Yahoo! News: U.S. News

Ex-resident threatened 'mass death' in ritzy Aspen (AP)

Posted: 02 Jan 2009 02:58 AM CST

AP - A one-time resident of this city who had been bitter over its transformation into a playground for the rich left four gift-wrapped bombs downtown in a bank-robbery attempt, turning New Year's Eve celebrations into a mass evacuation, police said Thursday.

2 major Wash. passes closed by snow; 1 reopens (AP)

Posted: 02 Jan 2009 02:59 AM CST

AP - Falling snow and a high threat of avalanches prompted officials to close three main east-west mountain passes in Washington state on New Year's Day and at least two of the highways were expected to remain shut down into Friday.

Suicides in national parks increase in 2008 (AP)

Posted: 02 Jan 2009 02:51 AM CST

AP - Freshly unemployed, former business executive Bruce J. Colburn flew to the far northwest corner of Montana in search of a place to die.

Special-needs student, 22, left on NYC bus in cold (AP)

Posted: 02 Jan 2009 12:34 AM CST

AP - A 22-year-old man with cerebral palsy spent a frigid New Year's night alone on a school bus after a caretaker left him there, police and his family said.

4 arrested in N. California gang rape of lesbian (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 09:27 PM CST

AP - Two men and two teens have been arrested on suspicion of gang-raping a woman last month in the San Francisco Bay area while allegedly taunting her for being a lesbian, police said Thursday.

DC house fire kills girl, her parents, 2 others (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 06:28 PM CST

AP - A fire broke out at a Washington home Thursday morning, killing a 5-year-old girl, her parents and two others, fire officials said.

FAA: 2 dead in fiery plane crash at Ill. airport (AP)

Posted: 02 Jan 2009 01:16 AM CST

AP - Two passengers died late Thursday when an airplane crashed at Joliet Regional Airport, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said.

RI Sen. Pell, creator of Pell Grants, dies at 90 (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 09:29 PM CST

AP - Claiborne Pell, the quirky blueblood who represented blue-collar Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate for 36 years and was the force behind a grant program that has helped tens of millions of Americans attend college, died Thursday after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 90.

Sunshine, big crowds greet New Year's Rose Parade (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 08:14 PM CST

AP - Spectators who claimed their spots for the Rose Parade hours before it began were rewarded Thursday with spangled dancers paying tribute to Broadway, a lush garden wedding flanked by sari-clad models representing India's Bollywood film industry and a giant robot with a surprise under his hat.

Mummers strut in Philly despite cold, money woes (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 11:41 PM CST

AP - Musicians dressed as Wild West gunslingers and comics dressed as bullfighters, knights and Mexican wrestlers strutted in the annual Mummers Parade, celebrating New Year's Day and the holiday tradition's escape from the city's budget ax.

Uncle arrested in Idaho girl's snowstorm death (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 09:47 PM CST

AP - A man who allegedly allowed his 11-year-old niece and 12-year-old nephew to attempt a 10-mile walk to their mother's house on a frigid Christmas Day was arrested on a murder warrant Thursday in connection with the hypothermia death of the little girl.

Car going 54 mph over limit crashes in Ohio; 5 die (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 05:57 PM CST

AP - A car estimated to be going 54 mph over the speed limit struck railroad tracks on an Ohio road, went airborne and crashed early on New Year's Day, killing all five people inside, Dayton police said.

Powerful NY lawmaker says he'll support Kennedy (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 11:36 PM CST

AP - Despite early reservations, New York state's most powerful legislative leader now says he'll support Caroline Kennedy for the U.S. Senate if the governor names her to the seat expected to be vacated by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Santa gunman led 2 lives to plot killings (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 10:29 PM CST

AP - Before donning the Santa Claus suit that would deceive his first victim, Bruce Pardo spent months plotting his Christmas Eve massacre behind a mask of friendliness that fooled his neighbors, lawyer and the ex-wife he killed along with eight of her kin.

Dad re-enters fiery Mo. home to save kids; all die (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 07:44 PM CST

AP - An early-morning fire in an eastern Missouri home has claimed the lives of two children and their father, who initially escaped but ran back inside to rescue his son and daughter.

Lawyer: Dec. 25 movie gunman fired in self-defense (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 04:45 PM CST

AP - An Iraq veteran charged in a Christmas night shooting over noisy moviegoers fired in self-defense, his lawyer said.

Baltimore police commissioner makes collar himself (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 04:03 PM CST

AP - After Baltimore's New Year's Eve fireworks celebration was canceled by strong winds, the city's police commissioner hit the streets and collared a few revelers who he said fired illegal guns into the air.

Community's future, vistas clouded by sludge spill (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 12:12 PM CST

AP - Tom Grizzard wonders what the future holds for a spot that once seemed the perfect place to live. His pastoral enclave boasted vistas of tree-covered hills, glimpses of the Emory River and access to fishing holes and hunting havens.

Family of Utah mine collapse victim awarded money (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 03:38 PM CST

AP - A coal company has been ordered to pay full benefits to the family of one of the six miners killed in the 2007 collapse of the Crandall Canyon mine.

Doctor, former patient now colleagues in Detroit (AP)

Posted: 01 Jan 2009 02:08 PM CST

AP - When Dr. Trevor Banka treats cancer patients alongside Dr.