Terror plot ringleader gets 13-year prison term

By CURT ANDERSON

The ringleader of a group of men convicted of plotting to destroy Chicago's Sears Tower and bomb FBI offices has been sentenced to 13 1/2 years in prison.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 1:40 pm

Calif. launches probe into scam targeting churches

By ROBERT JABLON

California is investigating several companies suspected of bilking churches nationwide of hundreds of thousands of dollars through fraudulent computer leasing schemes, authorities said Friday.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 1:35 pm

Police: NC girl raped, killed on day she was taken

By ALYSIA PATTERSON

A 5-year-old North Carolina girl was raped and killed the same day she was taken from her home, according to an arrest warrant released Friday. Shaniya Davis was sexually assaulted and asphyxiated Nov. 10, the day her mother reported her missing from the trailer park where she was staying…

New Nov 20, 2009 | 1:20 pm

Murder trial move to LA a setback for transit cop

By PAUL ELIAS

The decision to move Johannes Mehserle's trial to Los Angeles County is a setback for the former transit officer charged with killing an unarmed man on New Year's Day.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 1:20 pm

Pa. judges in juvenile kickbacks case win immunity

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM

Two former Pennsylvania judges accused of taking kickbacks to supply private detention facilities with juveniles have been granted partial immunity from civil liability.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 1:20 pm

SC lawmakers to take up impeachment of governor

By JIM DAVENPORT

South Carolina lawmakers plan to formally consider impeaching Gov. Mark Sanford for the first time next week, the chairman of the committee beginning that work said Friday.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 1:15 pm

Planes ready to leave Brunswick, Maine Navy base

By DAVID SHARP

The rumble of Navy patrol aircraft flying overhead will soon be a thing of the past as the remaining P-3 Orions depart from Brunswick Naval Air Station.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 1:10 pm

Teen pleads guilty in violent Border Patrol murder

By ELLIOT SPAGAT

A 17-year-old pleaded guilty Friday to murdering a Border Patrol agent who was shot eight times in head, neck and torso in the mountains east of San Diego.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 12:55 pm

Lawyer: Ohio's legal injection a human experiment

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS

An attorney for a condemned killer says Ohio's new lethal-injection plan is so untested it would amount to human experimentation if used for the first time next month.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 12:55 pm

Pa. university students must pass fitness class

By KATHY MATHESON

A Pennsylvania university's requirement that overweight students take a fitness course to graduate has raised the hackles of students and the eyebrows of health and legal experts.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 12:50 pm

Panel: Extending nuclear weapons life successful

By SUE MAJOR HOLMES

An independent panel says the United States can extend the life of aging nuclear weapons for decades with existing programs, a finding that activists contend means there's no need for the nation to design replacements for the nuclear arsenal.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 12:40 pm

Atty: Hospital hearing set for Fort Hood suspect

By ANGELA K. BROWN and SUZANNE GAMBOA

An attorney for the Army psychiatrist charged in the mass shooting at Fort Hood says his client will have his first court hearing in his hospital room on Saturday.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 12:35 pm

Resort island reels after deadly attack by gunman

By GEMMA CASAS

The Pacific resort island of Saipan was reeling Saturday from one of the most violent attacks in its history, when a gunman killed five people, including two small children and himself, in a rampage that ended at a World War II historical site.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 12:15 pm

Giuliani back in spotlight _ but what's the show?

By SARA KUGLER

Whether he's planning another run for the White House or a bid for senator or governor, or he just misses the spotlight, Rudy Giuliani is suddenly back and talking about the topic that made him a national star _ Sept. 11.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 12:15 pm

UN committee targets Iran's rights violations

By EDITH M. LEDERER

A key U.N. committee approved a resolution Friday urging Iran to halt the persecution of political opponents following the country's disputed presidential election.

New Nov 20, 2009 | 12:15 pm

Teenager pleads guilty to murdering Border Patrol agent shot 4 times in head in July

Nov 20, 2009 | 12:10 pm

Diocese: Pedophile priests should get benefits

By RANDALL CHASE

The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington is obligated to pay retirement benefits to six priests who are confirmed pedophiles, church officials argued in a bankruptcy court filing seeking permission to keep making the payments.

Nov 20, 2009 | 12:05 pm

CA man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face

A 39-year-old Southern California man has been arrested for misdemeanor child annoyance after allegedly paying a teenager $31 to spit in his face.

Nov 20, 2009 | 12:00 pm

Wrongfully convicted NYC man freed after 17 years

By JENNIFER PELTZ

A prison system official says a New York City man is free after spending nearly two decades behind bars for murder before a judge declared him innocent.

Nov 20, 2009 | 11:35 am