AP - At least a dozen couples tied the knot in the District of Columbia on the first day same-sex ceremonies were legally allowed, and many more unions were on the way.

AP - Texas' state education board, rocked by primary elections that may push the influential panel's far-right leanings toward the center, is set to take its first vote on a new social studies curriculum that could reverberate in classrooms nationwide.

AP - An indictment against a suburban Philadelphia woman accused of recruiting jihadist fighters online and moving to Europe to try to kill a Swedish artist is a rare case of an American woman aiding foreign terrorists, authorities say, and shows the evolution of the threat of terrorism.

AP - At least a dozen couples tied the knot in the District of Columbia on the first day same-sex ceremonies were legally allowed, and many more unions were on the way.

AP - From the start, David Letterman made sure the story of a $2 million shakedown attempt over his sex life was one he narrated himself.

AP - Math and English instruction in the United States moved a step closer to uniform — and more rigorous — standards Wednesday as draft new national guidelines were released.

AP - The families of three Americans detained in Iran for months say their loved ones have been allowed to call home for the first time.

AP - The self-described 'Jihad Jane' who thought her blond hair and blue eyes would let her blend in as she sought to kill an artist in Sweden is a rare case of an American woman aiding foreign terrorists and shows the evolution of the global threat, authorities say.

AP - The self-dubbed 'Jihad Jane' who thought her blond, all-American profile would help mask her plan to kill a Swedish cartoonist is a rare case of a U.S. woman inciting foreign terrorism and shows the latest evolution of the global threat, authorities say.

AP - A suspected member of the Gambino crime family and two of his sons have been arrested on bankruptcy fraud charges in New York in a series of Mafia-related arrests in two countries, federal officials said Wednesday.

AP - Two former Ohio day care workers have been charged with a misdemeanor for slipping an over-the-counter dietary supplement into candy and giving it to their charges to help them sleep at nap time, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

AP - The highest court in Massachusetts on Wednesday upheld the constitutionality of a state law that requires gun owners to lock weapons in their homes, a case closely watched by both gun-control and gun-rights proponents.

AP - The Kansas City school board is facing a stark choice: close nearly half its public schools or face a potential bankruptcy.

AP - A Georgia judge has dismissed most of the remaining legal claims in a dispute between the children of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., months after the siblings reached a settlement.

AP - As they scrambled recently to trace the source of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds around the country, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention successfully used a new tool for the first time — the shopper cards that millions of Americans swipe every time they buy groceries.

AP - Many law enforcement officers called up to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan are finding it difficult to readjust to their jobs once home, bringing back heightened survival instincts that may make them quicker to use force and showing less patience toward the people they serve.

AP - After three Providence police officers were arrested last week in a cocaine-peddling sting, Chief Dean Esserman called it a 'hard day' for the department.

AP - When Juanita Goggins became the first black woman elected to the South Carolina Legislature in 1974, she was hailed as a trailblazer and twice visited the president at the White House.

AP - Too many pregnant women who want to avoid a repeat cesarean delivery are being denied the chance, concludes a government panel that urged doctors to rethink litigation-spurred policies that have swung the pendulum back toward the days of 'once a C-section, always a C-section.'

AP - Even under the rough-and-tumble rules of the sea that Maine lobstermen live by, staring down the barrel of a .12-gauge shotgun is extreme.

AP - Many law enforcement officers called up to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan are finding it difficult to readjust to their jobs once home, bringing back heightened survival instincts that may make them quicker to use force and showing less patience toward the people they serve.

AP - Ohio State University says a background check on a janitor who shot two supervisors didn't reveal a criminal record, even though he had spent five years in prison.

AP - The federal government has recommended an endangered-species listing for loggerhead turtles in U.S. waters, a decision that could have big implications for the fishing industry.

AP - Last year, Palm thought it had all the pieces for a turnaround in the market it pioneered: A new CEO known for making the iPod a household name, a sleek new smart phone called the Pre and fresh, intuitive operating software.

AP - A 7-year-old boy who called 911 while armed robbers threatened his parents hugged and delivered a high five to the dispatcher who took his call.

AP - Governors and education leaders on Wednesday proposed sweeping new school standards that could lead to students across the country using the same math and English textbooks and taking the same tests, replacing a patchwork of state and local systems in an attempt to raise student achievement nationwide.

AP - Groups pushing for robust Hispanic participation in the 2010 census announced a new campaign Thursday that aims to reach the hard-to-count demographic through its smart-phone-toting youngsters.

AP - Gov. Bob McDonnell directed state agencies not to discriminate against gay people in employment practices Wednesday, essentially overriding the Virginia attorney general's advice to public colleges.

AP - As they scrambled recently to trace the source of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds around the country, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention successfully used a new tool for the first time — the shopper cards that millions of Americans swipe every time they buy groceries.

AP - The prom's off at a northern Mississippi school after a lesbian student demanded she be allowed to bring her girlfriend.

AP - A former Detroit city councilwoman was sentenced to more than three years in prison Wednesday for bribery after a federal judge refused to set aside her guilty plea during a stormy court hearing dominated by a dispute over evidence of other payoffs.

AP - Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter held his first news conference after a bike accident last week and says he's in pain, but recovering.

AP - After a $62 million overhaul, the Coast Guard will have its third icebeaker back in service in 2013, filling a critical need as the fleet takes on new responsibilities, the commandant of the service said Wednesday.

AP - In his 28 years with the Burbank Police Department, Sgt. Robert Quesada had never heard of anything quite like it: A well-respected teacher at one of the city's public schools walks into police headquarters and confesses to having an affair with a 14-year-old boy.

AP - The Kansas City school board voted Wednesday night to close nearly half the district's schools in a desperate bid to stay afloat.

AP - A northern Mississippi school district decided Wednesday not to host a high school prom after a lesbian student demanded she be able to attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

AP - The Kansas City school board narrowly approved a plan Wednesday night to close nearly half the district's schools in a desperate bid to avoid a potential bankruptcy.

AP - Two Marine Corps fighter pilots have been rescued from the ocean off South Carolina after their aircraft went down.

AP - Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a sushi chef and a Santa Monica restaurant accused of serving illegal and endangered whale meat.