CHICAGO (Reuters) - Capsules containing powder made from dried rattlesnake meat can be tainted with bacteria that make them as deadly as the snake's bite and perhaps should be pulled from the U.S. market, a researcher said on Saturday.

AP - A severe storm dropped nearly a foot of snow on parts of the central Plains Friday and spawned at least one tornado in Texas, where one death was blamed on high winds.

AP - One of the nation's most ambitious plans to protect marine life was approved Friday when a state panel voted to ban or restrict fishing across more than 200 square miles of water off Central California.

AP - City streets got an unscheduled cleaning as a sudsy citrus-scented foam erupted from manhole covers like geysers.

AP - A city manager fired after revealing his plans to have a sex change said he will not sue the city that fired him and he will begin living as a woman full-time by the end of May.

AP - College brochures tout Ivy-covered campuses, plush dorms and high-tech fitness centers. But when it comes to getting the attention of students — and rival institutions — nothing works as well as a little star power.

AP - An elderly woman was rescued after being found buried beneath a pile of debris, garbage and animal feces in a home, authorities said. An elderly man was found dead.

AP - The former Symbionese Liberation Army fugitive who hid for years by posing as an ordinary housewife had a year restored to the sentence she is serving for trying to bomb police cars.

AP - Skiers unfurled a protest banner in April snow on Whiteface Mountain on Saturday to kick off a nationwide day of demonstrations aimed at drawing attention to global warming.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global warming activists planned to ski down a Wyoming glacier, hike to the Hollywood sign and fan out across New York's financial district on Saturday to call for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change.

AP - Bank tellers testified Saturday that a preacher's wife accused of murdering her husband with a shotgun was in financial trouble and that their bank had caught her trying to deposit bad checks.

AP - Americans worried about changes in the climate gathered Saturday on ski slopes and in cities for a nationwide day of demonstrations aimed at drawing attention to global warming.

AP - Don Imus's banishment from the public airwaves also deprives him of a critical platform to raise money for the sprawling Imus Ranch, where children with cancer and other illnesses get a taste of the cowboy life.

AP - Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel is going back to court this week in a bid for a new murder trial, adding yet another twist to a case that has spawned decades of intrigue.

AP - Bible-toting Scott Panetti preaches the word of God to a disinterested and largely invisible congregation from his pulpit — a high-walled prison death row recreation area topped with a ceiling of chain-link fence.

AP - Niles Lathem, who spent much of the last three decades covering Washington and the world for the New York Post, has died of lung cancer at 51, the newspaper announced Saturday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Abstinence-only education programs meant to teach children to avoid sex until marriage failed to control their sexual behavior, according to a U.S. government report.

ATLANTA (Reuters) - American Jerry Kelly, boosted by a hole-in-one, overhauled a stumbling Ernie Els to grab a one-shot lead in the Heritage Classic third round at Hilton Head, South Carolina on Saturday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush and congressional Democrats accused each other on Saturday failing to support U.S. troops, showing no signs of backing down in their fight over funding for the Iraq war.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dominican upset Street Sense by a nose to win the Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday in one of the final prep races for the upcoming Kentucky Derby.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global warming activists formed a 'human postcard' on Capitol Hill, dove to a coral reef off Key West and fanned out across Manhattan's financial district on Saturday to call for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As millions of Americans rush to file their annual income tax returns before the April 17 deadline, Democrats on Saturday promised to push to keep middle-class families from paying a tax originally intended for the very wealthy.

AP - Americans worried about climate change gathered Saturday on ski slopes and in cities for a nationwide day of demonstrations aimed at drawing attention to global warming.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Olympic swimming champion John Naber, while bitterly disappointed Los Angeles lost an opportunity to host the 2016 Summer Games, has thrown his support behind Chicago as the U.S. candidate city.

NACO, Arizona (Reuters) - It was never like this at the Olympics.

ATLANTA (Reuters) - American Jerry Kelly, boosted by a hole-in-one, overhauled a stumbling Ernie Els to grab a one-shot lead in the Heritage Classic third round at Hilton Head, South Carolina on Saturday.

AP - Surgery on Gov. Jon S. Corzine's injured leg was successful Saturday, while state police said the driver blamed for the wreck that critically injured the governor told them he didn't stop because he hadn't realized he was involved.

AP - A high school newspaper's special report on the use of a racial epithet among students received a harsh response from district officials, who say they are investigating why it was published.