The Washington Times

U.S. attorney Fitzgerald leaving office

CHICAGO — Patrick J. Fitzgerald, known as one of the most relentless U.S. attorneys in the nation and the architect of convictions against two Illinois governors and a former vice-presidential aide, announced Wednesday that he is stepping down from the post he has held for more than a decade in ...

School officials fear a federal policy takeover

By expanding its "Race to the Top" education grant contest to the district level, the Obama administration has left some state education chiefs feeling elbowed out, saying Washington is trying to establish itself as the national school board.

"They're calling for the local leadership to report directly to the federal ...

Motorists likely to be paying for more tolls

Driving onto an interstate highway? Crossing a bridge on the way into work? Taking a tunnel under a river or bay? Get ready to pay.

With Congress unwilling to contemplate an increase in the federal gas tax, motorists are likely to be paying ever more tolls as governments at all ...

Out-of-state motorists find E-ZPass less than welcoming

Some tolling authorities have found a way to give local motorists a break on tolls - while charging out-of-towners a higher rate for using the same roads and bridges.

The E-ZPass electronic toll reading system used by 24 tolling agencies in 14 states in the Northeast and Midwest is able ...

Bambi's pals threaten Big Island

HONOLULU — Deer can swim, but not very far. When they showed up for the first time on the Big Island of Hawaii, mystified residents wondered how they got there.

The island is some 30 miles southeast of Maui, where deer are plentiful.

Hawaii wildlife authorities think someone dropped a ...

Thunder makes itself heard for changes in law

To get attention on Capitol Hill, Ted Shpak had to ditch the jacket and tie.

"I get more respect wearing jeans," said the 64-year-old Vietnam veteran and president of Rolling Thunder Washington, D.C., which this weekend will hold its 25th annual motorcycle rally to bring attention to American service members ...

Vets, supporters find solace, camaraderie in Rolling Thunder's roar

For Walt Koren, it would be easier to know that his old friend is dead. Instead, he's lived with uncertainty for 41 years. Whether William Patrick Millner, an Army Air Cavalry pilot in Vietnam and high school classmate of Mr. Koren's, survived a crash landing in Laos in 1971, and ...

Fitzgerald to step down as U.S. attorney in Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) — Patrick Fitzgerald, one of the most feared U.S. attorneys in the nation and the architect of convictions against two Illinois governors and a former vice presidential aide, announced Wednesday that he is stepping down from the post he has held for more than a decade in Chicago.

Mr. ...

States looking to new tolls to pay for highways

WASHINGTON — Driving onto an Interstate highway? Crossing a bridge on the way into work? Taking a tunnel under a river or bay? Get ready to pay.

With Congress unwilling to contemplate an increase in the federal gas tax, motorists are likely to be paying ever more tolls as the ...

Moon chips from Vegas casino mogul sent to NASA

LAS VEGAS — It's been a long, strange trip for what appears to be several tiny chips of lunar rock that found their way into a casino mogul's hands after being collected by the first men on the moon.

If they're real, they were plucked from the lunar surface by ...

Iowa man with zebra, parrot in truck gets DUI

DUBUQUE, Iowa — An Iowa man stopped outside a Dubuque bar with a small zebra and a parrot in his truck has been charged with drunken driving.

KCRG-TV reports (http://bit.ly/KkBp1j) officers arrested Jerald Reiter, 56, of Cascade on Sunday in the parking lot of the Dog House bar, ...

U.S. sales of new homes rose 3.3 percent in April

WASHINGTON — Americans bought more new homes in April, the latest signal that the U.S. housing market is steadily improving.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales increased 3.3 percent in April from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 343,000.

Sales were up in all regions except the ...

Another Florida A&M drum major describes being beaten

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Florida A&M drum major who died after being hazed on a bus was known for his opposition to hazing but agreed to go through a brutal initiation ritual because it was seen as an honor, according to interviews with band mates released Wednesday.

Robert Champion, ...

Library of Congress taps 25 sounds for registry

WASHINGTON — From rare audio interviews of former slaves to recordings by Donna Summer and the Grateful Dead, 25 sounds that shaped the American cultural landscape are being inducted into the National Recording Registry.

Summer's 1977 hit "I Feel Love" is joining the Grateful Dead's famous 1977 Barton Hall concert ...

Astrodome fades, crumbles as Houston decides fate

 

HOUSTON (AP) — The Astrodome was once the envy of other cities, a fully air-conditioned facility with a translucent roof that kept out the heat and humidity, gave synthetic grass its name, made Houston a sports entertainment destination and sparked the imaginations of baseball lovers, concert-goers and some ...

Regulators probe bank's role in Facebook IPO

WASHINGTON (AP) — Regulators are examining whether Morgan Stanley, the investment bank that shepherded Facebook through its highly publicized stock offering last week, selectively informed clients of an analyst's negative report about the company before the stock started trading.

Rick Ketchum, the head of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the ...

Survivors of tornado in Joplin for march

JOPLIN, MO. | A year after a massive tornado tore through Joplin, thousands of survivors and others touched by the storm's fury made a somber march through some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods in a town dedicated to remembering its losses but also committed to what is certain to be a ...

American Scene: 5 dead in apparent family murder-suicide

SALEM, Ore. — A mother and her three children were found dead in a burned house Tuesday in northwest Oregon, and the children's father was found dead later in a car, all victims of what police said appeared to be a murder-suicide.

The woman and children were discovered early Tuesday ...

Commercial craft speeds toward space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Opening a new, entrepreneurial era in spaceflight, a ship financed by a billionaire businessman sped toward the International Space Station with a load of groceries and other supplies Tuesday after a spectacular, middle-of-the-night blastoff.

The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket and its unmanned Dragon capsule ...

Reno air show to alter course to make it safer

RENO, Nev. — Organizers of the national air racing championships secured $100 million in necessary insurance and announced plans Tuesday to change the September race course for the fastest planes to keep them farther from spectators after last year's mass-casualty crash near a grandstand.

Reno Air Racing Association Director Mike ...

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