Archive By Section - Signal AP
Judge: Employee not let go over intelligent design
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A former computer specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory was not dismissed because he advocated his belief in intelligent design while at work, a Superior Court judge has tentatively ruled.
Civility efforts seek better behavior on campus
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Jewish students in the University of California system labeled terrorists for their support of Israel. Black high school students pelted by bananas on a Tennessee campus tour. A hostile student in Maryland challenging his professor to a fight after the teacher limited the use of cell phones and laptops during lectures.
Exasperation builds on Day 3 in storm-stricken NYC
NEW YORK (AP) - Frustration - and in some cases fear - mounted in New York City on Thursday, three days after Superstorm Sandy. Traffic backed up for miles at bridges, large crowds waited impatiently for buses into Manhattan, and tempers flared in gas lines.
U.S. officials: No delays in rescue effort in Libya
WASHINGTON (AP) - CIA security officers went to the aid of State Department staff less than 25 minutes after they got the first call for help during the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, U.S. intelligence officials said Thursday as they laid out a detailed timeline of the CIA's immediate response to the attack.
Immigrants to avoid deportation in some crimes
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - A new policy in Alameda County is instructing prosecutors to consider filing lesser criminal charges for some legal immigrants in an effort to avoid convictions with mandatory deportation.
Appeals court hears challenge to Florida drug test law
ATLANTA (AP) - Lawyers on both sides of a battle over a Florida law requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test appeared before a federal appeals court Thursday, presenting technical arguments about constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.
Weekly applications for US jobless aid dip to 363K
WASHINGTON (AP) - Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 363,000 last week, a level consistent with modest hiring.
Consumers give U.S. economy a lift before election
WASHINGTON (AP) - A flurry of reports Thursday showed that U.S. consumers are growing more confident and spending more, boosting a still-weak economy just five days before the presidential election.
US stocks rise on strong economic data
U.S. stocks rose strongly Thursday following positive reports about manufacturing and consumer confidence, two keys elements of the economic recovery.
Presidential politics reignites in Sandy's wake
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - Presidential politics reignited in the wake of natural disaster Thursday, with the candidates beginning their full-throttle closing arguments with new vigor on the same pocketbook concerns that have dominated the campaign from the start.
Salmon swim across flooded road in Washington
UNION, Wash. (AP) - A flooding river covered a road in Washington, allowing some migrating salmon to swim across the pavement.
Raft of office-buying fuels disgust from Chinese
XILINHOT, China (AP) - In a small town in northern China's Inner Mongolia where sheep and cattle easily outnumber humans, Fan Chen paid a Communist Party boss three times an average urban resident's annual salary to become a local police chief.
Broker: Wright-designed Ariz. home to be preserved
PHOENIX (AP) - A Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Phoenix home that had been slated for demolition will apparently survive under a new owner.
Wind kicks up 100-year-old volcanic ash in Alaska
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A smog-like haze that hung over part of Alaska's Kodiak Island this week was courtesy of a volcanic eruption - 100 years ago.
Louisiana ex-con executed for 2003 Texas killing
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) - Donnie Lee Roberts, convicted in his girlfriend's 2003 slaying in Texas, was executed Wednesday for fatally shooting the woman and taking items from her home to sell or trade to support his drug habit.
Articles by Section - Signal AP
Point Mugu park reopening many areas after fire
CALABASAS, Calif. (AP) - Many areas of sprawling Point Mugu State Park that have been off-limits since this month's big wildfire on the outskirts of Camarillo and Thousand Oaks will reopen in time for the Memorial Day weekend.
Teachers credited with saving students in Okla.
MOORE, Okla. (AP) - The principal's voice came on over the intercom at Plaza Towers Elementary School: A severe storm was approaching and students were to go to the cafeteria and wait for their parents to pick them up.
Senate votes to make small cut to food stamps
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate voted Tuesday to keep a $400 million annual cut - or roughly a half of 1 percent - to the food stamp program as part of a major five-year farm bill.
Dog day afternoon: dress your pooch for the beach
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Here's a rule that only applies to dog beaches: they are all clothing optional.
Arias asks for life in prison
PHOENIX (AP) - Jodi Arias begged jurors Tuesday to give her life in prison, saying she "lacked perspective" when she told a local reporter in an interview that she preferred execution to spending the rest of her days in jail.
Photo gallery from Okla. tornado
These are just a few of the images from the Oklahoma City area which was devastated Monday by a huge tornado.
Power of Okla. tornado dwarfs Hiroshima bomb
WASHINGTON (AP) - Wind, humidity and rainfall combined precisely to create the massive killer tornado in Moore, Okla. And when they did, the awesome amount of energy released over that city dwarfed the power of the atomic bomb that leveled Hiroshima.
AP photographer sees kids pulled from rubble
Editor's Note: Oklahoma City-based AP photographer Sue Ogrocki was at the elementary school destroyed by a tornado and saw rescuers pulling children out of the rubble. This is her account of what she witnessed.
Customs seizes elephant meat, dead primate in LA
LOS ANGELES (AP) - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Los Angeles have made some unusual seizures, including elephant meat, a dead primate and hundreds of handbags made from the skin of snakes, lizards and crocodiles.
Yahoo looks to regain its cool with Tumblr deal
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - After falling woefully out of fashion, Yahoo wants to be cool again while catering to the capitalistic demands of its shareholders. That goal led CEO Marissa Mayer to make a $1.1 billion bet on online blogging forum Tumblr in a risky acquisition that revolves around the vision and instincts of a 26-year-old entrepreneur who dropped out of high school to pursue his dream of bringing more beauty and creativity to the Internet.
UPDATE: Officials say 24 killed in Okla. tornado
MOORE, Okla. (AP) - Emergency crews combed the sticks and rubble remains of an Oklahoma City suburb Tuesday morning less than a day after a massive tornado slammed through the community, flattening homes and demolishing an elementary school. At least 24 people were killed, including at least seven children, and those numbers were expected to climb.
Report: NPS hantavirus response followed policy
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) - Federal investigators probing the hantavirus outbreak blamed for three deaths at Yosemite National Park recommended on Monday that design changes to tent cabins and other privately run lodging first be reviewed by National Park Service officials.
Oklahoma twister tracked path of 1999 tornado
NEW YORK (AP) - Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999.
Chile miner happy to be played by Banderas in film
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - Antonio Banderas will play the charismatic miner known as "Super Mario," who in 2010 became the public face of 33 Chilean miners trapped deep underground for 69 days.
Calif.: 5 church members killed in van crash
ST. LOUIS (AP) - A van carrying church members returning from a California gathering careened off of a southern Illinois freeway and overturned several times Monday, killing five people and sending six others to hospitals, authorities said.
