NY researcher: `Yankee Doodle' turns 250 _ maybe

Wish "Yankee Doodle" a happy 250th birthday. Maybe.

Reaction to the death of Jesse Helms

Reaction to the death of former North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms, who died on the Fourth of July at age 86:

Jesse Helms: a polarizer, not a compromiser

"Compromise, hell!" Jesse Helms screamed in a 1959 editorial that captured what would become the legacy of his Senate career and his place in the conservative movement.

Guerrilla gardeners dig in to beautify Los Angeles

More than a dozen people, some wearing orange protective gear, pulled rakes and shovels from a dingy shopping cart and started working on a parched patch of land along a busy off-ramp of the Hollywood Freeway.

Unclear future for 10 men on Nebraska's death row

For more than 10 years, John Lotter has faced death in Nebraska's electric chair for the grisly 1993 triple murder that spawned the movie "Boys Don't Cry."

Biographical information on ex-Sen. Jesse Helms

NAME - Jesse Alexander Helms.

Instructor, student die in Calif. helicopter crash

A flight instructor and student have been killed in a helicopter crash near a Northern California freeway that knocked power lines into traffic lanes and started a grass fire.

Correction: Leona Helmsley story

In a July 2 story about the estate of Leona Helmsley, The Associated Press, relying on an article in The New York Times, erroneously reported that Helmsley's grandchildren received $6 million each from her will. It was a combined total of $6 million.

Tension builds over Coney Island rebuilding plan

The Fourth of July weekend has always been one of the most exciting times of the year for Coney Island: Crowds line the boardwalk to watch the hot-dog eating contest, visitors take terrifying roller coaster rides, and beachgoers frolic in the sand and surf.

http://www.coneyisland.com

Jesse Helms quotes on life and politics

Some quotes of Jesse Helms, who died on the Fourth of July at age 86:

Prosecutors: Deception ran deep in Vt. kidnapping

A Vermont man whose 12-year-old niece was found dead near his home carefully orchestrated events and e-mails to make it appear she had gone to see someone she met online, prosecutors said Thursday as they charged him with kidnapping.

Ask AP: Alaskan oil, the Latin American drug trade

What happens to all the oil that flows hundreds of miles through the trans-Alaska pipeline? Is it true that it all gets sold to Japan?

Federal judge orders 2 Marines released from jail

A federal judge in Riverside, Calif., has ordered two Marines released from jail despite their refusal to testify before a grand jury investigating the alleged killing of Iraqi detainees in 2004.

Young offenders in SF illegally get no more break

Minors who commit crimes while in the United States illegally will be turned over to federal immigration officials, a reversal of a nearly 20-year-old San Francisco policy, Mayor Gavin Newsom said Thursday.

July 4th boaters: Steer clear of NJ dolphin family

Authorities protecting a dolphin family in a New Jersey river are stepping up enforcement over the July Fourth holiday.

Dolphins can spend Independence Day in NJ river

Woman charged in Chicago police officer's death

A 44-year-old woman was charged Thursday with first-degree murder and attempted murder in the shooting death earlier this week of a veteran Chicago police officer.

Details emerge in capture of killing spree suspect

As the hunt wound down for the man suspected in a killing spree that left eight people dead in two states, a disheveled Nicholas T. Sheley walked calmly into a Subway restaurant in suburban St. Louis, asked to use the phone and called his lawyer - all but ensuring his capture.

Mich., Ohio storms bring flooding, power outages

Severe thunderstorms swept across parts of Michigan, flooding streets and cutting power to many residents.

3 burned by steam in Louisiana refinery accident

Louisiana authorities say three people are being treated for burns after a steam accident at a ConocoPhillips Co. refinery.

Texas man freed by DNA after 15 years in prison

A Texas man who spent more than 15 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of kidnapping and robbery raised both arms skyward and collapsed in his mother's embrace Thursday after being told he was a free man.

Police: No gunman at State Farm HQ in Illinois

Police have given the all-clear at the headquarters of State Farm insurance in Illinois after a witness reported seeing a man with a gun headed toward the building.

NTSB: Cargo carrier received threat before fire

Federal investigators say a cargo carrier whose plane was burned in an unexplained fire had received a threat a few days before.

Drifter pleads in Wis. torture-homicide case

A member of a gang of drifters who was accused of helping to kill another woman in the group and of torturing the woman's 11-year-old son pleaded no contest Thursday to reckless homicide.

Police have suspect in Pa. boy's 1985 death

Police have a suspect in the 1985 killing of a teenage boy whose body was found in a thicket months after he left home on a bicycle, a coroner said Thursday.

Former top Cleveland church accountant convicted

A federal jury on Thursday convicted the former top accountant at the Cleveland Catholic Diocese of tax charges and acquitted him of more serious charges related to alleged kickbacks.

http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org

NY softball player's death ruled a homicide

A softball player who died after being punched in the back of the head by a rival team member was a victim of homicide, a pathologist ruled Thursday.

Porter trial update: Defense impugns key prosecution witness

The defense of former pastor Howard "Doug" Porter began this morning in Stanislaus County Superior Court, with attorney Kirk McAllister calling a Baptist minister from Colorado to question the credibility of a key prosecution witness.

Judge in NY scolds hedge fund scammer who ran away

A hedge fund cheat who tried to fake his own death and spent nearly a month as a fugitive told a judge Thursday that he really did try to commit suicide while on the run, saying he thought it would be better to do himself in than turn himself in.

Judge in NY scolds hedge fund scammer who ran away

Government seeks more time for Moussaoui briefs

Federal prosecutors want two more months to file their brief in Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui's appeal.

Handcuffed woman who jumped from bridge recaptured

A woman who leaped from a bridge into a chilly river wearing handcuffs as she worked as a police informant during an attempted drug bust was captured early Thursday, two days after vanishing.

Bourbon producers see amber-colored future

To Wild Turkey master distiller Jimmy Russell, the piercing sounds of a warehouse rising in the Kentucky countryside are the sounds of prosperity.

Marine moms, dads, often drop out of boot camp

Franklin Smith had a wife and an infant son when he convinced a recruiter in Biloxi, Miss., that he wanted to be a Marine.

Marine Corps

Feds indict 2 alleged munitions dealers in Miami

Federal prosecutors in Miami have indicted two men on charges of illegally providing U.S.-made military aircraft parts to Iranian buyers.

SC child slaying suspect was close family friend

Relatives of an 8-year-old girl found raped and slain in an abandoned home said Thursday that the young teenager accused of the crime was like a member of the family.

Former Olympian pleads guilty to heroin charges

Former track star Tim Montgomery, once dubbed "the world's fastest man," pleaded guilty Thursday to distributing heroin, averting a trial set for next week.

Death penalty possible in Vermont sex-kidnap

Federal prosecutors have filed kidnapping charges that carry the death penalty against a Vermont man whose 12-year-old niece was found dead near his home.

NYC crane inspector pleads not guilty to lying

A former city building department inspector pleaded not guilty Thursday to lying about examining a huge construction crane that collapsed days later, killing seven people.

'Go-arounds' are possible safety hazard

A United Airlines jetliner was coming in for a landing at the Las Vegas airport in 2006 when the tower radioed that a smaller plane was still crossing the runway.

Fire danger, economic woes cancel fireworks shows

Those seeking the oohs and aahs of traditional Fourth of July fireworks could be sadly disappointed this year: Public displays and sales of boxed firecrackers are being canceled or scaled back across the nation, victims of a sluggish economy, wildfire fears and product shortages caused by a warehouse fire in China.

Fire danger, economic woes cancel fireworks shows

Most residents told to evacuate town of Big Sur

Authorities ordered most of the remaining residents of this scenic coastal community to leave Wednesday because an out-of-control wildfire, one of hundreds of California, had jumped a fire line and was threatening more homes.

Nation

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