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AP Source: Detroit mayor firing police chief - 07/03/2009
The mayor of Detroit is firing the city's police chief, a person familiar with the situation said Friday. The person told the Associated Press that Mayor Dave Bing has told Police Chief James Barren that the chief is being relieved of his duties. The person talked with Barren on Friday, a day after a man arrested in the shooting of se

Palin resigns as governor, leaves plans secret - 07/03/2009
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin abruptly announced Friday she is resigning from office at the end of the month, a shocking move that rattled the Republican party but left open the possibility she would seek a run for the White House in 2012. Palin, 45, and her staff kept her future plans shrouded in mystery, and it was unclear if the controve

Serial killer has South Carolina residents on edge - 07/03/2009
Terrified residents canceled Fourth of July plans and holed up in their homes Friday as investigators hunted a serial killer believed to have shot four people to death. Tanya Phillips had been looking forward to a backyard barbecue at her brother's house but instead planned to stay home with her doors locked. "I'm not

Firefighters battle big blaze at shuttered SC mill - 07/03/2009
A shuttered mill in northwestern South Carolina has caught fire, spewing clouds of dense, black smoke visible for miles. The mill housing the former Rock Hill Printing & Finishing Bleachery began burning Friday. The Herald of Rock Hill reported that several nearby homes had to be evacuated. There were no reports of any injuries.

Neverland closes until after LA Jackson memorial - 07/03/2009
Like an old Western boomtown, the makeshift village that sprang up around the gates of Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch was vanishing Friday, with visitors and vendors packing up tents, tarps, posters and CDs. The dwindling fans were replaced by curious tourists spending the holiday weekend in nearby scenic towns. A steady

USCG: 4 Mich. fishermen found safe on Lake Erie - 07/03/2009
Four Michigan fishermen whose 19-foot boat capsized in western Lake Erie have been rescued. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Brandon Blackwell says Monroe County marine deputies spotted the men clinging to the boat about 5:45 p.m. Friday. They were offshore from a small island about 35 miles southeast of Detroit. The men, who

Calif. bullet trains hit criticism on SF peninsula - 07/03/2009
Last November, more than 60 percent of voters on the San Francisco Peninsula supported a $9.9 billion bond measure to help pay for a high-speed rail line between San Francisco and the Los Angeles area. As planning accelerates, some of the area's residents are raising concerns about the project. They fear it could take out trees, homes

Guests for the Sunday TV news shows - 07/03/2009
Guest lineup for the Sunday TV news shows: ___ ABC's "This Week" _ Vice President Joe Biden. ___ CBS' "Face the Nation" _ Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. ___ NBC's "Meet the P

Events in Palin's political career - 07/03/2009
_ December 2006 _ Gov. Sarah Palin, a former mayor of Wasilla City, Alaska, becomes governor of her state after defeating an incumbent governor of her own party in the primary and then beating a former governor in the general election. _ August 2008 _ John McCain picks Palin as his vice presidential running mate in a startling selecti

AP News in Brief - 07/03/2009
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she will resign from office July 26; doesn't announce plans WASILLA, Alaska (AP) _ Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin made a surprise announcement Friday that she is resigning from office at the end of the month without explaining why she plans to step down, raising speculation that she would focus on a run for the W

Communities bug out over cuts to mosquito control - 07/03/2009
Millions of mosquito eggs laid across southern Texas after Hurricane Ike hit the coast last summer are waiting for the little bit of rain and hot summer days they need to hatch. That's got the man whose job it is to fight the bugs worried _ he's already running out of money. Lee Chastant and fellow bug battlers across the Gulf of Mexi

Galveston police baffled by 30 burnt palm trees - 07/03/2009
Galveston officials are investigating the torching of 30 palm trees in the last two months. "What we've got on our hands, a serial tree arsonist, I've never seen before," said Galveston Fire Marshal Gilbert Robinson. "I've talked to colleagues of mine, and that's the first they've heard of setting palm trees on fire.&qu

Pachyderms outdo people in cross-species chow bout - 07/03/2009
In the fight of pachyderms vs. people _ the pachyderms now have the upper trunk. Three circus elephants scored a decisive victory over three human competitive eaters at a cross-species eating contest Friday, chomping down on 505 hot dog buns in six minutes. The humans forced down only 143 buns in the bout at Brooklyn's Coney Island.

4 decades later, freedom rider returns to Miss. - 07/03/2009
Corey Carter could hear snippets of music in his head _ a calm and subtle melody that hadn't found its shape. The 19-year-old college student simply needed a hero to visualize before he could finish his composition for wind ensemble. He found inspiration in an unexpected place. And instead of a hero, he found a heroine. Sta

Powerful sedative found in Michael Jackson's home - 07/03/2009
The powerful sedative Diprivan was found in Michael Jackson's home, a law enforcement official said Friday as the city planned for a massive crowd at the singer's memorial service. Diprivan is an anesthetic widely used in operating rooms to induce unconsciousness. Also known as Propofol, it's given intravenously and is very unusual to

SC residents mixed over fate of cheating gov - 07/03/2009
After a week that offered the world a glimpse into the conflicted mind of philandering South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, his constituents differed Friday on whether he should leave office. Some said the decision should be up to his wife, Jenny. And it's a safe bet that his political future is a topic of conversation as the Sanford fam

Air Force pilots relish tricky firefighting runs - 07/03/2009
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Friday: Michael Jackson: Josh dickey and Frank Baker are off, but monitoring and on cell. Jesse Washington is your first contact; he and John Antczak are running the desk from Los Angeles. Backing them up in New York are Dolores Barclay and Dave Bauder. Particulars of funeral arrangements are only antici

Norman Welton, former AP photo editor, dies at 81 - 07/03/2009
Norman Welton, whose 31-year career as a photo editor for The Associated Press included coverage of New York City, the United Nations and four Olympic Games, has died. He was 81. Welton died from colon cancer Wednesday at a medical center in Port Jervis, N.Y., his niece, Lynda Kane, said Thursday. He was hospitalized after a fall at h

Abortion doc murder suspect advocates via mail - 07/03/2009
A man charged with shooting a prominent Kansas doctor who performed late-term abortions has been advocating through mailings from his jail cell that such killings are justifiable and communicating with individuals on the fringes of the anti-abortion movement, weeks after suggesting others might be planning similar attacks. Scott Roede

Bidding on baseball letters suspended amid inquiry - 07/03/2009
Authorities are looking into whether a newly discovered trove of letters to one of baseball's founding fathers contains documents that disappeared long ago from the New York Public Library. The letters are 19th century correspondence to Harry Wright, who built the country's first professional baseball team in Cincinnati and went on to