News

Federal regulators close 9 banks, mostly in West (AP)
Calif. searchers seek survivors after midair crash (AP)
Philly transit talks to continue into Saturday (AP)
Madoff: SEC never thought it was a Ponzi scheme (AP)
Wait for steel delays repair work on SF Bay Bridge (AP)
Clinic to Muslim doctor: Its policy bars headscarf (AP)
Slain mosque leader's followers deny FBI claims (AP)
First lawsuits filed in Ariz. sweat lodge tragedy (AP)
Snow lets up in West, Plains; South gets drenched (AP)
Colo. ski town could push marijuana legalization (AP)
Grave thefts: An age-old problem that won't die (AP)
SCLC elects MLK's daughter as 1st female president (AP)
SF Mayor Newsom ends run for Calif. governor (AP)
Retailers suspend business with Mich. fruit grower (AP)
Police: Ariz. dad ran over 'Westernized' daughter (AP)
School sued for punishing teens over MySpace pix (AP)
Judge orders 3 to trial in Anna Nicole drug case (AP)
CDC: Swine flu kids' deaths jump to 114 (AP)
APNewsBreak: ND Air Force base commander fired (AP)
Man sentenced to death in Tenn. torture slaying (AP)

Federal regulators close 9 banks, mostly in West (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 10:09 PM PDT

AP - Regulators on Friday shut California National Bank of Los Angeles and eight smaller related banks as the weak economy continues to produce a stream of loan defaults.

Calif. searchers seek survivors after midair crash (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 09:18 PM PDT

AP - The nighttime collision of a Coast Guard aircraft on a rescue mission and a Marine helicopter left nine people feared dead at sea Friday as investigators tried to solve the mystery of how the aircrews failed to see each other in a heavily used military training area.

Philly transit talks to continue into Saturday (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 10:22 PM PDT

AP - A union representing more than 5,000 transit workers agreed early Saturday to extend the deadline for a strike that could disrupt bus and subway services during the World Series games in Philadelphia.

Madoff: SEC never thought it was a Ponzi scheme (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 08:17 PM PDT

AP - Bernard Madoff was apparently convinced that it never even occurred to Securities and Exchange Commission staff he was running a Ponzi scheme, despite the agency's numerous probes of his business.

Wait for steel delays repair work on SF Bay Bridge (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 07:27 PM PDT

AP - Crews trying to repair the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge ran into delays Friday as they waited for new steel plates needed to strengthen the troubled span before final tests could be run on the fix.

Clinic to Muslim doctor: Its policy bars headscarf (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 06:30 PM PDT

AP - A Muslim doctor interviewing for a job at a suburban Dallas medical clinic says officials there told her she couldn't wear her headscarf in the workplace.

Slain mosque leader's followers deny FBI claims (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:50 PM PDT

AP - A mosque on Friday dismissed as "utterly preposterous" the FBI's allegations that its slain leader was part of a radical Islamic group.

First lawsuits filed in Ariz. sweat lodge tragedy (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 07:14 PM PDT

AP - The first two lawsuits in what could be a flurry of legal actions stemming from a deadly sweat lodge ceremony led by author and motivational speaker James Arthur Ray were filed Friday in Arizona.

Snow lets up in West, Plains; South gets drenched (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:01 PM PDT

AP - While residents in some Western and Plains states were digging out Friday after an early blast of snow, heavy rain and strong winds that toppled trees, power lines and church steeples lashed parts of the South, leaving three people dead.

Colo. ski town could push marijuana legalization (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 04:51 PM PDT

AP - Voters in this Rocky Mountain resort town will decide next week whether to legalize pot for all adults at a time when the movement to allow medical marijuana is gaining steam around the country.

Grave thefts: An age-old problem that won't die (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 04:45 PM PDT

AP - It's that time of year when even cemetery guards are more easily spooked, on alert for signs of one of the oldest, most ghoulish and most persistent of crimes: grave robberies.

SCLC elects MLK's daughter as 1st female president (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 04:24 PM PDT

AP - The Rev. Bernice King embraced the legacy and leadership of her parents on Friday as she became the first woman to head the civil rights organization co-founded by her father.

SF Mayor Newsom ends run for Calif. governor (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 05:30 PM PDT

AP - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who propelled the debate over gay marriage but struggled to find a popular message outside the San Francisco Bay area, dropped his bid for California governor on Friday.

Retailers suspend business with Mich. fruit grower (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 04:21 PM PDT

AP - Wal-Mart and two other top retailers said Friday they are suspending business with a large southwestern Michigan blueberry grower after investigators found children as young as 6 working in the grower's fields.

Police: Ariz. dad ran over 'Westernized' daughter (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 02:24 PM PDT

AP - An Iraqi immigrant accused of running down his daughter in Arizona with his car because she was becoming "too Westernized" has been arrested in Georgia, authorities said Friday.

School sued for punishing teens over MySpace pix (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 02:16 PM PDT

AP - Two sophomore girls have sued their school district after they were punished for posting sexually suggestive photos on MySpace during their summer vacation.

Judge orders 3 to trial in Anna Nicole drug case (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 04:26 PM PDT

AP - Three key players in the troubled world of Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith were ordered Friday to stand trial after a hearing that plumbed the drug-fueled depths of her final years and the alleged roles of her boyfriend and two doctors in feeding her addiction to prescription drugs.

CDC: Swine flu kids' deaths jump to 114 (AP)

Posted: 30 Oct 2009 01:08 PM PDT

AP - Swine flu has caused at least 19 more children's deaths — the largest one-week increase since the pandemic started in April, health officials said Friday.