Arias seeks life sentence, promises good behavior

Phoenix — Jodi Arias begged jurors Tuesday to give her life in prison, saying she “lacked perspective” when she told a local reporter in an interview that she preferred execution to spending the rest of her days in jail.

Highway patrol: 29 hurt in Ohio bus, car crash

Bowling Green, Ohio — The State Highway Patrol says 29 people have been injured in a crash between a commercial bus and a car on Interstate 75 in northwest Ohio.

Boy Scouts meet to decide policy on openly gay youth

Grapevine, Texas — The Boy Scouts of America will convene a two-day meeting of 1,400 local leaders to consider changing its long-standing ban on allowing openly gay boys to don the Boy Scouts uniform.

Cancer hats get sisters ejected from Pennsylvania mall

King of Prussia, Pa. — Three sisters say they were kicked out of a suburban Philadelphia mall after refusing to remove profanity-laden hats expressing their hatred of breast cancer.

Marathon bombing victims urged to apply for funds as deadline nears

Boston — The administrator of the Boston Marathon victims' compensation fund says so far just five people have filed applications for a portion of the $30 million the One Fund has already collected.

Captain to face trial for deadly shipwreck in Italy

Rome — A judge in Italy has ordered the captain of the Costa Concordia to stand trial in the shipwreck of the cruise liner, which struck a reef off Tuscany last year, killing 32 people.

Octogenarians race to be oldest Everest climber

Katmandu, Nepal — An 80-year-old Japanese extreme skier who climbed Mount Everest five years ago, but just missed becoming the oldest man to reach the summit, was back on the mountain Wednesday to make another attempt at the title.

Benghazi suspects ID’d, but no arrests

Washington — The U.S. has identified five men who might be responsible for the attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year, and has enough evidence to justify seizing them by military force as suspected terrorists, officials say.

Briefs: Senate panel OKs bill to offer millions citizenship

Washington — The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved far-reaching immigration legislation that gives a chance at citizenship to millions living in the country illegally.

Energy released more powerful than Hiroshima bomb, experts say

Washington — Wind, humidity and rainfall combined precisely to create the massive killer tornado in Moore, Okla. And when they did, the awesome amount of energy released over that city dwarfed the power of the atomic bomb that leveled Hiroshima.

Metro Detroit organizations pitch in on Oklahoma tornado relief efforts

The wreckage left behind by a powerful tornado in the Oklahoma town of Moore was difficult for Allison Koenigbauer to describe.

Teachers praised for saving students in Oklahoma tornado

Moore, Okla. — The principal’s voice came on over the intercom at Plaza Towers Elementary School: A severe storm was approaching and students were to go to the cafeteria and wait for their parents to pick them up. But before all of the youngsters could get there, the tornado alarm sounded.

Flooding forces evacuation of 1,300 in North Dakota town

Bismarck, N.D. — More than a thousand people have evacuated their homes in northeastern North Dakota as rain-fed floodwaters threaten a dam on the Tongue River.

FBI: Man in Florida fatally shot in Boston bombing probe

Washington — The FBI says a man being questioned by authorities in the Boston bombing probe was fatally shot when he initiated a violent confrontation. ...

Cleveland kidnapping victims 'happy and safe'

Cleveland — The three women rescued after being held captive in a Cleveland house for about a decade want the community to know they are doing fine and ...

Fire chief says search almost complete in Oklahoma

Moore, Okla. — The search for survivors and the dead is nearly complete in the Oklahoma City suburb that was smashed by a mammoth tornado, the fire chief ...

Police release photos from Tucson shooting rampage

Tucson, Ariz. — Authorities on Tuesday released nearly 600 photos that investigators took in the aftermath of the Tucson shooting rampage that killed six ...

Worried parents seek out kids in tornado’s wake

Moore, Okla. — The parents and guardians stood in the muddy grass outside a suburban Oklahoma City church, listening as someone with a bullhorn called ...

Official: No drugs, alcohol found in Newtown gunman

Hartford, Conn. — Toxicology tests on the body of the Newtown school shooter did not turn up any alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription medications, an ...

Court: U.S. can keep bin Laden photos under wraps

Washington — A federal appeals court Tuesday backed the U.S. government's decision not to release photos and video taken of Osama bin Laden during and ...

Man commits suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

Paris — Crowds of visitors were cleared out of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after a man put a letter on the altar of the 850-year-old monument Tuesday, ...

Jersey shore readies for first post-Sandy summer

Seaside Heights, N.J. — The boardwalks are back, and so are most of the beaches, even if some are a little thinner this year.

Connecticut foster mom pleads guilty for spoon-spanking

Norwich, Conn. — A Connecticut foster mother faces 100 days in jail after acknowledging she spanked a 4-year-old girl with a wooden spoon.

Montana man dies in Yosemite climbing accident

Yosemite National Park, Calif. — A Montana man died in a rock climbing accident as he tried to climb to the top of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, ...

Photos from shooting that killed 6, wounded Giffords to be released

Tucson, Ariz. — Authorities are set to release more than 300 photos on Tuesday that investigators took in the aftermath of the Tucson shooting rampage ...

Customs seizes elephant meat, dead primate in Los Angeles

Los Angeles — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Los Angeles have made some unusual seizures, including elephant meat, a dead primate and ...

Burmese python caught in South Florida sets new record

Miami — Wildlife officials say a Burmese python nearly 19 feet long has been captured in South Florida.

Briefs: Top court to hear case on prayer at public meetings

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