Apple CEO apologizes for error-ridden new map app

NEW YORK (AP) - Apple CEO Tim Cook apologized Friday for the company's error-ridden new mobile mapping service, pledging to improve the application installed on tens of millions of smartphones and, in an unusual mea culpa, inviting frustrated consumers to turn to the competition.

No tax, no blessing: German church insists on levy

No tax, no blessing: German church insists on levy

BERLIN (AP) - The road to heaven is paved with more than good intentions for Germany's 24 million Catholics. If they don't pay their religious taxes, they will be denied sacraments, including weddings, baptisms and funerals.

Who's watching? 3-D TV is no hit with viewers

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Phil Orlins knows everything about producing TV in three dimensions. The ESPN producer has captured the undulating greens of Augusta National and the flying motor bikes of the X-Games for ESPN's 3-D channel. But he can only guess how well his shows resonate with viewers. That's because 3-D audiences are so small they can't be measured by Nielsen's rating system.

No sign of remains in new Mich. search for Hoffa

ROSEVILLE, Mich. (AP) - Authorities drilled through concrete and removed wet soil samples in a modest Detroit-area neighborhood Friday in the latest effort to find the remains of Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa, who disappeared in 1975.

Kodak plans to end consumer inkjet printer sales

NEW YORK (AP) - Kodak said Friday that it plans to stop selling consumer inkjet printers and will eliminate 200 more jobs than previously projected as it requested more time to submit its framework for emerging from bankruptcy protection.

Higher gas costs push US consumer spending up

WASHINGTON (AP) - Americans boosted their spending in August even though their income barely grew. Much of the spending increase went to pay higher gas prices, which may have forced consumers to cut back elsewhere.

3rd Calif. officer charged in homeless man's death

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A third former Fullerton police officer has been charged in the beating death of a mentally ill homeless man after a violent confrontation with police last year, prosecutors said Thursday.

US consumers more confident in September

WASHINGTON (AP) - Higher stock prices and rising home values boosted a measure of consumer confidence in September to its second-highest level in nearly five years.

Intel previews tablets powered by its new chip

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Intel previewed a wave of tablet computers powered by a microprocessor that the company redesigned to make a bigger dent in the rapidly growing mobile market.

2 arrested in art heist at Calif. financier's home

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) - Two suspects are under arrest after Santa Monica police say they recovered about $10 million worth of art stolen from the home of a Southern California financier by following up on a tip.

Mars rover Curiosity finds signs of ancient stream

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The NASA rover Curiosity has beamed back pictures of bedrock that suggest a fast-moving stream, possibly waist-deep, once flowed on Mars - a find that the mission's chief scientist called exciting.

United Airlines gets 1st 787

U.S. travelers are going to be seeing a lot more of the 787, the lightweight jet built to reduce flier fatigue and airline fuel bills.

Police: Minn. office shooter among 'several' dead

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The shooter who opened fire inside a Minneapolis sign company Thursday was among "several" people found dead inside the building, according to police officials who won't specify how many people were killed.

Calif. man behind anti-Muslim film ordered jailed

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal judge on Thursday determined a California man behind a crudely produced anti-Islamic video that inflamed parts of the Middle East is a flight risk and ordered him detained.

Italian mag: Should Mahony vote for pope?

ROME (AP) - An influential Italian Catholic magazine is asking its readers if disgraced former Los Angeles archbishop Roger Mahony should participate in the upcoming election for a new pope.

Study: Hummingbirds migrating earlier in spring

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Ruby-throated hummingbirds are migrating to North America weeks earlier than in decades past, and research indicates that higher temperatures in their winter habitat may be the reason.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jerry Buss, the Los Angeles Lakers' playboy owner who shepherded the NBA franchise to 10 championships from the '80s Showtime dynasty to the Kobe Bryant era, died Monday, his assistant said.

Students urged to finish GED; changes due in 2014

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Adults who've begun working toward their GED are being urged to finish up this year, before the test for a high school equivalency diploma changes and they have to start all over.

Gun raffles stoke debate after Conn. shooting

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Police chiefs in New Hampshire wanted more money for their youth training program. A youth hockey team in North Dakota needed more ice time.

Overseas slice of 'Pi' flips Hollywood formula

LOS ANGELES (AP) - In mathematical terms, divide the circumference of the world by its diameter, and you have pi. In Hollywood terms, add a United Nations mix of ingredients and you have the blockbuster "Life of Pi."