National News

Judge: BP liable for civil penalties for oil spill

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that BP PLC and one of its minority partners in the blown-out Macondo well are liable for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act for their roles in the nation's worst offshore oil spill. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier also ruled Wednesday that Deepwater Horizon rig owner Transocean Ltd. may be
Obama signs payroll tax cut extension into law

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has signed an extension of the Social Security payroll tax cut through the end of the year. The White House said he acted Wednesday, five days after Congress gave the $143 billion measure overwhelming approval, ending a partisan election-year clash over how to pay for it. Obama signed a package that renews a two
Jury sentences former U.Va. lacrosse player

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A jury says a former University of Virginia lacrosse player should serve 25 years in prison for the second-degree murder of his ex-girlfriend. The jurors recommended the punishment hours after they found George Huguely V guilty of second-degree murder of Yeardley Love. The suburban Baltimore woman was found dead in the bedroom of her Charlottesville apartment
Solicitor general to handle probe of Ariz. sheriff

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona attorney general's office has designated Solicitor General Dave Cole to head an investigation into allegations that Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu abused his power. Attorney General Tom Horne told The Arizona Republic on Wednesday that he'll recuse himself from the probe because he and Babeu have supported each other politically in the past. Horne says
Report: Maryland man at Gitmo reaches plea deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has reportedly reached a plea deal with a former Maryland man held at Guantanamo accused of joining al-Qaida and participating in a series of post-Sept. 11 terror plots. The Washington Post says 31-year-old Majid Khan has reached an agreement with military prosecutors. He would receive a lesser sentence and later be freed in exchange for
FDA panel backs previously rejected obesity pill

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration overwhelmingly backed approval for a highly anticipated anti-obesity pill from Vivus Inc., a drug which the FDA previously rejected due to safety concerns. The FDA panel of outside physicians voted 20-2 in favor of the weight loss drug Qnexa, setting the stage for a potential
W.Va. mine boss charged with fraud in deadly blast

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Federal prosecutors investigating the West Virginia coal mine explosion that killed 29 men are working their way up the corporate ladder with criminal charges. On Wednesday, the former superintendent of the Upper Big Branch mine became the highest-ranking company official charged in the 2010 disaster, and he is apparently cooperating with prosecutors, who said the investigation
UC Davis students sue over pepper-spray incident

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California university where campus police pepper-sprayed peaceful student demonstrators last year is facing a federal lawsuit. Nineteen students and alumni at the University of California, Davis filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Sacramento on Tuesday. The lawsuit is the latest fallout from the Nov. 18 incident, when campus police pepper-sprayed sitting protesters who
Feds award health overhaul grants to 10 states

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials say another 10 states are getting a total of $230 million to set up new health insurance markets under President Barack Obama's overhaul. Seven of them — Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania — have either adopted a plan or are making substantial headway. But a recent Associated Press analysis found
Jump in home sales

WASHINGTON (AP) — Home sales rose in January to the highest pace in nearly two years, flashing signs of health ahead of the spring-buying season. The National Association of Realtors says home sales increased 4.3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million. That's the highest level since May 2010. Sales have risen in three of