A bad month in Afghanistan rippled across the US
Every afternoon, seven days a week, Ed Epley has a 5 p.m. appointment with the war....

EPA: Uranium from polluted mine in Nev. wells
YERINGTON, Nev. (AP) -- Peggy Pauly lives in a robin-egg blue, two-story house not far from acres of onion fields that make the northern Nevada air smell sweet at harvest time....

NC man gets life in prison for woman's fatal scare
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- A man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was found guilty in what prosecutors said was a case of scaring a 79-year-old North Carolina grandmother to death....

More Americans expected to travel for Thanksgiving
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of Americans traveling away from home for Thanksgiving will be up only slightly this year from 2008, according to a report from the AAA auto club....

Fort Hood suspect ordered held until court-martial
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- The Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood will be confined until his military trial, initially staying in a hospital where he is recovering from gunshot wounds, his attorney said Saturday....

Atheist student groups flower on college campuses
AMES, Iowa (AP) -- The sign sits propped on a wooden chair, inviting all comers: "Ask an Atheist."...

Baby can wait as expectant dad finishes spacewalk
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- A spacewalking astronaut put aside the impending birth of his daughter and blazed through his first-ever venture outside the International Space Station on Saturday....

Ex-Air Force nurse acquitted of killing patients
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- A court-martial acquitted a former military nurse of murder Saturday after he was accused of giving lethal doses of painkillers to hasten the deaths of three terminally ill patients at the Air Force's largest hospital....

Hawaii anxiously watching year-end tuna supply
HONOLULU (AP) -- On New Year's Eve each year, thousands line up at fish counters across Hawaii to buy blocks of raw tuna, hoping that eating it will bring good luck and prosperity in the new year. This year, the long tradition may get a little more difficult to observe....

Mental health cases tax police, emergency workers
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) -- Police found him sitting on the floor of his old apartment near a bucket of urine, still dressed in his hospital gown....