California power on brink

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Scorching heat pushed California's electricity supply to the brink Monday as authorities investigated at least 29 possible heat-related deaths, most in the smoldering Central Valley where temperatures reached 115 degrees over the weekend.

Rescuers pluck 23 from listing ship

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Rescuers from the Coast Guard and Alaska Air National Guard late Monday saved 23 crew members from an Asian cargo ship taking on water south of the Aleutian Islands.

Fires chase Californians from 125 homes

ALPINE, California (AP) -- A 6,600-acre wildfire forced the evacuation of more than a hundred homes in rural San Diego County, and authorities warned Monday that two other communities with a total of 1,350 homes could be next.

Wife of slain millionaire doc surrenders

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) -- The wife of a Pennsylvania doctor surrendered Monday to face charges in the shooting death of her millionaire husband last year along the Ohio Turnpike.

Sister dies lighting candles at shrine

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- On the fourth anniversary of her brother's slaying, a woman lighting candles at a makeshift shrine to him was gunned down, killed at about the same spot, on the same day and at nearly the same hour as her older sibling.

Gunfire, tear gas halt runaway 18-wheeler

DALLAS, Texas (AP) -- A man who carjacked an 18-wheeler and held the driver hostage for four hours surrendered to police after an officer shot out the tires and fired tear gas into the cab.

Hikers survived on hard candy, creek water

ROARING GAP, North Carolina (AP) -- Two hikers lost in the rugged North Carolina mountains survived on hard candy and creek water for three nights before they finally found the Blue Ridge Parkway on Monday and waved down a maintenance truck, officials said.

Ship carrying 23 takes on water in North Pacific

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A container ship with 23 people on board was listing severely Monday and taking on water south of the Aleutian Islands, Coast Guard officials said.

ABA: Bush violating Constitution

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's penchant for writing exceptions to laws he has just signed violates the Constitution, an American Bar Association task force says in a report highly critical of the practice.

Jury to look inside the mind of Andrea Yates

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- For much of the past four weeks, jurors in Andrea Yates' murder trial have heard about how she spiraled from a dedicated nurse to a troubled woman who drowned her five children in the bathtub.

California feels the heat

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- A scorching heat wave threatened to push California into a power emergency Monday, as state authorities investigated at least four heat-related deaths in the past week.

Calls for consequences in NYC blackout

NEW YORK (AP) -- With thousands of city residents facing their second week without power, some political leaders turned their focus to the utility they said was at fault in the outage.

Man seeks final photo of 9/11 victim

NEW YORK (AP) -- Since September 11, 2001, Richard Pecorella has been searching the Internet and elsewhere for a single image, a photograph he believes will show him what happened to his fiancee when the World Trade Center was destroyed.

St. Louis struggles without power

(CNN) -- Hundreds of thousands of people in the St. Louis area still did not have power on Sunday, days after two rounds of severe thunderstorms swept through the region, authorities said.

Sniper fire on I-65 kills 1, wounds another

SEYMOUR, Indiana (AP) -- Sniper fire struck two pickup trucks along Interstate 65 in southern Indiana early Sunday, killing one person and injuring another, state police said.

California roasts in record-breaking heat

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- Californians braced for more sweltering heat Sunday, a day after triple-digit temperatures smashed records across the state, strained air conditioners and prompted scattered power outages.

Judge: Women too late to sue over stolen embryos

IRVINE, California (AP) -- A group of women anguished over having their eggs and embryos stolen and placed in other women were told by a judge it is too late to sue.

Civil rights activist on lonely quest for justice

MONROE, Georgia (AP) -- The dirt road that led to Moore's Ford bridge is paved now, and the creaky wooden bridge has been replaced with a sleek concrete span. But the black letters "KKK" sprayed on the new bridge's face offer an eerie reminder of the terrible events that happened here 60 years ago.

Sweltering New York seeks clues to blackout

NEW YORK (AP) -- A blackout in the borough of Queens entered its sixth day Saturday in the hottest week of the summer with the mayor saying chances were small that the problem could be repaired by the end of the weekend.

Grounded teen killed family before going to prom

SOUTH BEND, Indiana (AP) -- A jury convicted a man Friday of killing his father, stepmother and two stepsisters 17 years ago inside their church parsonage home so he could attend some high school prom events.