School storm protection is spotty in tornado zones
MOORE, Okla. (AP) -- With its single-story design and cinder-block walls, Plaza Towers Elementary School may have seemed sturdy when it was built a couple of generations ago. But a powerful tornado revealed the building's lack of modern safety standards, destroying the school and killing seven students....

Okla. tornado damage: Thousands of homes, $1.5-$2B
MOORE, Okla. (AP) -- The tornado that struck an Oklahoma City suburb this week may have created $2 billion or more in damage as it tore through as many as 13,000 homes, multiple schools and a hospital, officials said Wednesday as they gave the first detailed account of the devastation....

3rd grader who loved to sing among tornado victims
MOORE, Okla. (AP) -- An Oklahoma man who grandson was killed when a tornado struck his school says the 8-year-old loved soccer and had a huge smile....

Man shot to death while questioned in Boston probe
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A Chechen immigrant was shot to death by authorities early Wednesday after he turned violent while being questioned about his ties to one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, officials said....

In Arias trial, TV cameras never far behind
PHOENIX (AP) -- The Jodi Arias trial had all the ingredients of a circus the minute it started: sex and violence, a defendant more than willing to seek the spotlight, a judge who extended leniency in allowing lengthy testimony and cameras in court - and a media-savvy sheriff ready and willing to set up jailhouse interviews with his most famous inmate....

College fossil-fuel divestment movement builds
SWARTHMORE, Pa. (AP) -- Student activists at more than 200 colleges are trying a new tactic in hopes of slowing the pace of climate change: They are asking their schools to stop investing in fossil fuel companies....

1 child dead, 1 missing in Minn. park landslide
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- A fourth-grade field trip to a Mississippi River park popular with fossil hunters turned deadly Wednesday when gravel saturated by persistent rain gave way, killing one child and injuring two others. A fourth child was missing....

Weiner launches comeback bid to become NYC mayor
NEW YORK (AP) -- Anthony Weiner knows there may be a lot of New Yorkers who would never consider voting for him again, but he says he's running for mayor because he wants to bring his ideas to the fore - and win....

WikiLeaks case file fight moves to federal court
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- The WikiLeaks organization and a handful of journalists are asking a federal judge in Baltimore to order greater transparency in the court-martial of an Army private who has acknowledged sending reams of classified documents to the WikiLeaks website....

Man who kidnapped 2 Iowa girls had long record
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- When Michael Klunder enticed two girls to enter his pickup truck near a rural Iowa school bus stop Monday, it was at least his third kidnapping in a long criminal history in which he was ordered to receive sex offender treatment starting as a teenager....