'Raiders' mystery package solved

CHICAGO (AP) - First, there was "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Now, there's "Mailers of the Lost Package." Days after the University of Chicago announced it had received a replica of the journal from the film "Raiders of the Lost Ark," the school says it has solved an international mystery with its roots in Guam. A few weeks ago, a journal addressed to one Henry Walton Jones, Jr. - the given name of Hollywood's ...

Michael Phelps named AP male athlete of year

Now that he's away from the pool, Michael Phelps can reflect - really reflect - on what he accomplished.

Verdict in Mayan country: World won't end

MERIDA, Mexico (AP) - The crystal skulls have spoken: The world is not going to end.

$500 million in checks left at Jerusalem holy site

JERUSALEM (AP) - Worshippers usually leave notes to the Almighty at one of Judaism's holiest sites. But half a billion dollars?

GOP pushes ahead with fiscal cliff bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Republican-controlled House pushed ahead Thursday with a bill that would raise taxes on people earning over $1 million a year as hopes faded for a pre-Christmas deal between President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff."

Central California man says he strangled his grandmother

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Police say a Central California man jailed for carjacking his mother's vehicle has told detectives he strangled his 78-year-old grandmother.

Children's Hospital receives gift from filmmaker's estate

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Children's Hospital Los Angeles has received an $11 million gift from the estate of late Oscar-winning filmmaker Billy Wilder and his wife.

Record cold in S. California overnight

Southern Californians awoke Thursday to record cold with sub-freezing temperatures in the mountains and deserts, but forecasters said a slight warming trend was on the way.

Latin Americans rank as happiest people on planet

MEXICO CITY (AP) - The world's happiest people aren't in Qatar, the richest country by most measures. They aren't in Japan, the nation with the highest life expectancy. Canada, with its chart-topping percentage of college graduates, doesn't make the top 10.

Game maker THQ files for bankruptcy

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Struggling video game company THQ Inc. said Wednesday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and is selling its business.

Adele voted AP Entertainer of the Year

NEW YORK (AP) - Though Adele didn't have a new album or a worldwide tour in 2012, she's still rolling. After a year of Grammy glory and James Bond soundtracking, Adele has been voted The Associated Press Entertainer of the Year.

Ex-ABC News veteran Sam Donaldson charged with DUI

LEWES, Del. (AP) - ABC News veteran and former correspondent Sam Donaldson is facing a drunken driving charge in Delaware.

China's airing of 'V for Vendetta' stuns viewers

BEIJING (AP) - Television audiences across China watched an anarchist antihero rebel against a totalitarian government and persuade the people to rule themselves. Soon the Internet was crackling with quotes of "V for Vendetta's" famous line: "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."

$66M Kinkade estate dispute secretly settled

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - After a rancorous public showdown, a secret settlement has been reached in the dispute between Thomas Kinkade's widow and girlfriend over the late artist's multi-million-dollar estate.

Miss USA Olivia Culpo is crowned Miss Universe

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A 20-year-old Boston University sophomore and a self-described "cellist-nerd" brought the Miss Universe crown back to the United States for the first time in more than a decade when she won the televised contest Wednesday.

Vatican waits on 5 cardinals to arrive

VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Sistine Chapel closed to visitors on Tuesday and construction work got under way to prepare it for the conclave that will choose the next pope, but five cardinals had yet to arrive for the preparatory meetings designed to acquaint themselves with one another and discuss the state of the Catholic Church.

Coroner: Texas man, 46, died in Calif. triathlon

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - For the first time in its 33-year history, a participant in the world renowned "Escape from Alcatraz" died during the event.

Ark. Gov. Beebe vetoes 12-week abortion ban

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe on Monday vetoed what would have been the most restrictive abortion ban in the nation, telling lawmakers that outlawing the procedure as early as 12 weeks into a pregnancy would be unconstitutional.

JC Penney could wind up with empty shelves

NEW YORK (AP) - J.C. Penney, which is struggling with big losses and steep sales declines, could face another challenge: empty shelves.

CA lawmaker seeks rights for transgender students

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A California lawmaker has introduced legislation aimed at guaranteeing transgender students the right to use public school restrooms and participate on the sports teams that correspond with their expressed genders.

Meditation teacher Nancy Cooke de Herrera dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Pioneering meditation teacher Nancy Cooke de Herrera has died. She was 90.

Judge rejects Bulger's future immunity claim

BOSTON (AP) - Gangster James "Whitey" Bulger cannot present evidence to a jury about his claim that he was given immunity for future crimes, including murder, a federal judge ruled Monday, calling Bulger's contention that he had a license to kill "beyond the pale."

Calif. woman dies after nurse refuses to do CPR

NYPD seeks suspect in death of expectant parents and baby

NEW YORK (AP) - Police have identified a suspect being sought in the hit-and-run deaths of a pregnant woman and her husband whose baby died on Monday, a day after the Brooklyn car crash.

Pentagon to furlough teachers, cut commissary time

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon will furlough about 15,000 military school teachers and staff around the world because of the automatic budget cuts that took effect last Friday, but spokesman George Little said Monday the department will manage the process so the schools don't lose their accreditation.

Schwarzenegger to be executive editor of magazines

LOS ANGELES (AP) - He was the Terminator, then a governor, and now Arnold Schwarzenegger is an editor.

Cardinals begin pre-conclave meetings amid scandal

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Cardinals said Monday they wanted to be briefed about the true state of Vatican dysfunction before they elect the next pope, evidence that the scandal over leaked papal documents is casting a shadow over the conclave and setting up one of the most unpredictable papal elections in recent times.

House, debris over Fla. sinkhole to be removed

SEFFNER, Fla. (AP) - Authorities hope to get a better look at a sinkhole that swallowed a man in his Florida home once demolition crews knock down the remaining walls of the house Monday and begin clearing away the debris.

Spending cuts seem here to stay

WASHINGTON (AP) - The spending cuts are here to stay if you believe the public posturing Sunday.

Scientists say baby born with HIV apparently cured

WASHINGTON (AP) - A baby born with the virus that causes AIDS appears to have been cured, scientists announced Sunday, describing the case of a child from Mississippi who's now 2½ and has been off medication for about a year with no signs of infection.