Slain 12-year-old Vermont girl mourned at wake

Amid flowers, snapshots from her short life and somber greetings, mourners remembered slain 12-year-old Brooke Bennett at a wake in the building where she just graduated from seventh grade.

Wildfire near Sacramento burns dozens of homes

A wind-stoked wildfire northeast of Sacramento burned dozens of homes Tuesday and has forced thousands of fire-weary residents to flee, state officials said.

Police: Polygamist Warren Jeffs hospitalized

Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs was taken from jail to a Las Vegas hospital Tuesday for an unspecified medical problem.

Man scaling The New York Times' headquarters

Police say a man is scaling the side of The New York Times' 52-story headquarters in Manhattan.

Out-of-state vets to pay lower tuition in Ohio

Ohio now allows out-of-state veterans to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.

Prisoners with hepatitis C sue California prisons

State prisoners with hepatitis C aren't getting the health care they need, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday that adds to complaints about the medical treatment of California inmates.

Hurricane Bertha weakens to Cat. 1 storm

Forecasters say Hurricane Bertha has weakened to a Category 1 storm.

2 dead, 8 hurt in NYC apartment building fire

Firefighters say a man and a boy have died in a Manhattan apartment building fire, possibly after jumping from a sixth-floor window.

La. judge overturns ex-Black Panther's conviction

A federal judge on Tuesday overturned the conviction of a former Black Panther in the 1972 stabbing death of a Louisiana prison guard.

Ill. fugitive arrested in estranged wife's death

A fugitive accused of fatally stabbing his estranged second wife in suburban Chicago was arrested in northwestern Indiana on Tuesday, more than a decade after he spent time in prison for trying to kill his first wife, authorities said.

Dallas bound flight diverted to Ark., then La.

Passengers on a Dallas-bound flight that made an emergency landing in Arkansas because of smoke in the cockpit were diverted again, this time to Louisiana, because of storms, authorities said.

Sentencing expert charged with bilking NYC of $61K

An ex-convict hid his criminal past to get work as a court-appointed sentencing consultant and bilked the city out of more than $60,000 with phony efforts to help dozens of poor defendants, authorities said Tuesday.

Attorney: No crimes in botched Colo. murder case

A detective and prosecutors did not commit crimes when they put together a murder case against a man whose conviction was later overturned on DNA evidence, a special prosecutor said Tuesday.

Calif. county refuses to ban gay marriage

Kern County supervisors refused to ban gay marriage, rebutting a conservative group that sought to make it the first California county to reject the statewide policy.

US, Czech Republic sign defense agreement

The United States and leaders of the Czech Republic agreed Tuesday to place a radar system in this former Soviet satellite that would warn of long-range missiles coming to Europe from the Middle East.

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