EAST HAMPTON, New York (AP) – A 60-foot-long dollar sign has been burned into the synthetic turf at a Long Island high school football field. A five-page letter left on the field and mailed to local newspapers complains about how schools spend tax dollars, Newsday reported. The typed letter defends the vandalism, saying the cost […]

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) – A proposed ban on mass releases of helium-filled balloons in Lubbock has gone bust. The measure would have barred the release of more than 30 gas-filled balloons at a time. Councilman Paul Beane floated the proposal, saying the ban was about preventing litter and being a good neighbor. The measure passed […]

OAKLAND, Maine (AP) – A Maine State Police sergeant has been cleared of a felony charge of aggravated domestic assault after his wife recanted a statement accusing him. Police say 43-year-old Mark Sawyer of Winthrop, who works in the commercial vehicle enforcement division, is working again. Sawyer initially was charged relating to an incident March […]

WASHINGTON (AP) – A new astronomy theory says the solar system’s main asteroid belt is littered with icy invaders from far away. The so-called invaders are asteroids that seem more like primitive frozen comets than the baked rocks that make up the overwhelming majority of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. A theory proposed by scientists […]

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – One woman was killed and a half-dozen others treated at a hospital after nearly 2,000 gallons of ammonia leaked from a tanker truck Wednesday, state health officials said. A tanker was unloading anhydrous ammonia at a Tanner Industries distribution facility in Lexington County around 8 a.m. when a hose connecting the […]

MIAMI (AP) – Hurricane Carlos has weakened to a tropical storm far off Mexico’s Pacific coast. The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Carlos’ maximum sustained winds have dropped to near 65 mph with further weakening expected. The storm is centered about 1,640 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and […]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) – Thunderstorms once again forced NASA to call off the launch of space shuttle Endeavour on Monday, the fifth delay for the space station construction mission. NASA said it would try again Wednesday, after taking a one-day break. In a scene nearly identical to Sunday, launch managers halted the countdown just […]

BAY MINETTE, Ala. (AP) – Authorities in south Alabama say a gas station employee used a cricket bat to chase away a would-be robber who brandished a toy gun. The Baldwin County Sheriff’s office says the suspect entered Bee Gee’s gas station near Bay Minette Saturday afternoon and tried to use the fake weapon to […]

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) – The average price of heating oil in Maine has dropped 6 cents to $2.26 a gallon in the latest survey. The results of the latest weekly survey were reported Monday by the state Office of Energy Independence and Security. Executive Director John Kerry says indicators point toward lower prices, but he […]

PROVO, Utah (AP) – Some people are feeling misled after finding out a July 4 ceremony during which they thought an American flag was burned in retirement didn’t really happen. The Stadium of Fire event in Provo was viewed by 47,500 people. At the end of the night, a flag used at the event for […]