Archive By Section - Signal AP
Woman, 3 grandkids killed on ND reservation
NEW TOWN, N.D. (AP) - A well-kempt northwestern North Dakota home teemed with FBI investigators Monday as they tried to piece together evidence in the grisly weekend shooting deaths of a woman and three of her grandchildren.
Even apes have 'midlife crises,' study finds
NEW YORK (AP) - Chimpanzees in a midlife crisis? It sounds like a setup for a joke. But there it is, in the title of a report published Monday in a scientific journal: "Evidence for a midlife crisis in great apes." So what do these apes do? Buy red Ferraris? Leave their mates for some cute young bonobos? Uh, no. "I believe no ape has ever purchased a sports car," said Andrew Oswald, an author ...
Bishop apologizes for sex offender at festival
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A Catholic bishop in San Jose has apologized to worshippers for allowing a registered sex offender to volunteer at a school festival last month.
Disney to shutter online movie store, website
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Walt Disney Co. is shutting down its Web movie service, Disney Movies Online, saying the site wasn't keeping up with user demands.
US homebuilder confidence at 6-year high
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Confidence among U.S. homebuilders rose this month to its highest level in six and a half years, driven by strong demand for newly built homes and growing optimism that the housing recovery will strengthen next year.
5 big US banks have cut mortgage balances by $6.3B
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Five of the biggest U.S. banks have cut struggling homeowners' mortgage balances by $6.3 billion, part of a total $26.1 billion in home loan relief provided under a landmark settlement over foreclosure abuses. More than 309,000 borrowers received some form of mortgage relief between March 1 and Sept. 30, according to a report issued Monday by Joseph Smith, monitor of the settlement. That translates to roughly $84,385 per homeowner, ...
Israel bombing kills militant in Gaza Strip
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israeli aircraft struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip and killed a senior militant with a missile strike on a media center Monday, driving up the Palestinian death toll to 100, as Israel broadened its targets in the 6-day-old offensive meant to quell Hamas rocket fire on Israel.
'Lincoln' director Spielberg speaks in Gettysburg
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) - Two-time Academy Award winning director Steven Spielberg expressed a sense of humility Monday as he delivered the keynote address during ceremonies to mark the 149th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address."
Loose ends to drive second term education agenda
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's education agenda for next four years may look less like real reform and more like tying up loose ends, experts say, with practical budget issues and an age-old power struggle between Congress and the administration getting in the way.
Boy, 2, survives LA freeway crash that mangled car
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A 2-year-old boy has survived a car crash on a Los Angeles freeway that left a woman dead and the vehicle badly mangled.
'Twilight' finale dawns with $141.3M weekend
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The sun has set on the "Twilight" franchise with one last blockbuster opening for the supernatural romance.
Report: Soledad prison nurses being investigated
MONTEREY, Calif. (AP) - State and federal officials are conducting parallel investigations into allegations of wrongdoing by some nurses at a Soledad prison, The Monterey County Herald (http://bit.ly/ZTY9N0 ) reports.
Major land acquisition in Sierra announced
TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) - About 3,000 acres of scenic backcountry in the Sierra Nevada north of Truckee will be permanently protected under a deal announced by two conservation groups.
Charlie Chaplin's bowler hat sold at LA auction
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The bowler hat and cane that accented Charlie Chaplin's costume in "Little Tramp" has sold for $62,500 at an auction in Los Angeles.
Average US credit card debt per borrower up in 3Q
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Americans cranked up their use of credit cards in the third quarter, racking up more debt than a year ago, while also being less diligent about making payments on time, an analysis of consumer-credit data shows.
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.
