Drug arrests latest black mark on RI police force (AP)

AP - After three Providence police officers were arrested last week in a cocaine-peddling sting, Chief Dean Esserman called it a "hard day" for the department.

Once-revered SC lawmaker freezes to death alone (AP)

AP - When Juanita Goggins became the first black woman elected to the South Carolina Legislature in 1974, she was hailed as a trailblazer and twice visited the president at the White House.

Check on Ohio State gunman found no criminal past (AP)

AP - Ohio State University says a background check on a janitor who shot two supervisors didn't reveal a criminal record, even though he had spent five years in prison.

Pa. suspect: Caretaker by day, 'Jihad Jane' online (AP)

AP - Colleen LaRose spent long days caring for her boyfriend's father in a second-floor apartment in Pennsburg, a small town north of Philadelphia.

Math, English classes could be standardized (AP)

AP - Students across the nation might eventually use the same math and English textbooks and take the same tests if states adopt new rigorous standards proposed Wednesday by governors and education leaders.

Study: Law officers struggle to readjust after war (AP)

AP - For soldiers patrolling in Iraq and Afghanistan, death can come from a bomb hidden in a trash pile or an innocent-looking face in the crowd. Returning home alive can depend on the quick turn of a steering wheel or pull of a trigger.

Bad blood detailed in Maine 'lobster wars' trial (AP)

AP - Even under the rough-and-tumble rules of the sea that Maine lobstermen live by, staring down the barrel of a 12-gauge shotgun is extreme.

Families: 3 Americans detained in Iran call home (AP)

AP - Cindy Hickey had rehearsed what she would say to her son when she finally got to talk to him months after he was detained in Iran. When the time came, the conversation lasted only about a minute, she said, "so it was hard to say a lot."

Italy, FBI raids crack down on Mafia in US, Sicily (AP)

AP - The FBI arrested a reputed U.S. mobster Wednesday on charges he provided protection for a Sicilian counterpart mapping out criminal turf in Florida — part of an international sweep aimed at further crippling the storied Gambino organized crime family and disrupting its ties to the Italian mob.

Endangered listing eyed for US loggerhead turtles (AP)

AP - The federal government has recommended an endangered-species listing for loggerhead turtles in U.S. waters, a decision that could have big implications for the fishing industry.

Palm Inc. teeters in crowded smart phone market (AP)

AP - Last year, Palm thought it had all the pieces for a turnaround in the market it pioneered: A new CEO known for making the iPod a household name, a sleek new smart phone called the Pre and fresh, intuitive operating software.

Grocery card in your pocket can pinpoint salmonella (AP)

AP - As they scrambled recently to trace the source of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds around the country, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention successfully used a new tool for the first time — the shopper cards that millions of Americans swipe every time they buy groceries.

Ga. judge's order dismisses claims in King dispute (AP)

AP - A Georgia judge has dismissed most of the remaining legal claims in a dispute between the children of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., months after the siblings reached a settlement.

Kansas City, Mo., school board to vote on closures (AP)

AP - The Kansas City school board is facing a stark choice: close nearly half its public schools or face a potential bankruptcy.

Runaway Prius driver: Brakes were 'almost burned' (AP)

AP - Before he called 911, James Sikes says he reached down with his hand to loosen the "stuck" accelerator on his 2008 Toyota Prius, his other hand on the steering wheel. The pedal didn't move.

Calif. jury recommends death for serial killer (AP)

AP - It was 2005 when Bruce Barcomb received the call he'd been awaiting for nearly three decades: Police had finally identified the man who raped and murdered his little sister in a remote canyon on a dark night in 1977.

Dozen same-sex couples tie knot in DC (AP)

AP - At least a dozen couples tied the knot in the District of Columbia on the first day same-sex ceremonies were legally allowed, and many more unions were on the way.