Baby dies as vehicle plunges into S. Calif. river

The California Highway Patrol says a 1-year-old boy has drowned after his drunken father drove an off-road vehicle into a river in the San Bernardino County desert.

Schapiro: Anxiety on plunge may have fueled exodus

The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission says anxiety over the "flash crash" on Wall Street on May 6 may have contributed to the withdrawal of retail investors from the stock market in recent months.

Kansas man charged with murdering burned teen

A 36-year-old man who spent much of his adult life in prison was charged Tuesday with murdering a 14-year-old girl whose badly burned body was found behind an asphalt plant where he worked.

CO firefighters to step up attack on Boulder blaze

Firefighters ramped up their fight Tuesday against a 3,500-acre wildfire that has forced about 3,000 people to evacuate and destroyed dozens of homes near Boulder, including some that belonged to firefighters.

Runaway Ohio convert gains legal US residency

A lawyer for a Christian convert who ran away from her parents says the now-18-year-old woman has gained permanent U.S. residency after living in Ohio as an illegal immigrant.

Church rebuffs military concerns on Quran burning

A Christian minister said Tuesday that he will go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Quran this weekend to protest the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks despite a warning from the top U.S. general in Afghanistan that doing so would endanger American troops.

MT tea party removes leader after anti-gay post

The Big Sky Tea Party Association's board of directors has removed the organization's president for an exchange on his Facebook page that appeared to condone violence against homosexuals.

Md. police seek gunman, interstate ramps closed

A lockdown has been lifted at two suburban Washington, D.C., schools but police are keeping some interstate highway ramps closed as they search for a man they say fired a high-powered rifle at his ex-girlfriend.

WTC steel columns to be installed at 9/11 museum

Steel columns salvaged from the rubble of the World Trade Center are heading back to ground zero.

Holloway lawyer dismisses Van der Sloot claims

The lawyer for the mother of an Alabama teen who disappeared in Aruba has dismissed claims by the Dutchman suspected in the case that he extorted money from the parents to get back at them.

Yellow jackets sting Mass. woman 500-plus times

Fire officials say a Massachusetts woman who fell onto a yellow jackets' nest in her yard was stung more than 500 times.

Protest over fatal shooting by LAPD turns violent

A protest over the fatal police shooting of a Guatemalan immigrant turned violent when some demonstrators threw bottles at officers, set trash cans on fire and refused to disperse.

George Soros gives $100M to Human Rights Watch

Philanthropist George Soros has announced a 10-year, $100 million grant to Human Rights Watch.

Holloway lawyer dismisses Van der Sloot claims

The lawyer for the mother of an Alabama teen who disappeared in Aruba has dismissed claims by the Dutchman suspected in the case that he extorted money from the parents to get back at them.

Florida inmate loses appeal for victim's truck

A Florida appellate court has ruled against a death row inmate who was convicted of killing a couple and then petitioned to keep a vintage pickup that belonged to one of the victims.

Using Che Guevara image riles some Cuban Americans

Some Cuban Americans in south Florida are upset to see a picture of revolutionary Che Guevara promoting an irreverent car race.

Boston Dawna, the Batman of Venice Beach, retires

Hipsters, hustlers, celebrities, thieves, dope peddlers and just about everyone else in gritty, quirky Venice Beach know Boston Dawna. You can't miss the one-woman crime fighter.

The nation's weather

Tropical Storm Hermine was forecast to continue losing strength as it moved over southern Texas and northeastern Mexico on Tuesday.

Montana plane crash revives 'lap child' debate

Federal transportation safety officials are using the crash of an overloaded plane in Montana to revive a debate about whether infants and toddlers should be allowed to travel on the laps of adults.

Tropical Storm Hermine crosses into Texas

Forecasters say Tropical Storm Hermine (hur-MEEN') has crossed into Texas.

No sign of man in 4-day search of Calif. landfill

Volunteers and police have finished a fourth day of searching a Northern California landfill without finding any sign of 35-year-old Frederick Sales.

Police arrest man who scaled San Francisco tower

San Francisco police arrested a man who scaled the exterior of a 58-story downtown skyscraper Monday and unfurled an American flag at the top.

Imam behind NYC mosque back in US after Gulf trip

An imam who has become the public face of a proposed Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero has returned to the United States following a taxpayer-funded tour of the Middle East, his wife said Monday.

NY firefighter, manhole worker die; fumes cited

A New York firefighter who climbed down into a manhole to try to rescue a worker apparently overcome by fumes has died along with the man he tried to save.

Appeals court panel denies stay for Wash. inmate

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a Washington state death row inmate's request for an emergency stay of his execution.