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HOUSTON — Former Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford, whose financial empire once spanned the Americas and made him fabulously wealthy, was convicted Tuesday of bilking his investors out of more than $7 billion through a Ponzi scheme he operated for 20 years.

A day after telling U.S. District Judge David ...

CRANSTON, R.I. (AP) — An 81-year-old woman from Newport, R.I., won last month's $336.4 million Powerball jackpot, sleeping with the winning ticket in her Bible until coming forward to claim the sixth-largest U.S. prize on Tuesday, a family representative said.

At a news conference at state lottery ...

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — A Rutgers University computer system manager told jurors on Tuesday that it appears the computer of a former student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man was used in two video chats on Sept. 21, 2010.

That ...

HARTFORD, Conn. — The mild winter that has given many Northern farmers a break from shoveling and a welcome chance to catch up on maintenance could lead to a tough spring as many pests that would normally freeze have not.

Winters are usually what one agriculture specialist calls a "reset ...

NEW YORK — A group of expert hackers who attacked governments and corporations around the globe has been busted after its ringleader — one of the world's most-wanted and most-feared computer vandals — turned against his comrades and secretly became an informant for the FBI months ago, authorities said Tuesday.

...

WASHINGTON — More than 70 percent of students involved in school-related arrests or cases referred to law enforcement were Hispanic or African-American, according to an Education Department report that raises questions about whether students of all races are disciplined evenhandedly in America's schools.

Black students are more than three times ...

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Barack Obama is obsessed with words, and he never learned to make a short speech. The Israelis understand that, however well-meaning he may be. The president may even believe most of the stuff he hears himself say.

Mr. Obama made another pretty speech to the American Israel Public Affairs ...

A Reasoned Moment From an Arizona Perspective 5-3-10

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana woman who saved her two children by binding them together with a blanket and shielding them with her body as a tornado ripped apart their house lost parts of both her legs, which were crushed by the falling debris, her husband says.

Stephanie Decker, a 36-year-old ...

Empty Chambers: Our U.S. Congress 8-23-10

In the simmering battle over abortion and mental-health problems, a reproductive-health organization says a published study linking the two has been "decisively debunked," while the lead author of the study says her findings still stand.

The mental-health issue is relevant because at least 35 states require women seeking abortions to ...

CRANSTON — Officials at a Rhode Island public high school have taken down a prayer banner that a federal judge ordered removed.

The state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued over the banner's constitutionality, says the display at Cranston West High School has been permanently removed.

Executive ...

MINNEAPOLIS — Fliers can stop sharpening their elbows. Overhead bins are getting bigger.

Packed planes and a high volume of carry-ons are forcing airlines to expand the space above passengers' heads. United and Delta are the latest airlines to replace or upgrade bins so they hold more luggage. And engineers ...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A judge has cleared the way for an Alabama county to move forward with the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, overruling Wall Street claims that state law didn't allow the county to file the case.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett issued his order late Sunday, allowing ...

Setting the stage for America's degraded future, Part 1, 12-13-10

WILLOW, Alaska — To a rousing send-off from fans, dozens of teams took to the trail for the start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, embarking on a near thousand-mile journey through the Alaskan wilderness.

The 66 mushers and their dog teams will spend roughly eight days trying to ...

SALEM, Ind. — A 15-month-old Indiana girl who clung to life for two days after being tossed by a tornado that killed her parents and two siblings has been buried with her family.

An American flag hung at half-staff as relatives of Angel Babcock gathered Monday in a snow-covered cemetery ...

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. — Jury selection began Monday in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the parents of two Virginia Tech students killed during a campus rampage nearly five years ago.

The trial is being held in Montgomery County Circuit Court in Christianburg. University officials will be asked to defend their ...

Why isn't everyone worried about water scarcity? 4-4-11

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — A former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man told his friends he was hosting a "viewing party" with beer and rum to watch the dorm-room liaison, a high school friend testified Monday.

The ...