National News
Pa. suspect: Caretaker by day, 'Jihad Jane' online (AP)

In this June 26, 1997 booking photo released by the Tom Green County Jail in San Angelo, Texas, is shown Colleen R. LaRose. LaRose, the self-described 'Jihad Jane' who thought her blond hair and blue eyes would let her blend in as she sought to kill an artist in Sweden, is a rare case of an American woman aiding foreign terrorists and shows the evolution of the global threat, authorities say. LaRose is accused in an indictment filed Tuesday, March 9, 2010, of actively recruiting fighters, as well as agreeing to murder the artist, marry a terrorism suspect so he could move to Europe and martyr herself if necessary. (AP Photo/Tom Green County Jail)AP - Colleen LaRose spent long days caring for her boyfriend's father in a second-floor apartment in Pennsburg, a small town north of Philadelphia.


Wed Mar 10 20:25:55 -0600 2010
Calif. boy who called 911 thanks dispatcher (AP)

Carlos, a 7-year-old boy who called 911 during a home invasion robbery as armed robbers threatened his parents poses with the dispatcher, Monique Patino, who took his call at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's dispatch center, Wednesday March 10, 2010 in Norwalk, Calif. At a news conference Wednesday, the boy, identified only as Carlos, told reporters he remained calm during the ordeal because his mother used to make him practice dialing 911 in case of emergencies. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)AP - A 7-year-old boy who called 911 from a locked bathroom while armed robbers threatened his parents hugged and high-fived on Wednesday the sheriff's dispatcher who took his call.


Wed Mar 10 20:43:55 -0600 2010
Census campaign targets tech-savvy Hispanic youth (AP)

Voto Latino co-founder and actress Rosario Dawson, second from right, participates in a news conference with actor Wilma Valderrama, right, California Community Foundation president Antonia Hernandez, far left, and Voto Latino executive director Maria Teresa Kumar at the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex Center in Los Angeles, Wednesday, March 10, 2010. Dawson announced a plan by MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund) and Voto Latino to build momentum for the 2010 census by launching an interactive, multimedia campaign targeting young California Latinos. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)AP - Groups pushing for robust Hispanic participation in the 2010 census announced a new campaign Thursday that aims to reach the hard-to-count demographic through its smart-phone-toting youngsters.


Wed Mar 10 22:42:44 -0600 2010
Math and English classes could be standardized (AP)

In this Friday, Feb. 12, 2010 photo, first grader Victoria Bernade copies a sentence as teacher Lori Peck goes over sentence structure during class at Grace L. Patterson Elementary school in Vallejo, Calif. The nation's public schools are falling under severe financial stress as states slash education spending and drain federal stimulus money that staved off deep classroom cuts and widespread job losses. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)AP - Governors and education leaders on Wednesday proposed sweeping new school standards that could lead to students across the country using the same math and English textbooks and taking the same tests, replacing a patchwork of state and local systems in an attempt to raise student achievement nationwide.


Wed Mar 10 18:22:59 -0600 2010
Mass school closures approved in Kansas City, Mo. (AP)

Duane Kelly, member of the Kansas City School Board, reacts during a meeting of the board, Wednesday, March 10, 2010, in Kansas City, Mo. The Kansas City school board voted Wednesday night to close nearly half the district's schools in a desperate bid to stay afloat. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)AP - The Kansas City school board narrowly approved a plan Wednesday night to close nearly half the district's schools in a desperate bid to avoid a potential bankruptcy.


Wed Mar 10 22:11:51 -0600 2010
Coast Guard: Icebreaker to be reactivated by 2013 (AP)
AP - After a $62 million overhaul, the Coast Guard will have its third icebeaker back in service in 2013, filling a critical need as the fleet takes on new responsibilities, the commandant of the service said Wednesday.
Wed Mar 10 19:34:15 -0600 2010
Police surprised by teacher-student sex confession (AP)
AP - In his 28 years with the Burbank Police Department, Sgt. Robert Quesada had never heard of anything quite like it: A well-respected teacher at one of the city's public schools walks into police headquarters and confesses to having an affair with a 14-year-old boy.
Wed Mar 10 19:23:29 -0600 2010
2 Marine Corps fighter pilots rescued off SC coast (AP)
AP - Two Marine Corps fighter pilots have been rescued from the ocean off South Carolina after their aircraft went down.
Wed Mar 10 21:37:27 -0600 2010
Miss. school prom off after lesbian's date request (AP)
AP - A northern Mississippi school district decided Wednesday not to host a high school prom after a lesbian student demanded she be able to attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.
Wed Mar 10 19:41:58 -0600 2010
Va. gov counters state atty. gen.'s advice on gays (AP)

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) during their annual meeting in Washington, February 19, 2010. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS HEADSHOT)AP - Gov. Bob McDonnell directed state agencies not to discriminate against gay people in employment practices Wednesday, essentially overriding the Virginia attorney general's advice to public colleges.


Wed Mar 10 18:00:39 -0600 2010
Sushi restaurant, chef charged over whale meat (AP)

The Hump Restaurant is seen in Santa Monica, Calif., Wednesday, March 10, 2010. Federal prosecutors Wednesday filed a criminal complaint that charges Typhoon Restaurant, Inc. – the parent company of The Hump restaurant – and Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, a 45-year-old chef who resides in Culver City, with selling Sei whale meat. Sei whales are listed as an endangered species, and the sale of all whale meat is prohibited in the United States by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The federal charges follow a video sting orchestrated by the producers of the Oscar-winning documentary, 'The Cove.' (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)AP - Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a sushi chef and a Santa Monica restaurant accused of serving illegal and endangered whale meat.


Wed Mar 10 21:23:49 -0600 2010
Once-revered SC lawmaker freezes to death alone (AP)

FILE - Juanita Goggins is seen in a 1974 file photo in Rock Hill, S.C. Goggins was the first black woman elected to the the South Carolina Legislature in 1974, and was hailed as a trailblazer at the time. Three decades later, Goggins died alone and freezing in the home she rented for 16 years, just four miles from the gleaming Statehouse dome. (AP Photo/File)AP - When Juanita Goggins became the first black woman elected to the South Carolina Legislature in 1974, she was hailed as a trailblazer and twice visited the president at the White House.


Wed Mar 10 17:31:54 -0600 2010