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HARTFORD, Conn. — After years of failed attempts to repeal the death penalty, Connecticut lawmakers in both the House and the Senate have passed legislation that abolishes the punishment for all future cases.

As expected, members of the House voted 86-62 in favor of the bill after a floor debate ...

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 decision by officers to ...

CORCORAN, Calif. — A prison panel denied parole Wednesday to mass murderer Charles Manson in his 12th and probably final bid for freedom.

Manson, now a graybearded 77-year-old, did not attend the hearing where the parole board ruled that he had shown no efforts to rehabilitate himself and would not ...

Phrases such as "generationally great" permeate the Washington Capitals' organization. Don't try to talk to owner Ted Leonsis or general manager George McPhee about the window to win a Stanley Cup shutting any time soon, even though this core of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin and Mike Green has ...

SEATTLE — Striving to reduce the trash it sends to landfills, Seattle has banned foam takeout containers and plastic bags, told residents they must recycle cardboard and compost food scraps, and set up a registry for people to opt out of getting phonebooks.

Some city officials think the city can ...

LANSING, MICH. — Rusty Bongard keeps a 1976 photo of motorcycle lobbyist Jim Rhoades sitting on the steps of the Michigan statehouse in Lansing, holding a sign that reads "Helmet Laws Suck."

Now 35 years after that picture was snapped, Mr. Bongard, a spokesman for the biker advocacy and safety ...

A Florida prosecutor charged George Zimmerman with second-degree murder Wednesday in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin after weeks of protests demanding his arrest.

Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey said at a news conference in Jacksonville that Mr. Zimmerman, 28, was arrested Wednesday after turning himself in to authorities. She ...

KANSAS

TOPEKA — A Kansas judge declared a mistrial in a murder trial Wednesday after a newspaper reporter tweeted a photo that included the grainy profile of a juror.

The Shawnee County District Attorney's Office said it plans to reschedule Austin Tabor's trial for June or July in the wake ...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman is being charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager whose death ignited nationwide protests.

Special prosecutor Angela Corey says that the 28-year-old Zimmerman is in custody. She wouldn't disclose Zimmerman's whereabouts for his safety, but ...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Eight Planned Parenthood organizations sued Texas on Wednesday for excluding them from participating in a program that provides contraception and checkups to women, saying the new rule violates their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and association.

The groups, none of which provide abortions, contend in the ...

SANFORD, Fla. — After weeks of mounting tension and protests across the U.S., a special prosecutor has decided to bring charges against neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a law enforcement official said Wednesday.

The official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of ...

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.