AP - Despite pressure from elected officials and the military, the Bush administration has yet to equip some California National Guard planes for firefighting — a delay that could have grave implications during the worst of the wildfire season.
AP - A one-time top lieutenant to Martin Luther King Jr. was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for having sex more than a decade ago with his then-teenage daughter.
AP - Nancy Reagan suffered a broken pelvis in a fall at her home and will be hospitalized for several days, her spokeswoman said Wednesday. The 87-year-old former first lady fell last week, spokeswoman Joanne Drake said. She did not seek immediate medical care but decided Monday to get checked out because of persistent pain, Drake said.
AP - Ramon Ibarra remembers his backbreaking days repairing railroads in the Southwest, a contract job for which he left Mexico in 1942 as part of a guest worker program. More than 60 years later, he's looking forward to the rest of his paycheck.
AP - Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal — sports handicapper extraordinaire, Las Vegas gaming executive and the inspiration for the blockbuster movie "Casino" — died Monday. He was 79.
AP - Flying in the U.S. has been transformed since Sept. 11, with passengers forced to remove their shoes, take out their laptop computers and put liquids and gels in clear plastic bags. Yet it's perfectly legal to take a loaded gun right up to the security checkpoint at some of the nation's biggest airports.
AP - The U.S. has not endured a deep and prolonged recession in more than a quarter century — enough time for many Americans to forget what one feels like.
AP - Gov. Matt Blunt agreed Wednesday to give thousands of old e-mails for free to several media outlets who had sued his administration after initially being told the information would cost more than $23,000.
AP - World grain prices have been tumbling back down the steep slope they climbed early this year, but from Manila's food stalls to London's supermarkets, everyday consumers aren't seeing it yet. The experts worry, meanwhile, that the wild swings may turn uphill again.
AP - The mayor of this conservative Oklahoma City suburb on Wednesday retreated from a board's decision to help buy a bronze sculpture depicting Jesus Christ and said a private group will buy out the city's commitment.
AP - Mexican officials are trying to persuade Americans to visit Ciudad Juarez, touting the city in a new billboard campaign as a "land of encounters." But on this side of the border, that sounds like a cruel joke.