The Daily Courier - Associated Press

Become a Member

Get Home Delivery

Search:

Local News

Classifieds

Obituaries

Create a search agent

News from the Associated Press

AP Top News at 1:38 p.m. EDT

Obama sees terror threat reduced to pre-9/11 level

WASHINGTON (AP) - Some call it wishful thinking, but President Barack Obama has all but declared an end to the global war on terror. Obama is not claiming final victory over extremists who still seek to kill Americans and other Westerners. Instead, he is steering the United States away from what he calls an equally frightening threat: a country in a state of perpetual war.

UK police question alleged soldier killer's friend

LONDON (AP) - Counterterrorism police on Saturday questioned a friend of alleged Islamic extremist Michael Adebolajo, one of two suspects in a savage killing of a British soldier on a London street that has horrified the country. The friend, Abu Nusaybah, was arrested immediately after he gave a BBC Television interview Friday describing how Adebolajo may have become radicalized in Kenya and alleging that Britain's security services tried to recruit him six months ago. Police said Nusaybah was wanted on suspicion of involvement in unspecified acts of terrorism.

Tornado upon them, quick choices decided fate

MOORE, Okla. (AP) - They say you should never make a big decision when you're emotional. But what if there's barely a moment to think and a life-or-death choice looming? In those last horrifying minutes before the EF5 tornado struck, there was no time for reflection or regret. Just questions needing answers, right now.

Watch Top News Video

Graduates in tornado-raked Okla. town vow to stay
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Seven tornadoes have swept through their town since they were born, but as new graduates donned caps and gowns to say goodbye to their high schools Saturday, they vowed they wouldn't say goodbye to Moore. "I wouldn't want to be in any other place. It's our roots. Tornadoes are a part of life here," said 18-year-old Brooke Potter, whose current college aspirations take her to two neighboring towns.

Rescuers look for pilot in deadly NY Angel Flight
EPHRATAH, N.Y. (AP) - Divers searched a large pond while investigators combed nearby woods Saturday for any sign of the pilot of a volunteer Angel Flight that crashed in upstate New York, killing two passengers. The plane's passengers were found dead Friday night near where the small plane crashed in Ephratah, about an hour west of Albany, Fulton County Sheriff Thomas Lorey said. The bulk of the plane was found submerged in a pond, he said.

Thousands of bridges at risk of freak collapse
SEATTLE (AP) - Thousands of bridges around the U.S. may be one freak accident or mistake away from collapse, even if the spans are deemed structurally sound. The crossings are kept standing by engineering design, not supported with brute strength or redundant protections like their more modern counterparts. Bridge regulators call the more risky spans "fracture critical," meaning that if a single, vital component of the bridge is compromised, it can crumple.

No quick fix for downed bridge on holiday weekend

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) - Washington state officials are scrambling to find a temporary fix for a bridge that collapsed on an important interstate highway and, incredibly, left just three motorists with injuries. Whatever the solution, it won't come in time to help with Memorial Day's highway hoards. Transportation experts are also working to find out whether the spectacular disintegration of the heavily used span over the Skagit River, 60 miles north of Seattle, was a fluke or a sign of a bigger problem.

16 children, 1 teacher die in Pakistan bus fire

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) - Sixteen schoolchildren and a teacher burned to death in eastern Pakistan early Saturday when a short-circuit near a leaking gas tank caused their minibus to burst into flames, police said. Police officer Ijaz Ahmad said five children were also injured, three of whom were listed in critical condition, in the blaze in Gujrat about 200 kilometers (120 miles) northwest of the capital, Islamabad. The children were aged between 6 and 12, he said.

Kerry makes 1st official sub-Saharan Africa visit

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Making his first official trip to sub-Saharan Africa, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday demanded that Nigeria respect human rights as it cracks down on Islamist extremists and pledged to work hard in the coming months to ease tensions between Sudan and South Sudan. Kerry, attending the African Union's 50th anniversary, backed the Nigerian government's efforts to root out Boko Haram, an al-Qaida-linked radical sect. But he said there is no excuse for abuses by armed forces in Nigeria's long-neglected north, where President Goodluck Jonathan has declared emergency rule.

Fragments of biblical treasure are up for sale

JERUSALEM (AP) - Parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls are up for sale - in tiny pieces. Nearly 70 years after the discovery of the world's oldest biblical manuscripts, the Palestinian family who originally sold them to scholars and institutions is now quietly marketing the leftovers - fragments the family says it has kept in a Swiss safe deposit box all these years.