High school seniors lag in math, reading on national tests
WASHINGTON — It doesn’t add up.
Democrats target truckers, utilities with global warming bills
SACRAMENTO — Targeting truckers, contractors and others, Senate Democrats on Thursday introduced legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions beyond the landmark global warming law that took effect this year.
Groups seek shutdown of Texas center for immigrant families
WASHINGTON — Advocacy groups for immigrant families and the Department of Homeland Scurity are at odds over detention facilities in Texas and Pennsylvania that critics argue are inhumanely housing adults and young children in jail-like conditions.
Salesman ordered to repay wages after faking 3-year-old son’s death from cancer
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A salesman was ordered to pay back more than $50,000 to an Atlanta-based software company that accused him of begging off work for months by falsely claiming his young son was stricken with cancer.
U.S. military discovers car bomb factory
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The U.S. military warned Thursday that insurgents are adopting new tactics in a campaign to spread panic after troops uncovered a car bomb factory with propane tanks and chlorine cylinders — possible ingredients for more chemical attacks following three explosions involving chlorine.
California lawmaker drops unpopular effort to ban spanking
SACRAMENTO — A Democratic lawmaker on Thursday abandoned her heavily ridiculed campaign to make spanking a crime, acknowledging that the bill which had become fodder for late-night comedians would get whacked even in California’s sometimes whimsical Legislature.
Residents get keys for first new houses in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward
NEW ORLEANS — Two residents got the keys Thursday to what are believed to be the first homes built in the Lower Ninth Ward since Hurricane Katrina hit 18 months ago, and officials hope the houses — elevated against floodwaters and designed to withstand 160 mph winds — will help spark a revival in the devastated neighborhood.
South Korean businessman sentenced to 5 years in U.N. oil-for-food scandal
NEW YORK — South Korean businessman Tongsun Park, who was accused in the 1970s of trying to buy influence in Congress in the “Koreagate” scandal, was sentenced to five years in prison for accepting at least $2 million to work on Iraq’s behalf to influence the U.N. oil-for-food program.
Cleaning service owners charged in sweep of illegal immigrants
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — More than 200 illegal immigrants were arrested and three officials at a nationwide janitorial service face federal fraud and tax charges after an investigation of cleaning crews at a northern Michigan resort, government officials said.