ALTA, California – Workers recovered the body of a man killed after plunging 10 feet when a sinkhole opened beneath his house. Authorities said 32-year-old Jason Chellew was a schoolteacher whose wife was pregnant. He was relaxing in his living room around 9:30 p.m. Friday when he heard creaking noises, …

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – A couple who falsely claimed to be the parents of critically ill sextuplets were charged Friday with stealing cash and other gifts from people taken in by the ruse. Kris and Sarah Everson, of Grain Valley, had collected donations for the six babies the couple claimed were …

ROCHESTER, Vt. – The power company’s public relations department, a very friendly golden retriever named Nugget, is nearly 15 now and struggles to get to her feet. It’s just another sign that it’s time for Tom and Sandy Pierce to turn out the lights on a business that’s been in …

WASHINGTON – President Bush urged feuding Iraqi leaders on Monday to stop bickering and forge agreement on key positions in a unity government. The president reminded Iraqis that Americans had made “great sacrifices” and Iraqi voters had risked their lives to promote Iraq’s postwar development. “Americans and Iraqis alike are …

ROME – Challenger Romano Prodi‘s center-left coalition won a narrow victory in the Italian parliamentary election, official results showed Tuesday, but Conservative Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi refused to concede defeat. The Interior Ministry assigned Prodi’s coalition — an unwieldy alliance ranging from Catholics to communists — four Senate seats chosen …

DURHAM, N.C. – The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Saturday his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition would pay the college tuition of a black woman who alleges white members of the Duke University lacrosse team raped her. The 27-year-old woman, a student at North Carolina Central University, told police she and another woman were …

WASHINGTON – A Senate committee Wednesday announced an investigation into taxes paid by major oil companies and asked the Internal Revenue Service for the companies’ tax returns. The Senate Finance Committee promised “a comprehensive review of the federal taxes paid” by the oil companies on their record profits last year. …

BOSTON – A 20,000-pound construction platform collapsed and then crashed down 13 stories onto a busy downtown street Monday, killing three people and crushing cars stalled in midday traffic. The collapse occurred about 1:20 p.m. on Boylston Street, which runs along the south side of Boston Common. Witnesses said there …

NEW YORK – Stats Event: 100 meter dash Height: 5-10 Weight: 160 pounds Personal Records: 100 meter dash in 9.78 seconds (world record, 2002); 200 meter dash in 20.52 seconds, in 1999. Born: Jan. 25, 1975, in Gaffney, S.C. Current residence: Chapel Hill, N.C. High school: Gaffney, SC ’93 Colleges: …

HENDRUM, Minn. – Jon Grothe parked his equipment on a high spot and then rolled up his sleeves and got down to work, stacking sandbags around his farmhouse with a handful of friends. Nearly a decade ago, his house, sheds and corn bins were swamped by one of the biggest …