AUTO Visits NEWS » USATODAY.com Nation - Top Stories

Towns recycle abandoned stores

Posted: August 26th, 2008, 8:26am GMT

Thousands of communities face a growing challenge: What to do with spaces left by retailers when they downsize or go elsewhere.

Fay brings relief to areas in drought

Posted: August 26th, 2008, 5:07am GMT

Heavy rains from Tropical Storm Fay are alleviating a drought that has bedeviled the Southeast for years, and another storm on ...

Hurricanes' displaced 'fighting to find a place to live'

Posted: August 26th, 2008, 5:03am GMT

Thousands of victims of Hurricanes Ritra and Katrina are stuck in housing limbo. Since 2005, FEMA has paid $402 million in hotel ...

Colleges work to keep students in school until they earn degree

Posted: August 26th, 2008, 3:38am GMT

As colleges welcome a record number of students this fall, they are taking steps to ensure more students actually complete a ...

Texas students pack bookbags, teachers pack heat

Posted: August 26th, 2008, 12:54am GMT

Along with normal first-day jitters and excitement, students in this tiny district started school Monday wondering which teachers ...

Judge won't delay O.J. Simpson trial in Vegas

Posted: August 26th, 2008, 12:17am GMT

A Las Vegas judge has rejected a request by a co-defendant of O.J. Simpson to delay the start of their upcoming trial on charges ...

8 inmates escape from N.M. jail, 1 caught

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 11:55pm GMT

Eight inmates, including a convicted murderer and another man charged with murder, escaped from a county jail by cutting a hole ...

World's first nuclear reactor now a U.S. landmark

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 11:47pm GMT

A nuclear reactor in Washington state that produced plutonium for the first atomic blast is now a National Historic Landmark.

More charges filed in Texas polygamist case

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 11:11pm GMT

Two new indictments against members of a polygamist sect have added bigamy charges against men already accused of sexual assault ...

Professor on trial for passing U.S. secrets to students

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 11:06pm GMT

A retired University of Tennessee engineering professor went on trial Monday, accused of passing secrets from his work on a U.S. ...

High gas prices drive down traffic fatalities

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 10:24pm GMT

Roll back the clock to 1961: John F. Kennedy was inaugurated president. The Peace Corps was founded. The Dow Jones industrials ...

350 suspected illegal workers arrested in Miss. plant raid

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 9:05pm GMT

Federal immigration agents arrested some 350 suspected undocumented workers in a raid on a Mississippi electrical equipment plant ...

Attorney: U.S. soldier did not kill Iraqi

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 8:52pm GMT

A U.S soldier accused of premeditated murder in the shooting death of an Iraqi detainee says he did not kill the man and will ...

Health officials aim to clear up food allergy warnings

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 8:34pm GMT

It's one of the biggest frustrations of life with food allergies: That hodgepodge of warnings that a food might accidentally ...

Employee in Spitzer scandal pleads guilty

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 7:35pm GMT

A woman accused of helping arrange trysts between pricey escorts and their customers pleaded guilty Monday in the prostitution ...

Fay is one for the record books

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 1:29pm GMT

The remnants of Tropical Storm Fay lumbered inland Sunday, dumping heavy rains across the South and putting Gulf Coast cities ...

Despite Fla. floods, some hoping for Fay's rain

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 1:19pm GMT

Tropical Storm Fay may be gone but the rain remains.

Gasoline prices nationally drop 15 cents in 2 weeks

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 12:06pm GMT

A national survey shows gas prices have dropped 15 cents a gallon in the last two weeks. The average price of a gallon of regular ...

NYC stab victim's cries ignored for half hour

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 11:57am GMT

New York (AP) New York City investigators wonder why neighbors waited more than a half hour before calling police after hearing ...

Lone accountant beats IRS in insurance tax case

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 11:55am GMT

It took seven years, but Charles Ulrich did something many people dream about, but few succeed at: He beat the IRS in a tax dispute.

Affirmative-action ban on 2 state ballots

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 3:15am GMT

Backers of a November ballot measure to ban affirmative action will focus on two states one of them a battleground in the presidential ...

NBC giddy at conclusion of successful Olympics

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 2:17am GMT

NBC says the Beijing Olympics proved so captivating that millions of Americans now need to catch up on some sleep.

Holocaust haunts survivors; agencies try to help

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 1:58am GMT

Nearly every night, Martin Hornung's nightmare unfolds to the same haunting strains. Of Auschwitz. Of screaming voices. Of scenes ...

Almanac: This winter 'Numb's the word!'

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 1:29am GMT

People worried about the high cost of keeping warm this winter will draw little comfort from the Farmers' Almanac, which predicts ...

Steel cross goes up near flight's 9/11 Pa. crash site

Posted: August 25th, 2008, 12:37am GMT

As hundreds of firefighters bowed their heads in prayer, a cross made out of steel from the World Trade Center was dedicated ...

Pregnancy complication could be a sign of problems to come

Posted: August 24th, 2008, 11:06pm GMT

The study, in the current edition of The New England Journal of Medicine, finds that pregnant women who develop a serious complication ...

U.S. turns over man accused in 1998 massacre

Posted: August 24th, 2008, 10:03pm GMT

A Mexican national wanted in connection with the 1998 drug-related massacre of 19 people in the Baja California resort town of ...

Bush names 4 Florida counties disaster areas

Posted: August 24th, 2008, 9:34pm GMT

President George W. Bush declared Sunday that four Florida counties hit hardest by Tropical Storm Fay are major disaster areas, ...

Boston kidnap suspect calls time with daughter 'glorious'

Posted: August 24th, 2008, 8:51pm GMT

The man who calls himself Clark Rockefeller and is accused of kidnapping his young daughter says he spent "six glorious and wonderful ...

New Orleans repeating deadly levee mistakes

Posted: August 24th, 2008, 4:00am GMT

Signs are emerging that history is repeating itself in the Big Easy, still healing from Katrina: People have forgotten what happened ...

Activist gets 4-year term for witness bribe

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 5:34pm GMT

A Muslim-convert activist and frequent critic of local police was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to ...

Lawsuit: Man got 9-foot tapeworm from restaurant

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 4:34pm GMT

A man who contends he got a 9-foot tapeworm after eating undercooked fish has sued a Chicago restaurant.

Armed 85-year-old woman forces intruder to call cops

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 4:29pm GMT

An 85-year-old woman boldly went for her gun and busted a would-be burglar inside her home, then forced him to call police while ...

More women 40 to 44 remaining childless

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 4:20pm GMT

Twenty percent of women ages 40 to 44 remain childless, the U.S. Census reported Monday, compared to 10% 30 years ago. The report ...

Tropical Storm Fay makes landfall in southwest Florida

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 3:48pm GMT

Tropical Storm Fay moved inland Tuesday after making landfall in southwest Florida, never growing into the hurricane that forecasters ...

Guilty verdict in stolen Cezanne, other paintings

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 2:49pm GMT

A retired Massachusetts lawyer has been found guilty of possessing six valuable paintings that had been stolen from a home in ...

Search to resume for missing Grand Canyon tourists

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 2:00pm GMT

A handful of hikers remained unaccounted for after flooding struck a tiny village near the Grand Canyon rim, a community so remote ...

California fines 18 hospitals for shoddy care

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 1:43pm GMT

Eighteen hospitals in California were fined for state health code violations in which patients died from various mishaps such ...

Flood waters in South Texas recede after torrent

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 1:16pm GMT

The Rio Grande Valley's main highway was reopened and flood waters receded Tuesday after up to 13 inches of rain swamped southern ...

Thieves loot cemeteries for metal

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 9:13am GMT

Ghouls have made a resurgence in cemeteries throughout the United States, prying plates and ornaments from headstones and selling ...

Judge blocks Detroit council effort to oust mayor

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 8:24am GMT

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who faces multiple felony charges in two separate cases, scored a major victory Monday when a ...

Ivins tried to mislead FBI on anthrax

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 5:27am GMT

The FBI said Monday that Bruce Ivins, the bioscientist whom they say launched the 2001 anthrax attacks, helped them figure out ...

Fuel crisis cuts down on carnival fun

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 4:57am GMT

Rising diesel costs contribute to shorter tours, inflated ticket prices and limits on the number of rides at local events such ...

Inmate admits to murder first blamed on son-in-law

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 2:06am GMT

A convicted rapist admitted to a 1998 murder and was sentenced to a long prison term Monday as another man once blamed for the ...

Man gets two-year sentence for accosting Elie Wiesel

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 1:59am GMT

A man convicted of accosting Holocaust scholar Elie Wiesel in a San Francisco hotel will be released from jail after a judge ...

Homes burn in Reno brush fire, evacuations ordered

Posted: August 19th, 2008, 12:14am GMT

A wind-whipped fire quickly crackled through sagebrush and grass on a residential hillside in northern Reno before destroying ...

Pa. teens ordered to trial in immigrant's death

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 11:10pm GMT

Three teens were ordered to stand trial in the beating death of an illegal immigrant after a friend of the defendants testified ...

Clintons mourn Ark. party leader

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 10:26pm GMT

Former President Clinton and others remembered the slain chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party on Monday for his strength ...

Many think God's intervention can revive the dying

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 9:59pm GMT

When it comes to saving lives, God trumps doctors for many Americans. An eye-opening survey reveals widespread belief that divine ...

FBI had, then destroyed anthrax type used in attacks

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 9:07pm GMT

FBI scientists early on had but destroyed the unique strain of anthrax used in the deadly 2001 attacks that years later would ...

Houston councilwoman rescues woman from fiery crash

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 8:34pm GMT

A Houston councilwoman pulled a driver from a fiery car, just weeks after angering police by coming to the aid of a man she believed ...

Judge blocks Detroit council effort to oust mayor

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 8:33pm GMT

The City Council's effort to remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick at a trial-like hearing was blocked shortly before it would have begun ...

Calif. court says doctors can't deny health care to gays

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 7:59pm GMT

California's high court on Monday barred doctors from withholding medical care to gays and lesbians based on religious beliefs, ...

Up to 25,000 tourists flee Tropical Storm Fay

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 6:14pm GMT

Some Key West stores were shuttered Monday while others stubbornly remained open as rain and wind gusts from Tropical Storm Fay ...

Filling backpack a burden for more families

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 4:06pm GMT

Demand for free school supplies is up across the USA, reflecting deepening hardships caused by the weak economy, social service ...

Gluten-free diets gaining in popularity

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 3:45pm GMT

Meet the latest dietary bad boy: gluten. The grain protein causes some people serious health problems. But those people don't ...

Drive 55 campaign gaining speed

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 5:13am GMT

With high fuel costs reviving memories of the energy crisis of the 1970s, proposals to bring back the national 55 mile an hour ...

Soldiers: Mold infests Okla. barracks for wounded

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 4:03am GMT

Twenty soldiers say complaints about mold and other problems at Fort Sill's barracks for wounded soldiers went unheeded for months. ...

Army leaders defend supervision of soldier care unit

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 2:52am GMT

Soldiers at the Fort Sill Warrior Transition Unit described commanders who seem more concerned with discipline rather than healing.

Schwarzenegger has surgery on injured knee

Posted: August 18th, 2008, 12:15am GMT

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had arthroscopic surgery to repair a knee he injured about two weeks ago while working ...

T.S. Fay death toll at 5; visitors urged to leave Florida Keys

Posted: August 17th, 2008, 11:10pm GMT

A light stream of traffic headed out of Key West Sunday as officials urged visitors to leave the string of low-lying islands ...

Dam breaks near Grand Canyon, hundreds evacuated

Posted: August 17th, 2008, 10:23pm GMT

Officials are evacuating hundreds of people from the Grand Canyon after an earthen dam broke following heavy rains.

Calif. air base fire burns 230 vacant homes

Posted: August 17th, 2008, 8:53pm GMT

The military says a wind-whipped fire at a California air base damaged more vacant homes than previously though at least 230.

Man rescued after 2 nights in abandoned Calif. mine

Posted: August 17th, 2008, 7:17pm GMT

Authorities in California say a man has been rescued after falling 100 feet and spending two nights trapped at the bottom of ...

Texas officials want 8 sect kids back in custody

Posted: August 17th, 2008, 5:48pm GMT

More than two months after being forced to return children from a polygamist sect to their parents, Texas child welfare authorities ...

Texas police say body is abducted store clerk

Posted: August 17th, 2008, 5:25pm GMT

A body found in a remote area was been identified as the clerk whose abduction from a store in a small North Texas town was recorded ...

Hawaiian palace occupied; about 20 arrested

Posted: August 17th, 2008, 7:14am GMT

A group of Native Hawaiians claiming to be the state's legitimate rulers occupied the grounds of a historic palace for two hours ...

NPR commentator Leroy Sievers dies at 53

Posted: August 17th, 2008, 5:48am GMT

Leroy Sievers, a National Public Radio commentator who turned his battle with cancer into a popular and touching radio and online ...

FBI probe targets father of embattled Detroit mayor

Posted: August 17th, 2008, 12:38am GMT

The FBI is investigating whether Bernard Kilpatrick, the father of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, was involved in payoff schemes ...

5 children killed in Memphis house fire

Posted: August 16th, 2008, 10:23pm GMT

An early Saturday morning fire killed five children and two adults, but three youths were able to escape and were being treated ...

Schwarzenegger injures knee

Posted: August 16th, 2008, 9:19pm GMT

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pulled out of an environmental conference Saturday to have his knee examined after injuring himself ...

NYC's 'S&M Svengali' conviction overturned

Posted: August 16th, 2008, 8:42pm GMT

A federal appeals court has overturned the conviction of a man dubbed the "S&M Svengali" and ordered a retrial in a sensational ...

Fla. gov. declares emergency as storm approaches

Posted: August 16th, 2008, 8:01pm GMT

Florida's governor has declared a state of emergency for the state due to the threat of Tropical Storm Fay.

Bear attacks inside Anchorage have people on edge

Posted: August 16th, 2008, 7:34pm GMT

Even in a city whose logo is "Big Wild Life," the summer of 2008 is testing residents' tolerance for large carnivores.

200 protest psychologists' interrogation role

Posted: August 16th, 2008, 7:03pm GMT

About 200 demonstrators rallied Saturday outside the convention hall where some 14,000 are attending the annual meeting of the ...

Ark. Dem. Party chairman shot, injured at headquarters

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 7:15pm GMT

A gunman entered the Arkansas Democratic Party headquarters Wednesday and shot the party chairman, who was hospitalized in critical ...

National Zoo says no cub for panda this year

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 6:04pm GMT

The National Zoo says panda mother Mei Xiang will not give birth to a cub this year after all.

HIV positive priest accused of sex abuse dead

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 6:03pm GMT

A former priest who was HIV positive and accused of sexually abusing minors in Texas and Rhode Island has died.

Passengers back Osteen, testify they saw no assault

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 6:02pm GMT

Passengers testified Wednesday they never saw or heard anything that indicated the wife of renowned pastor Joel Osteen assaulted ...

Police: Ga. man held family captive in squalor

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 5:41pm GMT

A man accused of holding his wife and four children captive in such squalor that thousands of roaches were crawling in and out ...

Chicago church abuse victims praise settlement

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 4:48pm GMT

Bob Brancato is prone to flashbacks when he sees a brand of soap he used as a child to clean himself after his Roman Catholic ...

NTSB begins probe at Mass. site of plane crash

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 4:42pm GMT

Federal investigators are examining the burned wreckage of a small plane that crashed into a parking lot, killing all three on ...

Principal behind 'pregnancy pact' controversy resigns

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 3:37pm GMT

A high school principal who set off a furor after being quoted as saying that teenage girls formed a pact to get pregnant has ...

Bond revoked, young Michigan killer back in jail

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 2:57pm GMT

A man convicted of murder at age 11 has been sent to a Michigan jail for allegedly violating bond in a drug case.

Auto slump holds down July retail sales; prices rise

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 2:42pm GMT

Sales at retailers edged down 0.1% in July on another big drop in auto sales, according to a Commerce Department report on Wednesday ...

Cocaine found hidden in unmarked R.I. police car

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 1:32pm GMT

Police in Providence, R.I., say an unmarked car that officers had been driving for several years came with a surprise a half-pound ...

Dogs maul, severely hurt Wash. cancer patient at home

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 1:03pm GMT

A 55-year-old man with cancer was mauled by hungry dogs in his home while his daughter was away and he was hospitalized in critical ...

Unarmed missile tested in launch from Calif. base

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 12:34pm GMT

An unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile was successfully tested early Wednesday, the Air Force said.

Fire burns building at Apple HQ in California

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 11:32am GMT

Firefighters have put out a blaze that burned for more than three hours at the headquarters of computer maker Apple.

Government halts licensing of new bus companies

Posted: August 13th, 2008, 4:27am GMT

The federal government will temporarily stop granting licenses to new bus companies after a crash in Texas killed 17 people.

Student pleads guilty to attempted murder

Posted: August 12th, 2008, 4:22pm GMT

An Iranian-born student accused of driving through a gathering spot on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel ...

Governor wants legal protections for teachers