AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) - Zach Johnson, defying all the odds, held off a late challenge by four-times champion Tiger Woods to claim his first major title by two shots at the Masters on Sunday.

AP - Michael Esposito rides his bike all the time — from cold nights when leaving his old job at a natural food store to warm days while passing shops selling yoga clothes and soy drinks. So the 67-year-old is excited about a new plan to reduce this countercultural haven's net carbon dioxide emissions to zero within a decade, an ambitious attempt to erase the town's 'carbon footprint.'

AP - Terrified residents climbed down fire escapes and firefighters carried others down ladders to safety from a blaze at an apartment building that injured as many as 53 people, authorities said.

AP - So lured was April Maxwell by the promise of the black college experience, with its distinct traditions and tight-knit campus life, that she enrolled at Hampton University in 2001 without even visiting the waterfront campus.

AP - The jury that convicted him of rape never heard about the other James Giles, the one who lived across the street from the victim.

AP - A U.S. soldier facing trial in the fatal shooting of an Italian intelligence officer at a checkpoint in Iraq said he had no choice but to fire, a newspaper reported Monday.

AP - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service might reclassify the manatee as threatened instead of endangered, a move suggesting the marine mammal has rebounded from the brink of extinction, according to an internal memo obtained by The Washington Post.

AP - Michael Esposito rides his bike all the time — from cold nights when leaving his old job at a natural food store to warm days while passing shops selling yoga clothes and soy drinks.

AP - Terrified residents climbed down fire escapes and firefighters carried others down ladders to safety from a blaze at an apartment building that injured as many as 53 people, authorities said.

AP - A jury ordered the Los Angeles Unified School District to pay $7.6 million to the family of an epileptic boy who suffered a seizure at school and is now paralyzed in a minimally conscious state.

AP - A gunman shot three people at a suburban Detroit office building Monday morning, police said.

AP - James Curtis Giles spent 10 years in prison for a gang rape he has long said he did not commit. On Monday, more than a decade after his release and after several years of living as a registered sex offender, he was expected to become the 13th Dallas County man to be exonerated since 2001 with the help of DNA evidence.

AP - A young minister's wife walked into court with her lawyers Monday for the start of her murder trial in the shotgun blast that left her husband dead in the church parsonage.

AP - A U.S. soldier facing trial in the fatal shooting of an Italian intelligence officer at a checkpoint in Iraq said he had no choice but to fire, a newspaper reported Monday.

AP - A runaway horse pulled a carriage with two out-of-town tourists on a wild ride through downtown streets, until a teenager rode to the rescue in a pursuing taxi, leaped out and grabbed the horse's reins.

AP - Public school students got an extra day of spring break in Bay City on Monday after vandals deflated the tires on all 88 of the district's school buses.

AP - James Curtis Giles spent 10 years in prison for a gang rape he has long said he did not commit. On Monday, more than a decade after his release, a prosecutor told the court that his arrest had been a case of mistaken identity, and the judge recommended he be exonerated.

AP - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday it is considering reclassifying the manatee as threatened instead of endangered, a move that would indicate the animal has rebounded from the brink of extinction.

AP - A young minister's wife walked into court with her lawyers Monday for the start of her murder trial in the shotgun killing of her husband in their church parsonage.

AP - A pool of 100 prospective jurors was summoned to court Monday for the federal corruption trial of John Ford, once one of Tennessee's most powerful state senators and a member of one of the state's most politically active families.

AP - A U.S. soldier facing trial in the fatal shooting of an Italian intelligence officer at a checkpoint in Iraq said he had no choice but to fire, a newspaper reported Monday.

KOROLYOV, Russia (Reuters) - A spacecraft carrying U.S. space tourist Charles Simonyi and two Russian cosmonauts docked with the International Space Station on Monday, two days after they blasted off from a Central Asian steppe.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American chief executive officers saw their total direct compensation -- an executive pay measure including salary, bonus and incentive shares -- rise 8.9 percent in 2006, a private study showed on Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Swimming teachers and other people who spend a lot of time near chlorinated pools face an increased risk of breathing problems, Dutch researchers report.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Islanders secured the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with a dramatic 3-2 road shootout victory over the New Jersey Devils on the final day of the NHL regular season on Sunday.

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Al Gore will be the opening act at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 25, hosting the global warming-themed SOS Short Films Program.

AP - James Curtis Giles spent 10 years in prison for a gang rape he has long said he did not commit. On Monday, more than a decade after his release, a prosecutor acknowledged Giles' arrest had been a case of mistaken identity, and a judge recommended he be exonerated.

AP - Spectators shake their fists, scream out wagers and cheer on their roosters, the air swirling with cigarette smoke and chicken feathers.

AP - Dating used to be largely a matter of spending time with a love interest, discovering the good, the bad and the ugly in person. If you were lucky, friends helped fill in some of the blanks. These days, the Internet — and the ability to check people out before they ever meet up — has forever changed the rules. For better or worse, 'googling' your date has become standard practice.

AP - A woman was sentenced Monday to nearly 27 years in prison for the death of her 2-year-old son, who suffered broken legs, skull fractures, bruises and burns while in her care.

AP - The state will significantly improve medical care available to poor children under a draft agreement presented to a federal judge Monday that could end a 14-year-old lawsuit over children's Medicaid.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. capital city was back in court on Monday trying to save its 30-year-old ban on residents owning handguns.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Don Imus, one of the biggest U.S. radio stars, apologized to an unreceptive civil rights leader Al Sharpton on Monday for racist and sexist comments about a women's basketball team that have spurred nationwide calls for his firing and a boycott of his sponsors.

KOROLYOV, Russia (Reuters) - U.S. space tourist Charles Simonyi arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday with a hamper of gourmet food to spice up his fellow cosmonauts' space-food diet.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Johns Hopkins University said on Monday it put a financial aid director on paid leave after learning she had received about $65,000 of consulting fees from a student loan company owned by CIT Group Inc..

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Few topics are more likely to cause argument among doctors than the influence of religion on healing, but a survey suggests most physicians bring their ideas about religion into their practice, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. average retail gasoline price rose for the tenth straight week to hit $2.80 a gallon as soaring crude oil prices took their toll at the pump, the government said on Monday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Some may see a cup of tea as soothing but chocolate is more likely to lower one's blood pressure, German researchers reported on Monday.

NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters Life!) - Apple Inc. has sold its 100 millionth iPod in just over five years, boasting on Monday that the digital device was 'the fastest selling music player in history' that appeals to both young and old.

AP - A Naval Academy midshipman was found guilty Monday of sexually assaulting a fellow student at a hotel last year, a verdict that could lead to prison time and his dismissal from the Annapolis military school.

KOROLYOV, Russia (Reuters) - U.S. space tourist Charles Simonyi arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday and his close friend Martha Stewart immediately told him from mission control: 'You are out of this world.'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Desperate for English-speaking workers, business leaders in a heavily immigrant California city have launched a $4.5 million campaign to persuade residents to learn the language.

AP - A case of mistaken identity was blamed for a Texas man's conviction in a 1982 rape, and on Monday a judge recommended he be exonerated based on new DNA evidence.

AP - As 17-month-old Emilio Gonzales lies in a hospital, hooked up to tubes to help him breathe and eat, his mother holds him close and cherishes every movement.

AP - Spectators shake their fists, scream out wagers and cheer on their roosters, the air swirling with cigarette smoke and chicken feathers.

AP - Jury selection started Monday for the corruption trial of former state Sen. John Ford, once one of the state's most powerful legislators, who is accused of taking cash to help a company get state business.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The classical music world was handed a new star on Monday as charismatic 26-year-old Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel was introduced as the next music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - Three young men were sentenced on Monday to serve prison terms and pay more than $3 million in restitution for burning down rural Alabama churches during a booze-fueled arson spree that terrified parishioners.

AP - Potential jurors were quizzed Monday about domestic violence issues, suggesting a possible defense strategy in the murder trial of a preacher's wife accused of shooting her husband.

AP - A jury was selected Monday for the corruption trial of former state Sen. John Ford, once one of the state's most powerful legislators, who is accused of taking cash to help a company get state business.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Shock jock Don Imus, who has made a career out of outrageous comments, was suspended on Monday for making racist remarks by both the radio and television networks that carry his program.

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - More Louisiana homeowners may not be able to repair hurricane-blighted properties after federal changes in how aid money is distributed, a state agency said on Monday.

AP - Former first lady Betty Ford was released from a hospital where she underwent surgery last week, her office said in a statement Monday.