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Paterson aide wants inquiry of NY Times' reporting - 02/09/2010
Gov. David Paterson's chief of staff is seeking an internal inquiry into how The New York Times' reporting of a story led to unproven rumors of wild, personal misconduct by Paterson. Paterson Chief of Staff Lawrence Schwartz released a letter late Tuesday that he sent to Clark Hoyt, the public editor of the Times. In the letter, Schwa

UNICEF warns against Haiti child smuggling - 02/09/2010
The head of UNICEF warns that people may still be trying to smuggle children out of Haiti and says protecting youngsters who survived the earthquake is the top concern of the U.N. children's agency. Ann Veneman said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press that UNICEF is starting a program to identify children who lost or can

Suspect plays `Dating Game' video in murder trial - 02/09/2010
A California man acting as his own lawyer in a case charging him with five murders has shown a clip of himself as a winning contestant on "The Dating Game" to prove his innocence in one killing. Rodney James Alcala showed the September 1978 program in court Tuesday. It showed him wearing two gold ball earrings in

NY governor says he'll step aside only 'in a box' - 02/09/2010
New York Gov. David Paterson, defying calls from even fellow Democrats to drop out of the race for a full term, said Tuesday that he would leave only if the voters turned him out through the ballot box, or "in a box." Paterson spoke to reporters after several days of rumors sweeping the state Capitol about carousing in the g

Nev. Medicaid cuts could lead to diaper rationing - 02/09/2010
Nevada officials on Tuesday outlined drastic cuts to the state's Medicaid program that include plans to ration adult diapers, eliminate denture and hearing-aid programs, and force personal care assistants to buy their own disposable gloves. State lawmakers learned of the cuts at a committee hearing in which health officials said adult

Pa. ex-aide discusses sex life in corruption trial - 02/09/2010
The intimate details of the sex life of a former Pennsylvania legislative aide became fodder for the jury in a public corruption trial Tuesday as he explained that his affair with an aide ended prematurely because he struggled to perform sexually. Mike Manzo's revelation came as a defense attorney confronted him with e-mails to and fr

Man charged in Detroit airport breach ordered held - 02/09/2010
The 27-year-old Ohio man who was arrested after authorities say he walked through a passenger screening checkpoint at Detroit Metropolitan Airport without a boarding pass faces a new charge. The Wayne County prosecutor's office filed the charge of resisting and obstructing a police officer Tuesday. The charge comes after th

Murtha to be buried in heart of his Pa. district - 02/09/2010
Rep. John Murtha's family says the late congressman will be buried in the heart of the Pennsylvania district he represented for nearly 40 years. Murtha's family says the viewing will be held Sunday and Monday at Duca's Funeral Home in Westmont, just west of Johnstown. Burial will be Tuesday at Grandview Cemetery in Westmont. The times

Body of missing Air Force major found in Haiti - 02/09/2010
The body of a U.S. Air Force officer visiting Haiti at the time of last month's earthquake has been found in the rubble of a hotel in the country's devastated capital, military officials said Tuesday. Maj. Kenneth Bourland's remains were recovered Sunday from the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince by a military search team, according to

Abortion doctor's killer says he has no regrets - 02/09/2010
The convicted killer of a Kansas abortion provider has little sympathy for the family of his victim, comparing them to the relatives of a hit man in a recording posted online. In his first public comments since his trial for the murder of Dr. George Tiller, Scott Roeder also criticized those who sought to keep the issue of abortion ou

New endangered pronghorn site eyed in Arizona - 02/09/2010
Federal wildlife officials plan to move a handful of endangered Sonoran pronghorns to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in western Arizona next winter in hopes of establishing a new population of the rare animals. The proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is part of an effort to bring back a thriving population of the antelop

Iran boosts nuclear enrichment, drawing warnings - 02/09/2010
Iranian nuclear technicians set dozens of centrifuges spinning Tuesday to begin enriching uranium stocks to a significantly higher level, prompting President Barack Obama to warn of a "significant regime of sanctions." Iran's acceleration in its enrichment program was a defiant step that puts weapons-grade uranium in closer

Snow shuts down federal government, life goes on - 02/09/2010
If snow keeps 230,000 government employees home for the better part of a week, will anyone notice? With at least another foot of snow headed for Washington, Philadelphia and New York, we're about to find out. The federal government in the nation's capital has largely been shut down since Friday afternoon, when a storm began dumping up to 3 feet

Ill. murder suspect threatened to kill 2nd wife - 02/09/2010
The second wife of a former suburban Chicago police sergeant testified at a pretrial hearing Tuesday that he had threatened to kill her and said he could make it look like an accident Victoria Connolly said her ex-husband, Drew Peterson, pulled a gun on her three or four times when they were married, once putting it to her head and te

Senate OKs resolution opposing terror trial in NYC - 02/09/2010
The New York Senate has passed a resolution opposing trials of terrorists being held in New York City. The resolution passed Tuesday urges President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to move trials of those linked to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks back to the military tribunal system. Republican state Sen. Vince

Father of NY terror plot suspect pleads not guilty - 02/09/2010
The father of an airport driver accused of trying to cook up homemade bombs in a Colorado hotel for an attack on New York City pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges he tried to get rid of chemicals and other evidence, prosecutors said. FBI agents had arrested Mohammed Wali Zazi this month at his home in a Denver suburb after a previou

LA-area foothills under mudslide threat - 02/09/2010
Homeowners in mud-ravaged foothill towns north of Los Angeles packed their cars and left Tuesday as evacuation orders took hold and a new winter storm arrived. Officials issued evacuation orders for 541 homes on the hillsides of La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Acton and two canyons. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies went door

NY expert: Sodomy claims not supported by injuries - 02/09/2010
A medical expert says a man claiming he was sodomized by police with a baton did not have severe enough injuries to support his account. Dr. Frank Sconzo testified Tuesday at the trial of three New York Police Department officers. Michael Mineo says he was abused while handcuffed in October 2008. Sconzo did not treat Mineo.

3 acquitted in Ohio teen's restraint death - 02/09/2010
A jury on Tuesday acquitted three former employees of an Ohio treatment center for troubled teens of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 17-year-old girl who suffocated and choked on her own vomit after being restrained facedown on the floor. Cynthia King, Lazarita Menendez and Ebony Ray were also found not guilty of child enda

ATF blames Texas church fires on serial arsonist - 02/09/2010
A spate of recent fires that destroyed or damaged several churches in eastern Texas were intentionally set, likely by the same person or group, federal authorities said Tuesday. Fires that broke out at two churches near Tyler on Monday have not yet been ruled arson, but authorities are investigating them as such. They were reported wi