Yahoo! News: U.S. News

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.

Calif. boy who called 911 thanks dispatcher (AP)

AP - A 7-year-old boy who called 911 from a locked bathroom while armed robbers threatened his parents hugged and high-fived on Wednesday the sheriff's dispatcher who took his call.

NJ man accused of raping, beating 5 daughters (AP)
AP - A New Jersey man with apocalyptic visions is accused of years of terrorizing his family, raping his five daughters and impregnating three, beating his children with wooden boards and even moving at one point to avoid child welfare investigators.
Mass school closures approved in Kansas City, Mo. (AP)

AP - Facing potential bankruptcy, the board that governs the once flush-with-cash Kansas City school district is taking the unusual and contentious step of shuttering almost half its schools.

Census campaign targets tech-savvy Hispanic youth (AP)

AP - Groups pushing for robust Hispanic participation in the 2010 census are enlisting a new corps of foot-soldiers in their battle to reach that hard-to-count demographic: tech-savvy, smart-phone-toting young people.

48 Hawaii-only species given endangered listing (AP)

AP - Wildlife officials lauded Washington's "holistic approach" to conservation in Hawaii after the Obama administration declared 48 species as endangered and announced plans to set aside more than 40 square miles on Kauai as critical habitat to allow the plants and animals to flourish.

Math and English classes could be standardized (AP)

AP - Governors and education leaders on Wednesday proposed sweeping new school standards that could lead to students across the country using the same math and English textbooks and taking the same tests, replacing a patchwork of state and local systems in an attempt to raise student achievement nationwide.

Coast Guard: Icebreaker to be reactivated by 2013 (AP)
AP - After a $62 million overhaul, the Coast Guard will have its third icebeaker back in service in 2013, filling a critical need as the fleet takes on new responsibilities, the commandant of the service said Wednesday.
Police surprised by teacher-student sex confession (AP)
AP - In his 28 years with the Burbank Police Department, Sgt. Robert Quesada had never heard of anything quite like it: A well-respected teacher at one of the city's public schools walks into police headquarters and confesses to having an affair with a 14-year-old boy.
2 Marine Corps fighter pilots rescued off SC coast (AP)
AP - Two Marine Corps fighter pilots have been rescued from the ocean off South Carolina after their aircraft went down.
Miss. school prom off after lesbian's date request (AP)
AP - A northern Mississippi school district decided Wednesday not to host a high school prom after a lesbian student demanded she be able to attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.
Va. gov counters state atty. gen.'s advice on gays (AP)

AP - Gov. Bob McDonnell directed state agencies not to discriminate against gay people in employment practices Wednesday, essentially overriding the Virginia attorney general's advice to public colleges.

Ga.'s system to defend the poor still reeling (AP)

AP - Georgia's public defender system is still trying to recover its financial footing five years after a courthouse gunman racked up a $3 million taxpayer-funded defense tab on the way to his conviction.

Lawmaker's clash with fellow Democrats nothing new (AP)

AP - Shortly after entering Congress in 1993, Rep. Bart Stupak withstood President Bill Clinton's charm offensive and voted against free-trade legislation — an early display of the independent streak that has put him at odds with fellow Democrats many times since.

Sushi restaurant, chef charged over whale meat (AP)

AP - Federal prosecutors have filed charges against a sushi chef and a Santa Monica restaurant accused of serving illegal and endangered whale meat.

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.

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.

Endangered listing eyed for US loggerhead turtles (AP)

AP - The federal government on Wednesday recommended an endangered-species listing for the loggerhead turtles in U.S. waters, a decision that could lead to tighter restrictions on fishing and other maritime trades.

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.

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.