AP - U.S. teachers are more interested in school reform and student achievement than their paychecks, according to a massive new survey.

AP - An attorney for Michael Jackson's mother confirms that child services workers are investigating the presence of a stun gun at the Jackson family home, but he says the late singer's children were never exposed to the weapon.

AP - A winter breeze rustles through the brittle and dormant vines twisting along the hills of Bill Hopkins' vineyard, the latest transformation of a Connecticut farm that since 1786 has been keeping up with changing agriculture, markets and consumer tastes.

AP - Lawmakers are considering cutting all services for nearly 26,000 people with disabilities as South Carolina tries to plug a $560 million budget hole.

AP - Same-sex couples can start applying for marriage licenses Wednesday in Washington.

AP - A Maryland man who admitted participating in an illegal street race that killed eight people has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

AP - The Kodak Theatre goes quiet as the big screen at center stage begins flashing images of actors and filmmakers who have died. A photo of Heath Ledger or Paul Newman might move the audience to spontaneous applause. Other images inspire deep sighs, as viewers reflect on the entertainers who have touched our lives.

AP - Fire swept through a Detroit home, killing three children and critically injuring two others who escaped out a second-floor window, authorities said Wednesday.

AP - At least 50 same-sex couples were lined up to apply for marriage licenses when city offices opened Wednesday, the day the unions became legal in the nation's capitol.

AP - Authorities say a homemade bomb was detonated in the hallway of a Detroit school and that a student has been taken into custody.

AP - New York Gov. David Paterson forged ahead with his work day Wednesday, planning a budget meeting in the midst of a rapidly growing scandal that has now claimed two top law enforcement officials and threatens to take down his administration.

AP - Police say a cashier shot inside a crowded Florida supermarket has died.

AP - The Los Angeles Police Department has apologized to the family of Robert F. Kennedy for exhibiting the shirt, tie and jacket the senator wore when he was assassinated in 1968.

AP - New York Gov. David Paterson, trying to hold onto office in the face of one scandal, was accused Wednesday of violating state ethics laws when he sought and obtained free Yankees tickets for the 2009 World Series and then may have lied about his intention to pay for them, according to a state report.

AP - Couples waited in line for hours Wednesday to apply for marriage licenses on the first day same-sex unions became legal in the nation's capital.

AP - A student threw a homemade explosive device in the hallway of a school on Wednesday, causing it to leak fumes and forcing the school's evacuation but not injuring anyone, authorities said.

AP - Joseph Leahy's successes come little by little these days.

AP - A Kentucky sheriff says a claustrophobic deputy has lost his job after accidentally locking himself in a jail cell and trying to shoot his way out of it.

AP - New York Gov. David Paterson, trying to hold onto office in the face of one scandal, was accused Wednesday of violating state ethics laws when he sought and obtained free Yankees tickets for the 2009 World Series and then may have lied about his intention to pay for them, according to a state report.

AP - Rescue crews have reached a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter that crashed Wednesday morning in remote Utah mountains as it flew toward its home base after providing security for the Olympics in Vancouver.

AP - Every high school has at least a handful of them, gifted students who blow through Faulkner as if it were a comic book, teenagers who catch on to calculus as if it were checkers.

AP - First lady Michelle Obama visited Jackson, Miss. Wednesday and watched children play on swings and a jungle gym at a school whose programs have been lauded for fighting obesity by keeping kids active.

AP - Criminal charges will be filed Wednesday against a convicted sex offender suspected of murdering 17-year-old Chelsea King, prosecutors said.

AP - Three Los Angeles school teachers have been suspended for giving children pictures of O.J. Simpson, Dennis Rodman and RuPaul to carry in a Black History Month parade.

AP - There's been a sharp drop in the percentage of America's children being bullied or beaten up by their peers, according to a new national survey by experts who believe anti-bullying programs are having an impact.

AP - Piercing screams drowned out the snap and pop of burning wood and exploding glass as the blaze raced through the rickety wooden house on Detroit's west side.

AP - Shopping for her nursery, Kelly Horvath bought a new window shade because its label advertised its child safety features. She later found her 16-month-old son dead in his crib, the shade's cord wrapped around his neck, another young victim of what U.S. government records show are some of the deadliest recalled consumer products.

AP - The American Cancer Society revised its guidelines for prostate cancer screening on Wednesday. The advocacy group is one of many organizations that make such recommendations. Some questions and answers:

AP - Tax returns show an ousted Alabama mayor won 555 electronic bingo jackpots at one casino and claimed gambling winnings of $1.5 million over three years.

AP - The arm of the New York State Police that guards governors and state offices is once again fending off allegations that it doubles as a political goon squad, hijacked by state officials for political dirty deeds from snitching on lawmakers involved in indiscretions to spying on political enemies.

AP - California law enforcement officials say a convicted sex offender was linked to the death of Chelsea King through DNA matching of semen found in the victim's clothing.

AP - As planes waited to take off from Kennedy Airport, the jargon-packed radio chatter between controllers and pilots was interrupted by a young boy's voice: 'JetBlue 171, cleared for takeoff.'

AP - Shopping for her nursery, Kelly Horvath bought a new window shade because its label advertised its child safety features. She later found her 16-month-old son dead in his crib, the shade's cord wrapped around his neck, another young victim of what U.S. government records show are some of the deadliest recalled consumer products.

AP - Gov. Bill Ritter will stay in the hospital for three or four days recovering from broken ribs and a separated shoulder he suffered in a bicycle wreck, doctors said Wednesday.

AP - The prosecution of the largest-ever American Indian artifacts looting case has been rattled by the apparent suicide of the government informant who broke open the investigation during more than two years of undercover work.

AP - Four social workers were convicted Wednesday of fraud for submitting phony paperwork for visits they never made to a disabled teenage girl who weighed only 42 pounds and was covered in maggot-infested sores when she was found dead in her home.

AP - The inspector general for the U.S. Department of Commerce says the nation's top fishery law enforcement officer destroyed documents while his office was under investigation.

AP - After a sweeping scandal nearly five years ago that cost the state's insurance fund for injured workers $300 million because of investments in Beanie Babies, rare coins and other risky assets, Ohio beefed up oversight and created a panel to help lawmakers look out for the health of the fund.

AP - Debra Medina was hardly the ideal candidate in Tuesday's Republican primary: She didn't raise much money and came under fire for suggesting the U.S. might have been involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. Still, she won nearly one out of every five votes, harnessing some support in the nascent tea party movement.

AP - A superintendent who fired all the teachers in one of Rhode Island's worst-performing high schools says she's willing to negotiate after their union promised to support reforms.

AP - One gay couple met on a Star Trek fan site, another dancing at a country western bar. Some have been together for months, others more than a decade.

AP - A 30-year-old convicted sex offender was charged Wednesday with murdering and raping or attempting to rape 17-year-old Chelsea King, who disappeared last week after heading out for a run in a park.

AP - Three Los Angeles elementary school teachers accused of giving children portraits of O.J. Simpson, Dennis Rodman and RuPaul to carry in a Black History Month parade have been removed from their classrooms, a school district spokeswoman said Wednesday.