ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Owners of an old-school soda shop in St. Paul, Minn., are being warned to kick the habit and stop stocking novelty candy cigarettes.
NEW YORK (AP) - For the stock market, this week hasn't been the most wonderful time of the year.
NEW YORK (AP) - Retailers pulled stocks lower Wednesday as U.S. markets reopened following the Christmas holiday.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - For years, Republicans have adhered fiercely to their bedrock conservative principles, resisting Democratic calls for tax hikes, comprehensive immigration reform and gun control. Now, seven weeks after an electoral drubbing, some party leaders and rank-and-file alike are signaling a willingness to bend on all three issues.
DUNSMUIR, Calif. (AP) - A 66-year-old Washington man is in custody on suspicion of stabbing two people aboard a Greyhound bus in far Northern California.
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - Police were trying to determine Wednesday whether there was a connection between a Christmas Day shooting that left a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department employee dead and a crash hours later that killed a woman and a boy.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - California has lost a bid to avoid requirements of the No Child Left Behind law.
A powerful winter storm system pounded the nation's midsection Wednesday and headed toward the Northeast, where people braced for the high winds and heavy snow that disrupted holiday travel, knocked out power to thousands of homes and were blamed in at least six deaths.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Northern California received more rain and snow on Christmas Day, as the third storm system in a handful of days moved through the region.
WEBSTER, N.Y. (AP) - An ex-con killed two firefighters with the same caliber and make military-style rifle used in the Connecticut school massacre after typing a note pledging to burn down his neighborhood and "do what I like doing best, killing people," police said Tuesday as another body, believed to be the gunman's missing sister, was found.
WASHINGTON (AP) - In case the public weren't frustrated enough over Congress' failure to resolve the "fiscal cliff," consider this: lawmakers probably could enact a compromise quickly and easily if Republican leaders let Democrats provide most of the votes.
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) - Officials in Newtown, Conn., are asking people to stop sending gifts to the grief-stricken community following the deadly school shooting, saying they're deeply grateful but can't handle the donation deluge.
CAIRO (AP) - The official approval of Egypt's disputed, Islamist-backed constitution Tuesday held out little hope of stabilizing the country after two years of turmoil and Islamist President Mohammed Morsi may now face a more immediate crisis with the economy falling deeper into distress.
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - A Christmas Day twister outbreak left damage across the Deep South while holiday travelers in the nation's much colder midsection battled sometimes treacherous driving conditions from freezing rain and blizzard conditions.
DAVIS, Calif. (AP) - A veterinarian at the University of California, Davis, has some good news about a dog from the Philippines who became an international hero after sacrificing her snout to save two young girls.
A Los Angeles Unified School District teacher, who lives in Valencia, has pleaded not guilty to charges of possessing child pornography, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said.
EAST AURORA, N.Y. (AP) - Toy maker Fisher-Price said Wednesday it's moving or eliminating roughly 100 jobs from its operations in the state as part of restructuring by parent company Mattel Inc.
LAKELAND, Minn. (AP) - When high school student Zach Sobiech learned he didn't have much longer to live, his mother suggested he write letters to tell his loved ones goodbye. Instead, the Minnesota teenager turned to writing music - and his farewell song, "Clouds," became a YouTube sensation that has attracted more than 4 million views.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A volunteer searcher who broke his back while looking for a teenager who was lost in Orange County wilderness wants restitution if the teen is convicted on drug charges.
In a medical first, doctors used plastic particles and a 3-D laser printer to create an airway splint to save the life of a baby boy who used to stop breathing nearly every day.
NEW YORK (AP) - In running for mayor, Anthony Weiner is seeking to get past the tawdry-tweeter punch line that has dogged him since his congressional career imploded two years ago. And while he's facing an uphill sprint, his campaign could help his long-term prospects even if he loses, some experts say.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A dam that threatened to give way and flood a North Dakota town was holding back the water on Wednesday, though the 1,300 residents of Cavalier were still being told to stay away from their homes.
PHOENIX (AP) - Jurors in the Jodi Arias murder trial told the judge Wednesday they are unable to reach a unanimous verdict on whether the convicted murderer should be sentenced to life in prison or death for killing her one-time boyfriend, prompting the judge to send them back to the deliberation room to work through their differences.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Wendy Greuel is thanking supporters who tried to make her Los Angeles' first woman mayor.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Coroner's officials have identified a man found dead at the University of California, Los Angeles, campus after an apparent fall from a building.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A Republican has won a hotly contested state Senate contest in the southern San Joaquin Valley, with his top Democratic rival conceding Wednesday that the race will not go to a runoff.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A Chechen immigrant was shot to death by authorities at his home early Wednesday while being questioned in the Boston Marathon bombing case, officials said.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma medical examiner's office says two infants are among 24 people killed by the tornado that ripped across the Oklahoma City area this week.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles voters have approved a proposition limiting the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - City Councilman Eric Garcetti defeated Controller Wendy Greuel to become next mayor of Los Angeles after a caustic campaign in which he depicted his fellow Democrat as a pawn of powerful labor bosses.