Yahoo! News: U.S. News

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• Boy said to have floated off in balloon found safe (AP)
• Okla. mom charged with locking son in closets (AP)
• Interracial couple denied marriage license in La. (AP)
• NY pol partly acquitted in attack on girlfriend (AP)
• China-bound ex-Ford engineer charged with stealing (AP)
• County to sick workers: Stay home or risk firing (AP)
• Mom of Fla. teen set on fire says it's a nightmare (AP)
• Kan. lawmaker's anti-Obama 'RedNeck Rap' draws ire (AP)
• 20 violent NC inmates going free under 1970s law (AP)
• Family of balloon boy featured on `Wife Swap' (AP)
• Geologist hired kids, friends for expert report (AP)
• Dad charged with groping nurse during childbirth (AP)
• Mistrial in case of Texas mayor's $26K deposit (AP)
• Ga. to return $330,000 to assisted suicide group (AP)
• California stages massive earthquake drill (AP)
• Insurers dropping Chinese drywall policies (AP)
• Swine flu 6 months later: Relief, but winter looms (AP)
• Bill Gates pushes for more attention on Africa (AP)
• Michelle Obama honors Fla. students, teachers (AP)
• Report: Lawmakers to cut state budgets even deeper (AP)

Boy said to have floated off in balloon found safe (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 05:06 PM PDT AP - A 6-year-old boy was found hiding in a cardboard box in his family's garage Thursday after being feared aboard a homemade helium balloon that hurtled 50 miles through the sky on live television.

Okla. mom charged with locking son in closets (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 04:42 PM PDT AP - Prosecutors have charged an Oklahoma mother and her friend with abusing a boy who said he was locked in apartment closets for more than four years.

Interracial couple denied marriage license in La. (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 04:56 PM PDT AP - A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.

NY pol partly acquitted in attack on girlfriend (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 04:26 PM PDT AP - A freshman state senator was acquitted Thursday of smashing a glass into his girlfriend's face, but was convicted of a lesser charge for dragging her bleeding from his apartment in a violent scene caught on videotape.

China-bound ex-Ford engineer charged with stealing (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 03:42 PM PDT AP - An engineer copied thousands of electronic documents and stole trade secrets before quitting Ford Motor Co. for a new job in China, authorities said Thursday in announcing criminal charges.

County to sick workers: Stay home or risk firing (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 04:24 PM PDT AP - Employees of an Arizona county who have flu symptoms or a temperature of at least 100.4 degrees must stay home from work or risk being disciplined or fired under a new policy, officials said Thursday.

Mom of Fla. teen set on fire says it's a nightmare (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 03:30 PM PDT AP - Michael Brewer loves his skateboard, SpongeBob and the tree swing in his front yard. Now the 15-year-old whose family calls him Mikey has burns over two-thirds of his body and is fighting to live after authorities say five other teens — some of whom were at his house to play a month ago — doused him in rubbing alcohol and flicked a lighter.

Kan. lawmaker's anti-Obama 'RedNeck Rap' draws ire (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 03:41 PM PDT AP - A video titled "RedNeck Rap" that features a Kansas lawmaker repeatedly criticizing President Barack Obama's policies while wearing a hat describing opossum as "the other dark meat" has been removed from YouTube.

20 violent NC inmates going free under 1970s law (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 04:51 PM PDT AP - A cadre of murderers and rapists, several of whom victimized young girls, will be set free from North Carolina prisons this month after state courts agreed that a decades-old law defined life sentences as only 80 years long.

Family of balloon boy featured on `Wife Swap' (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 04:07 PM PDT AP - The family of a 6-year-old boy who set off a nationally televised scramble when he was thought to be in a balloon over Colorado has been featured twice in the ABC show "Wife Swap."

Geologist hired kids, friends for expert report (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 03:28 PM PDT AP - A geologist admitted Thursday that he hired his own three daughters and family friends to do legwork for a report that became the backbone of Oklahoma's pollution lawsuit against the Arkansas poultry industry.

Dad charged with groping nurse during childbirth (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 03:17 PM PDT AP - Authorities say a Utah man accused of groping a nurse who was helping a woman giving birth to his child has been charged with forcible sexual abuse.

Mistrial in case of Texas mayor's $26K deposit (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 02:55 PM PDT AP - A mistrial has been declared in the case of a Texas mayor who says he accidentally deposited a $26,000 city check intended for a vendor into a personal account.

Ga. to return $330,000 to assisted suicide group (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 02:24 PM PDT AP - A judge has ordered Georgia to return $330,000 seized from an assisted suicide group in February.

California stages massive earthquake drill (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 02:10 PM PDT AP - School children dove under tables in Los Angeles and sirens sounded in San Francisco on Thursday as California practiced how to survive a major earthquake.

Insurers dropping Chinese drywall policies (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 11:10 AM PDT AP - James and Maria Ivory's dreams of a relaxing retirement on Florida's Gulf Coast were put on hold when they discovered their new home had been built with Chinese drywall that emits sulfuric fumes and corrodes pipes. It got worse when they asked their insurer for help — and not only was their claim denied, but they've been told their entire policy won't be renewed.

Swine flu 6 months later: Relief, but winter looms (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 02:40 PM PDT AP - It was six months ago that scientists discovered an ominous new flu virus, touching off fears of a catastrophic global outbreak that could cause people to drop dead in the streets. Doomsday, of course, never came to pass.

Bill Gates pushes for more attention on Africa (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 10:22 AM PDT AP - The world can make huge strides in reducing hunger and poverty by helping the world's poorest farmers become more productive, Microsoft Inc. co-founder Bill Gates said Thursday.

Michelle Obama honors Fla. students, teachers (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 12:04 PM PDT AP - There's a growing sense among today's youth that public service "is a little cool," first lady Michelle Obama told Florida students and teachers Thursday. The challenge, she said, is figuring out how to harness that new energy.

Report: Lawmakers to cut state budgets even deeper (AP) Posted: 15 Oct 2009 01:38 PM PDT AP - In Massachusetts, freefalling tax revenue will mean no more dental and hospice care for legal immigrants. Maryland is closing a mental health center. And Illinois has $2.9 billion in unpaid bills.

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