First gay Anglican bishop reflects on tenure in NH

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson says he chafed for several years at being branded the first openly gay bishop of the Anglican Church until he realized that he was wasting a pulpit from which he could advocate for equality.

International envoy warns of failed state in Syria

BEIRUT (AP) - The international envoy seeking to end Syria's civil war warned Sunday that the failure of the government and the rebels to pursue a political solution could lead to the "full collapse of the Syrian state" and threaten the world's security.

Indian gang rape victim's body cremated privately

NEW DELHI (AP) - A young woman who died after being gang-raped and beaten on a bus in India's capital was cremated privately as millions of grieving, angry residents demanded greater protection for women from sexual violence.

Psychiatric test for suspect in NYC subway death

NEW YORK (AP) - A 31-year-old woman accused of shoving a man to his death in front of a subway train because she believed he was Muslim laughed and smiled during a court hearing where she was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Hillary Clinton hospitalized with blood clot

WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was admitted to a New York hospital Sunday after the discovery of a blood clot stemming from the concussion she sustained earlier this month.

US family pleas for couple missing in Afghanistan

KABUL (AP) - The family of an ailing, pregnant American woman missing in Afghanistan with her Canadian husband has broken months of silence over the mysterious case, making public appeals for the couple's safe return.

Car bombing targeting Shiites in Pakistan kills 19

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) - A car bomb targeting a bus carrying Shiite Muslim pilgrims killed 19 people in southwest Pakistan, officials and eyewitnesses said.

49ers win NFC West with 27-13 win over Arizona

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Michael Crabtree caught touchdown passes of 49 and 7 yards and finished with a career-high 172 yards, leading the San Francisco 49ers to a second straight NFC West title with a 27-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Psychiatric test for suspect in NYC subway death

NEW YORK (AP) - A 31-year-old woman accused of shoving a man to his death in front of a subway train because she believed he was Muslim laughed and smiled during a court hearing where she was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Senate leaders offer dour take on 'cliff' talks

WASHINGTON (AP) - The top Senate negotiators on the effort to prevent the government from going over the "fiscal cliff" offered a pessimistic assessment Sunday, barely 24 hours before a deadline to avert tax hikes on virtually every American worker. But negotiations continued, with Vice President Joe Biden taking on a new role.

Plane that crashed in SD owned by AZ man

SANTEE, Calif. (AP) - A home-built airplane that crashed in a San Diego County nature preserve, killing three members of an Arizona family, was owned by a Phoenix man.

City to have shortened holiday schedule

The city of Santa Clarita is cutting back hours on some of its facilities to observe the New Year.

'Hobbit' continues to rule at box office

LOS ANGELES (AP) - "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" continues to rule them all at the box office, staying on top for a third-straight week with nearly $33 million.

Beauty queen shocked over ruling

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A Pennsylvania beauty queen who resigned after alleging that the Miss USA pageant had been fixed says she is stunned by an arbitrator's ruling that she must pay the pageant organization $5 million for defamation.

State's new laws for 2013

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Homeowners will have increased protections from foreclosure while parents will have an additional hurdle if they choose not to vaccinate their children, under some of the hundreds of state laws taking effect with the new year.

Vatican lashes out over accusations

VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican is lashing out at "defamatory" and "anti-clerical left-wing" forces seeking to discredit Pope Francis over his actions during Argentina's 1976-1983 military junta.

Westminster council meets on exclusion of gay group from parade

WESTMINSTER, Calif. (AP) - A Southern California city is reviewing its rules after a gay Vietnamese-American group was excluded from February's annual Tet Parade in Little Saigon.

Journalist charged in hacking case

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Federal authorities on Thursday charged a journalist with conspiring with the notorious hacking group "Anonymous" to deface a story on the Los Angeles Times' website a little more than two years ago.

LA pays settlement to newspaper carriers injured in Dorner case

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The city has agreed to give $40,000 to two women whose pickup was shot up by a Police Department protection detail that mistook their newspaper delivery vehicle for the truck driven by rogue ex-cop Christopher Dorner during his rampage, officials announced Thursday.

Foreclosure rates falling

LOS ANGELES (AP) - While the nation's foreclosure woes persist, new data show they're easing amid a resurgent housing market, rising home prices and efforts by some states to buy homeowners more time to avoid losing their homes.

Cruise line sends passengers home by air

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten (AP) - Passengers from the cruise ship Carnival Dream headed to the airport Thursday instead of sailing home after an on-board generator problem halted their trip in the latest maintenance headache for the world's largest cruise line.

TSA stands by plan to allow small knives on planes

Software glitch delays 660,000 tax refunds

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Internal Revenue Service says 660,000 taxpayers will have their refunds delayed by up to six weeks because of a problem with the software they used to file their tax returns.

Denver Nuggets owner buying Outdoor Network

DENVER (AP) - Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke is adding the Outdoor Network to his sports empire.

Missing movie exec's car found; homicide suspected

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Southern California authorities say they've found the car of a 20th Century Fox executive who vanished nearly a year ago and they now believe he is dead.

Shark used for Calif Kmart commercial dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A 5-foot-long shark has died after being put in a pool at a Los Angeles home that was used for filming of a Kmart commercial.

Study makes chilling forecast about quake, tsunami

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - More than 10,000 people could die when - not if - a monster earthquake and tsunami occur just off the Pacific Northwest coast, a new study predicts.

Furloughs increase Calif's long-term costs

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The state employee furloughs started under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger greatly increased the cash-out liabilities owed by California taxpayers when those workers leave government service.

Gulf spill trial: Contractor finds cement samples

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - BP's cement contractor on the Deepwater Horizon rig has discovered cement samples possibly tied to the ill-fated drilling project that weren't turned over to the Justice Department after the 2010 oil spill, a lawyer for the contractor said Thursday.

Ex-boss: NY rampage suspect was 'spooky'

HERKIMER, N.Y. (AP) - Police SWAT teams navigated a cluttered, abandoned bar to find the suspect in four fatal shootings holed up in a small room, killing him in a shootout early Thursday with officers after a nearly 19-hour standoff that paralyzed an upstate New York village.