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WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Wednesday that the Justice Department will take appropriate action in the killing of Trayvon Martin if it finds evidence that a federal criminal civil rights crime has been committed.

The attorney general made the comments in an appearance before a civil ...

PALMVIEW, Texas (AP) — At least nine suspected illegal immigrants were killed and six more were injured when the van they were packed into crashed and rolled not long after a border patrol traffic stop in a South Texas town, police said Wednesday.

The van was demolished in the accident ...

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — George Zimmerman's former attorneys say the man who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin is said to be losing weight and suffering from high levels of stress from the intense public scrutiny he is under. Meanwhile, a special prosecutor said she soon will make an announcement in ...

CORCORAN, Calif. (AP) — A California prison panel has denied parole to mass murderer Charles Manson parole in his 12th bid for freedom.

The panel acted Wednesday after a parole hearing.

Manson, now a gray-bearded, 77-year-old, did not attend the hearing.

He orchestrated a series of gruesome murders on consecutive ...

SAN FRANCISCO — A University of California task force said Wednesday that UC Davis police should not have used pepper-spray on student demonstrators in an incident that prompted national outrage and calls for the chancellor's resignation after online videos of the confrontation went viral.

The officers' decision to douse pepper-spray ...

Attorneys for George Zimmerman announced Tuesday that their client has cut off contact with them, forcing them to withdraw as his legal counsel in the fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager in Florida.

Mr. Zimmerman, who has claimed self-defense in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, has not returned their ...

CALIFORNIA

College holds memorial for 7 shooting victims

OAKLAND | The founder of an Oakland college where a gunman went on a deadly shooting rampage says the school's been encouraged by an outpouring of support from around the world.

Jongjin Kim spoke Tuesday at a memorial service held outside Oikos ...

PHILADELPHIA | Officials promised on Tuesday to conduct a careful review of dozens of other large buildings across the city and look into whether criminal charges are warranted as fire marshals search for the cause of a blaze at a vacant warehouse that killed two firefighters.

The fire broke out ...

ATLANTA — After fourth-grade teacher Jarretta Hamilton went to the principal of her Christian school with the news she was pregnant, he responded: You're fired.

Her lawsuit against the school came before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, and the three-judge panel is wrestling with its decision.

BILLINGS, Mont. — U.S. coal exports reached their highest level in two decades last year as strong demand from Asia and Europe offered an outlet for a fuel that is falling from favor at home.

U.S. Department of Energy data analyzed by the Associated Press reveal that coal exports topped ...

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Two attorneys for the Florida neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin said Tuesday that they have withdrawn as his counsel because they haven't heard from him in days and he is taking actions related to the case without consulting them.

Attorney Craig Sonner ...

George Zimmerman has launched a website to solicit support and donations, speaking out for the first time since his February shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Florida ignited a national outcry on race and justice.

Mr. Zimmerman, who has claimed self-defense in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, says ...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — As a young personal-injury lawyer in North Carolina, John Edwards earned a reputation for turning down multimillion-dollar settlement offers on bets that jurors would award his clients more money at the end of a trial.

"The twelve souls who spend full days, full weeks, or sometimes ...

ORLANDO, Fla. — An attorney for George Zimmerman on Tuesday confirmed the authenticity of a new website that allows supporters to donate money for the neighborhood watch volunteer who has admitted to fatally shooting an unarmed black teen in Florida.

All the money raised from the site, therealgeorgezimmerman.com, will go ...

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona ethics panel on Tuesday moved to disbar Maricopa County's former top prosecutor for failed corruption investigations he and America's self-proclaimed toughest sheriff conducted, targeting officials with whom they were having political and legal disputes.

The three-member panel found that former County Attorney Andrew Thomas violated ...

CHICAGO (AP) — The final four jurors were to be selected Tuesday for the trial of the man accused of killing three members of actress-singer Jennifer Hudson's family.

Fourteen people were selected Monday to be among the 12 jurors and six alternates after nine hours of interviewing potential jurors one ...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Some nail polishes commonly found in California salons and advertised as free of a so-called "toxic trio" of chemicals actually have high levels of agents known to cause birth defects, according to state chemical regulators.

A Department of Toxic Substances Control report to be released Tuesday ...

NEW YORK — Transgender women will be allowed to participate in the Miss Universe beauty pageant next year, officials announced Tuesday, a week after they ruled a trail-blazing 23-year-old could vie for the crown this year.

Pageant officials said they are working on the language of the official rule policy ...

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The two suspects arrested in a shooting rampage that terrorized Tulsa's black community and left three people dead have confessed, according to police documents given to the Associated Press.

The documents given to the AP on Monday say 19-year-old Jake England confessed to shooting three people ...

In 16 states, teen birthrates tumbled by at least 20 percent in recent years, the federal government said in a report. Large declines such as these helped push the nation's teen birthrate to a new low in 2010.

It's a "pretty amazing" set of trends, said Brady E. Hamilton, senior ...