Archive By Section - Signal AP
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.
Ventura shelter rejects man's cash giveaway
VENTURA, Calif. (AP) - A Southern California man's tradition of handing out cash totaling $1,000 to homeless men was broken when he was turned away by a shelter on Christmas Day.
Obama: Troops aiding African diplomat evacuation
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says 50 U.S. troops have deployed to the African country of Chad to help evacuate U.S. citizens and embassy personnel from the neighboring Central African Republic's capital of Bangui in the face of rebel advances toward the city.
3 found dead in San Jose apartment blaze
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A late-night fire swept through a San Jose apartment, leaving three people dead, injuring three others, and forcing the evacuation of nearly 60 people, authorities said Sunday.
GOP governors walk balance beam on health law
ATLANTA (AP) - Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who made a fortune as a health care executive, long opposed President Barack Obama's remake of the health insurance market. After the Democratic president won re-election, the Republican governor softened his tone. He said he wanted to "have a conversation" with the administration about implementing the 2010 law. With a federal deadline approaching, he also said while Florida won't set up the exchange for individuals to buy ...
Obama wants gun violence measures passed in 2013
WASHINGTON (AP) - Recalling the shooting rampage that killed 20 first graders as the worst day of his presidency, President Barack Obama on Sunday pledged to put his "full weight" behind legislation aimed at preventing gun violence.
French panel overturns 75 percent tax on ultrarich
PARIS (AP) - Embattled French President Francois Hollande suffered a fresh setback Saturday when France's highest court threw out a plan to tax the ultrawealthy at a 75 percent rate, saying it was unfair.
Animal rights group settles lawsuit with Ringling
WASHINGTON (AP) - An animal rights group will pay Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus $9.3 million to settle a lawsuit the circus filed after courts found that activists paid a former circus worker for his help in claiming the circus abused elephants.
Mortenson, charity sue insurer to cover legal fees
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - "Three Cups of Tea" co-author Greg Mortenson and his charity are suing their insurer to cover the cost of defending their legal woes of the past 18 months.
Budget battle sends mixed signals on health care
WASHINGTON (AP) - Confused about the federal budget struggle? So are doctors, hospital administrators and other medical professionals who serve the 100 million Americans covered by Medicare and Medicaid.
Articles by Section - Signal AP
Coalition forms to defend Calif. environmental law
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Labor and environmental groups on Tuesday joined some of the more liberal Democrats in the state Legislature in announcing a coalition to oppose reforms sought by Gov. Jerry Brown to the California Environmental Quality Act.
So. California Better Business Bureau expelled
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Better Business Bureau said Tuesday that it expelled a Southern California chapter after an investigation into an apparent pay-to-play scandal.
Black smoke from chapel chimney: No pope yet
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Black smoke has poured from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling that cardinals have failed to elect a pope on their first try.
Senate panel OKs Dems gun background check bill
WASHINGTON (AP) - A divided Senate Judiciary Committee approved a Democratic bill Tuesday expanding required federal background checks to nearly all gun purchases, giving President Barack Obama an early victory on curbing gun violence in a fight that still faces difficult odds.
Missouri golfer survives fall into Illinois course sinkhole
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Suddenly being swallowed up by the earth on a golf course's fairway drove a wedge between Mark Mihal and a stellar round.
Colorado judge enters not guilty plea for Holmes
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) - The judge in the deadly Colorado movie theater shooting case entered a not guilty plea on behalf of James Holmes on Tuesday after the former graduate student's defense team said he was not ready to enter one.
Cardinals seclude themselves to vote for pope
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Cardinals heard a final appeal for unity Tuesday before sequestering themselves in the Sistine Chapel for the conclave to elect the next pope, as they celebrated Mass amid divisions and uncertainty over who will lead the 1.2 billion-strong Catholic Church and tend to its many problems.
US citing security to censor more public records
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration answered more requests from the public to see government records under the Freedom of Information Act last year, but more often than it ever has it cited legal exceptions to censor or withhold the material, according to a new analysis by The Associated Press. It frequently cited the need to protect national security and internal deliberations.
Hearing opens for 3 in killing of Marine wife
VISTA, Calif. (AP) - A witness has testified that the slain wife of a Camp Pendleton Marine knew one of the three people accused of the killing.
LA County considers Alaska's 'ferry to nowhere'
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A $78 million Alaskan ship that critics dubbed the "ferry to nowhere" could wind up in Southern California.
Navy: 3 dead in E. Wash. military plane crash
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A U.S. Navy aircraft from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island crashed in Eastern Washington on Monday morning, and all three crew members on board died, authorities said.
NRA steps up lobbying efforts in Connecticut
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - The National Rifle Association helped bus hundreds of supporters to the Connecticut Capitol on Monday, the latest sign of its stepped-up presence in a state that hasn't typically posed a challenge to the gun rights organization's mission.
NFL's Goodell hopes for lighter helmets, sensors
NEW YORK (AP) - NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell imagines a day when football players could be checked to determine whether their genetic makeup makes them more likely to develop brain disease.
Money, funeral services given for Ky. fire victims
GRAY, Ky. (AP) - Under rainy skies on Monday, fire investigators sifted through the charred remains of a house where seven people died in a weekend fire, while offers of support ranged from free funeral services to donations left in an empty bubble gum container.
UPDATE: Judge strikes down N.Y.'s sugary drinks law
NEW YORK (AP) - A judge struck down New York City's groundbreaking limit on the size of sugar-laden drinks Monday shortly before it was set to take effect, agreeing with the beverage industry and other opponents that the rule is arbitrary in applying to only some sweet beverages and some places that sell them. .
