Left behind: 10 states fleeing education law
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday declared that 10 states are free from the No Child Left Behind law, allowing them to scrap some of the most rigorous and unpopular mandates in American education. In exchange, the states are promising higher standards and more creative ways to measure what students are learning. More »
Hold the mystery meat: Military food gets upgrade
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Hold the mystery meat: Military mess halls soon will be serving more fruits, vegetables and low-fat dishes under the first program in 20 years to improve nutrition standards across the armed services. More »
Quarterly loss hits $3.3B at Postal Service
WASHINGTON (AP) — Teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, the U.S. Postal Service's quarterly loss ballooned to $3.3 billion amid declining mail volume and the soaring costs of health benefits for future retirees. More »
Florida mogul, facing trial, adopts his girlfriend
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) — The story already had people's attention: A Florida polo magnate was accused of causing a drunken-driving wreck that killed a young man. But now, with his criminal trial approaching, a strange twist has raised even more eyebrows: He has adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend. More »
LA school in sex abuse scandal reopens
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Children returned Thursday to an elementary school where the entire staff was replaced after the arrests of two former teachers on charges of committing lewd acts with students in class. More »
FBI file: Steve Jobs was considered for US post
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI background interviews of some people who knew Apple founder Steve Jobs reveal a man so driven by power that he sometimes lost sight of honesty. More »
British man wanted in '93 heist nabbed in Missouri
OZARK, Mo. (AP) — A British armored car guard suspected of driving off with a fortune worth $1.5 million back in 1993 has been captured in rural Missouri, where he had been working as a cable guy and raising a son who apparently knew nothing of his father's past. More »
Tribe suing beer companies for alcohol problems
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — An American Indian tribe sued some of the world's largest beer makers Thursday, claiming they knowingly contributed to devastating alcohol-related problems on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. More »
NRC approves first new nuclear plant in 3 decades
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's first new nuclear power plant in a generation won approval Thursday as federal regulators voted to grant a license for two new reactors in Georgia. More »
Marines posed with Nazi SS symbol in Afghanistan
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Marine Corps scout sniper team in Afghanistan posed for a photograph in front of a flag with a logo resembling that of the notorious Nazi SS, a military official said Thursday. More »