Investigation underway after Conn. commuter trains collide, send 70 to hospitals
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) -- Officials are describing a devastating scene of shattered cars and other damage where two trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in Connecticut. They say it's fortunate no one was killed....

OJ Simpson's ex-lawyer contradicts former football star's testimony on guns, legal strategy
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- O.J. Simpson's former lawyer defended himself point-by-point Friday against allegations he botched the former football star's armed-robbery trial, after giving damaging testimony that Simpson actually knew his buddies had guns when they went to a hotel room together to reclaim some sports memorabilia....

Pa. coffee run leads to arrest for famed hatchet-wielding hitchhiker wanted in NJ killing
ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) -- Two cups of coffee ended life on the run for an Internet sensation known as Kai the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker....

Boy Scout leaders from across US voting soon on whether openly gay boys should be able to join
With its ranks deeply divided, the Boy Scouts of America is asking its local leaders from across the country to decide whether its contentious membership policy should be overhauled so that openly gay boys can participate in Scout units....

Majority of number combinations purchased for $600M Powerball jackpot, odds better for big win
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- It's all about the odds....

FBI and others executing search warrant in case of ricin intercepted at Spokane post office
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- The FBI and other law enforcement agencies are executing a search warrant Saturday in the case of two letters containing the deadly poison ricin that were intercepted this week at a post office in Washington state....

Evidence lacking that Marines performed simple test that could have uncovered Lejeune toxins
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) -- A simple test could have alerted officials that the drinking water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated, long before authorities determined that as many as a million Marines and their families were exposed to a witch's brew of cancer-causing chemicals....

Ore. timber country ponders future without logs that sustained economy over last 70 years
O'BRIEN, Ore. (AP) -- Jennifer Phillippi's grandparents started producing lumber in Oregon timber country in 1922, when the forests were full and work was plentiful. Now what was the last sawmill in Josephine County has closed, after the Phillippis had to give up hope that the land could provide enough of the logs they needed to stay afloat....

Why Benghazi stays in the news: Smoke and bombs in Libya, mistakes and politics in US
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The night of smoke, chaos, gunfire and grenades that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, is well-documented. Eight months later, it is the decisions made back in Washington that remain murky and in perpetual dispute....

Proposal to charge for parking at some California state beaches riles environmental groups
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Sunbathers flocking to Southern California beaches are used to feeding the meter or paying a parking attendant. Not so along the less developed north coast where it's customary to ditch cars on the shoulder of Highway 1 to surf, swim or picnic....