Archive By Section - Signal AP
UPDATE: Severe weather blamed for Texas man's death
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Freezing rain and sleet made for a sloppy Christmas morning trek in parts of the nation's midsection on Tuesday, while residents along the Gulf Coast braced for thunderstorms, high winds and tornadoes.
Pope decries slaughter in Syria
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI wished Christmas peace to the world Tuesday, decrying the slaughter of the "defenseless" in Syria, urging Israelis and Palestinians to find the courage to negotiate and encouraging China's new leaders to allow more religious freedom.
Homeless man set on fire in Norwalk
NORWALK, Calif. (AP) - Authorities say a 55-year-old man was set on fire as he slept outside a donut shop in southern Los Angeles County.
Klugman, Durning: Consummate character actors
NEW YORK (AP) - What a couple of mugs, sporting less-than-perfect physiques in the bargain.
Man who killed NY firefighters left note
WEBSTER, N.Y. (AP) - Police In Webster, N.Y., say the man who lured firefighters to their deaths in a blaze of gunfire left a typewritten note saying he wanted to burn down the neighborhood and "do what I like doing best, killing people."
'Parental Guidance' unites Crystal, Midler
LOS ANGELES (AP) - After nearly 30 years of friendship and shared tastes in movies, music and comedy, Billy Crystal and Bette Midler have finally taken it to the next level: They did a film together.
Volunteers at Colo. base track Santa's progress
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AP) - Volunteers at a Colorado Air Force base monitoring maps showing Santa Claus' progress are several hours into their goodwill mission and have answered more than 24,000 phone calls from children wanting to know everything from old Saint Nick's age, to how reindeer fly, to when they can expect their presents.
Mountain lions shot in Half Moon Bay 4 months old
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) - State fish and game officials are vowing to learn from the shooting of two mountain lion cubs in Half Moon Bay - a decision that was criticized by wildlife advocates.
NorCal storms boosts ski resorts and reservoirs
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The wet weather that has saturated Northern California is giving a much-needed boost to reservoirs and creating ideal skiing conditions.
Storm blows through Southern California
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A storm pushed its way into Southern California on Monday, causing flooding in some areas, snarling holiday traffic in others and leading to the rescue of a man clinging for hours to a clump of bushes in the fast-moving Los Angeles River.
Homicide rate plummeting in Richmond
RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) - A San Francisco Bay Area city once considered among the most dangerous in the nation has seen its homicide rate plummet even as killings in other cities in the region have climbed.
S. Calif. store evacuated after report of gunman
MORENO VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - A Wal-Mart in Southern California was evacuated Monday after shoppers say they saw a man dressed in camouflage enter the store with what appeared to be an assault rifle or shotgun, authorities said.
Landmark thermometer an eyesore for Calif town
BAKER, Calif. (AP) - A giant thermometer built to attract motorists headed to and from Las Vegas has become an eyesore, and residents in this Southern California desert town are divided about whether to take the landmark down.
Report: Cheaper for lawmakers to use personal cars
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Taxpayers save thousands of dollars when California lawmakers use their personal cars for legislative business rather than state-leased vehicles, a Sacramento Bee review of public records has found.
Twins paired up as co-principals of Calif. school
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Students at a Northern California middle school are looking at double the trouble if they misbehave.
Articles by Section - Signal AP
Illinois deal on fracking could be national model
CHICAGO (AP) - After years of clashing over the drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," the oil industry and environmentalists have achieved something extraordinary in Illinois: They sat down together to draft regulations both sides could live with.
Vietnam cardinal arrives, last 1 in for conclave
VATICAN CITY (AP) - The last cardinal who will participate in the conclave to elect the next pope arrived in Rome on Thursday, meaning a date can now be set for the election. One U.S. cardinal said a decision on the start date is expected soon.
Senate panel casts year's first votes on gun curbs
WASHINGTON (AP) - In Congress' first gun votes since the Newtown, Conn., nightmare, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to toughen federal penalties against illegal firearms purchases, even as senators signaled that a deep partisan divide remained over gun curbs.
Obama signs expanded Violence Against Women Act
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama signed expanded protections for domestic violence victims into law Thursday, renewing a measure credited with curbing attacks against women a year and a half after it lapsed amid partisan ...
Recent heat spike unlike anything in 11,000 years
WASHINGTON (AP) - A new study looking at 11,000 years of climate temperatures shows the world in the middle of a dramatic U-turn, lurching from near-record cooling to a heat spike.
Anti-abortion groups divided over legal tactics
NEW YORK (AP) - By adopting the nation's toughest abortion law in the face of certain legal challenge, Arkansas legislators have exposed sharp tactical divisions within the national anti-abortion movement.
Witnesses nab kidnapping suspect in Whittier
WHITTIER, Calif. (AP) - Several good Samaritans chased down and detained a registered sex offender who allegedly tried to kidnap an 18-year-old woman, Southern California authorities said.
Demi Moore seeks spousal support from Kutcher
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Demi Moore is seeking spousal support from estranged husband Ashton Kutcher.
Cabbie's son sues man accused of Vegas shooting
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The son of a taxi driver killed in a spectacular fiery crash following a vehicle-to-vehicle shooting on the Las Vegas Strip has filed a lawsuit seeking monetary damages from the self-described pimp arrested in Los Angeles as a fugitive in the case.
Merger of 2 of LA's largest museums proposed
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has proposed taking over LA's financially troubled Museum of Contemporary Art and raising $100 million to operate its two campuses.
Calif. exotic animal park lion kills Wash. intern
DUNLAP, Calif. (AP) - The Seattle-area intern fatally mauled by a lion at a Central California exotic animal park loved lions and tigers since childhood, "was absolutely fearless" around them and hoped to work at a zoo after her six-month internship, her father said late Wednesday.
Cash can bribe dieters to lose weight, study finds
Willpower apparently can be bought. The chance to win or lose $20 a month enticed dieters in a yearlong study to drop an average of 9 pounds - four times more weight than others who were not offered dough to pass up the doughnuts.
Facebook adds more personal touches to News Feed
MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) - Facebook is trying to breathe new life into its social network with a redesign of its News Feed.
U.S. vows to defend itself against North Korea threats
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. says it will take necessary steps to defend itself and its allies after North Korea threatened a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the United States.
Efforts to avoid gov't shutdown move to Senate
WASHINGTON (AP) - Efforts to stave off a late March government shutdown shifted to the Senate after House Republicans swiftly passed legislation to keep federal agencies running, while also easing some effects of $85 billion in budget cuts.
