain could be especially heavy at ...
No surprises from Curiosity
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Results are in from the first test of Martian soil by the rover Curiosity: So far, there is no definitive evidence that the red planet has the chemical ingredients to support life. Scientists said Monday a scoop of sandy soil analyzed by the rover's chemistry lab contained water and a mix of chemicals, but not the complex carbon-based compounds considered necessary for microbial life. The latest findings reported at a meeting ...
Articles by Section - Signal AP
Commercial cyberspying and theft gives rich payoff
BEIJING (AP) - For state-backed cyberspies such as a Chinese military unit implicated by a U.S. security firm in a computer crime wave, hacking foreign companies can produce high-value secrets ranging from details on oil fields to advanced manufacturing technology.
Oscar nominated director held at LAX
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Immigration officials briefly detained the Palestinian director of the Oscar-nominated documentary "5 Broken Cameras" on his way into town for Sunday's Academy Awards.
OSHA finds VA at fault for Calif. researcher death
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Federal officials on Wednesday blamed unsafe working conditions and poor training for the death of a young Veterans Affairs medical center researcher in San Francisco who died after handling bacteria that causes meningitis.
Trial begins in case of fatal Ore. hunting mistake
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Lawyers for an Oregon hunter who killed a man he mistook for a bear say they concede their client shot the Marine reservist, but they maintain the death in a field near Silver Falls State Park was an accident.
Woman, 104, forced to lie about age on Facebook
GROSSE POINTE SHORES, Mich. (AP) - Marguerite Joseph can be forgiven for lying about her age on Facebook.
NY developer: Airline reneging on 9/11 promise
NEW YORK (AP) - A World Trade Center developer asked a judge Wednesday to disqualify American Airlines from using an "act of war" defense to dodge property liability resulting from the Sept. 11 attacks.
Jesse Jackson Jr. pleads guilty in campaign case
WASHINGTON (AP) - Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., holding back tears, entered a guilty plea Wednesday in federal court to criminal charges that he engaged in a scheme to spend $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items. He faces 46 to 57 months in prison, and a fine of $10,000 to $100,000, under a plea deal with prosecutors.
Pentagon notifies Congress of likely furloughs
WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Congress on Wednesday that if automatic government spending cuts kick in on March 1 he may have to shorten the workweek for the "vast majority" of the Defense Department's 800,000 civilian workers.
Future science: Using 3-D worlds to visualize data
CHICAGO (AP) - Take a walk through a human brain? Fly over the surface of Mars? Computer scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago are pushing science fiction closer to reality with a wraparound virtual world where a researcher wearing 3-D glasses can do all that and more.
Renewed fervor for Google lifts stock above $800
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Google's stock price topped $800 for the first time Tuesday amid renewed confidence in the company's ability to reap higher profits from its dominance of Internet search and prominence in the growing mobile market.
US homebuilder confidence dips from a 6½ year high
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Confidence among U.S. homebuilders slipped this month from the 6½ year high it reached in January, with many builders reporting less traffic by prospective customers before the critical spring home-buying season.
UPDATE: Body found in rubble of KC explosion
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The mayor of Kansas City says search crews have found a body in the rubble of a Kansas City restaurant destroyed by an explosion.
In fact-based films, how much fiction is OK?
NEW YORK (AP) - The scene: Tehran's Mehrabad airport, January 1980. Six U.S. diplomats, disguised as a fake sci-fi film crew, are about to fly to freedom with their CIA escorts. But suddenly there's a moment of panic in what had been a smooth trip through the airport.
US ready to strike back against China cyberattacks
WASHINGTON (AP) - As public evidence mounts that the Chinese military is responsible for stealing massive amounts of U.S. government data and corporate trade secrets, the Obama administration is eyeing fines and other trade actions it may take against Beijing or any other country guilty of cyberespionage.
14 hurt in Kansas City gas blast, fire
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A gas explosion that sparked a massive, block-engulfing blaze in an upscale Kansas City shopping district injured 14 people, a city official said Tuesday evening, adding it is believed that an accident by a utility contractor may have caused the blast.
