National News

Hurricane Felicia weakens, now a Category 1 storm (AP)

A boy plays in front of waves triggered by tropical storm Goni by the shores of Sanya, Hainan province August 8, 2009. Nearly 100 ships' crew members from Cambodia, Vietnam and China are missing in heavy seas off south China's Hainan Island, a local official said Saturday, Xinhua News Agency reported. REUTERS/China Daily (CHINA ENVIRONMENT DISASTER) CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINAAP - Hurricane Felicia has been downgraded to a Category 1 storm far out in the Pacific and is expected to weaken further as it gets closer to Hawaii.


Billy Mays' family: Never saw signs of cocaine use (AP)

FILE - In this Dec. 6, 2002  file photo,TV pitchman Billy Mays poses with some of his cleaning products at his Palm Harbor, Fla., home. An autopsy shows that cocaine use contributed to the heart disease that suddenly killed Mays in June, officials announced Friday, Aug. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)AP - The family of TV pitchman Billy Mays said they were never aware that he used cocaine or other non-prescription drugs before his death and they were considering whether to have an independent review of an official autopsy.


Demonstrators disrupt health care forums (AP)

Tony Loconto holds a sign in support of health care reform during a rally outside the office of U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., in Miami, Friday Aug. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)AP - As they head home to their congressional districts for the August recess, lawmakers who support health care reform are bracing for protests and demonstrations that threaten to turn violent.


Fla. senator to resign, clear path for Crist (AP)

Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, a native of Cuba who is staunchly anti-Castro, resigns from the Senate during a news conference, leaving the seat more than a year before his term ends in Orlando, Fla., Friday, Aug. 7, 2009. At his right is his wife, Kitty. (AP Photo/John Raoux)AP - Republican Sen. Mel Martinez announced Friday he would step down 16 months early, saying he was making good on a promise to voters that he wouldn't stay just to keep the seat warm.


Jackson show insurance excluded 'illicit' drug use (AP)

In this handout photo provided by AEG, pop star Michael Jackson rehearses at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 23, 2009. The insurance taken out on Jackson for his London concert series does not cover cancellations if the pop star was found to have illegally possessed drugs or was involved in the 'illicit taking of drugs.' (AP Photo/Kevin Mazur, AEG/Getty Images)AP - A concert promoter's insurance on Michael Jackson's London shows has provisions that may deny a multimillion dollar payout if the pop star was found to have illegally possessed drugs or was involved in the "illicit taking of drugs."


Record number of organic farmers expected in Mass. (AP)

Sugarsnap peas are harvested at the Many Hands Organic Farm in Barre, Mass., Wednesday July 22, 2009. The three-day Northeast Organic Farming Association, which that starts Friday, Aug. 7, 2009, is expected to draw a  1,500 people, continuing a pattern of growth that prompted the nonprofit organization to move the 35-year-old event from Hampshire College two years ago to the more spacious University of Massachusetts across town. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)AP - Barbara Wefing has been growing fruits and vegetables organically for nearly 60 years, ever since she kept most of the seed packets she was supposed to sell for her elementary school's fundraiser.


Palin says Obama's health care plan is 'evil' (AP)

FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2008 file photo, shows Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Palin  abruptly announced Friday, July 3, 2009. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin called President Barack Obama's health plan 'downright evil' Friday Aug. 7, 2009 in her first online comments since leaving office, saying in a Facebook posting that he would create a 'death panel' that would deny care to the neediest Americans. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia,File)AP - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin called President Barack Obama's health plan "downright evil" Friday in her first online comments since leaving office, saying in a Facebook posting that he would create a "death panel" that would deny care to the neediest Americans.


Feds: Madoff financial exec to plead guilty in NY (AP)

Booking mug shot of Bernard Madoff released to Reuters on March 17, 2009. REUTERS/UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE/FOIA/HandoutAP - Federal prosecutors expect the former chief financial officer for disgraced financier Bernard Madoff to plead guilty Tuesday to criminal charges.


Eunice Kennedy Shriver critical at Mass. hospital (AP)

FILE - In this  Jan 28, 2005 file photo, Eunice Kennedy Shriver arrives at the Golden Jubilee Gala of the Viennese Opera Ball at New York's Waldorf Astoria. (AP Photo/Jennifer Szymaszek, File)AP - Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a sister of President John F. Kennedy and a longtime champion for the disabled, was in a Massachusetts hospital with family at her side.


Free Manson 'family' members haunted by horror (AP)

AP - Forty years ago, they were kids. Vulnerable, alienated, running away from a world wracked by war and rebellion. They turned to a cult leader for love and wound up tied to a web of unimaginable evil.