• 
  7 more cops pulled from Philly streets over taped beating AP - Thu May 8, 11:18 PM ET

  PHILADELPHIA - Seven more police officers were taken off street duty Thursday as investigators look into the videotaped police beating of three shooting suspects during a traffic stop.

• 
  'Best Santa ever' arrested in N.J. on child sex charges AP - Fri May 9, 5:07 AM ET

  NEWARK, N.J. - A rare international alert seeking a man shown in dozens of raw child porn images quickly led to the arrest of a small-time actor, who painted faces at children's parties and performed as "the best Santa Claus anyone has ever seen."

• Police: Convicted murderer shot hikers on Appalachian Trail AP - Fri May 9, 3:25 AM ET

  PEARISBURG, Va. - A convicted murderer is suspected of shooting and wounding two men on the Appalachian Trail a few miles from the spot where he killed two hikers in 1981, authorities said.

• 
  Court orders American Indian to trial for shooting eagle AP - Fri May 9, 6:22 AM ET

  CHEYENNE, Wyo. - An American Indian who shot a bald eagle for use in a tribal religious ceremony must stand trial, a federal appeals court has ruled.

• Tornado knocks vehicles around in N. Carolina, kills 1 AP - 1 hour, 16 minutes ago

  GREENSBORO, N.C. - Authorities began combing through the wreckage Friday caused by a reported tornado that killed one person and injured three others in central North Carolina.

• 
  NY governor vows to examine undercover police procedures AP - Thu May 8, 8:59 PM ET

  NEW YORK - Gov. David Paterson pledged to examine undercover police conduct on Thursday, a day after more than 200 people were arrested protesting the acquittal of three detectives involved in the shooting death of an unarmed man.

• 
  Overlooked in the global food crisis: A problem with dirt AP - Thu May 8, 6:06 PM ET

  WASHINGTON - Science has provided the souped-up seeds to feed the world, through biotechnology and old-fashioned crossbreeding. Now the problem is the dirt they're planted in.

• Lack of water cited in deaths of 9 S.C. firefighters AP - Thu May 8, 10:19 PM ET

  COLUMBIA, S.C. - Emergency crews didn't have enough hoses or adequate water pressure to properly fight a blaze that killed nine Charleston firefighters in a giant furniture store almost a year ago, according to a federal report released late Thursday.

• 
  Huge Texas sinkhole's appetite decreasing, officials say AP - Thu May 8, 8:21 PM ET

  DAISETTA, Texas - Geologists said a 260-foot-deep sinkhole that grew to the length of three football fields over just two days seemed to be slowing down Thursday, but that it could take months before it's clear whether surrounding areas are stable.

• 
  Lawyers: McGreeveys reach custody deal in divorce case AP - Thu May 8, 10:43 PM ET

  ELIZABETH, N.J. - Former Gov. James E. McGreevey and his estranged wife settled custody issues for their only child on Thursday as they moved closer to dissolving their marriage, their lawyers said.

• Texas teens tell police they converted skull into bong AP - Fri May 9, 3:33 AM ET

  HOUSTON - Three teenagers were arrested after two of them told police they dug up a secluded grave north of Houston, removed the skull from the coffin and converted it into a marijuana bong.

• 
  Commencement readers cram to prep for tongue-twister names AP - Thu May 8, 2:54 PM ET

  A week from Saturday, 453 new graduates will cross the commencement stage on the lawn of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. Among them: Nokuthula Sikhethiwe Kitikiti, Udochukwu Chinyere Obodo, and Baitnairamdal Otgonshar.

• 2 murder convictions for suspect in Michigan serial killings AP - Thu May 8, 6:45 PM ET

  LANSING, Mich. - A man suspected of killing several women in this city over several terrifying weeks was convicted Thursday of two of the slayings and of attacking a third woman who survived.

• 
  Country music superstar Eddy Arnold dies at 89 AP - Thu May 8, 5:30 PM ET

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Eddy Arnold, whose mellow baritone on songs like "Make the World Go Away" made him one of the most successful country singers in history, died Thursday morning, days short of his 90th birthday.

• More than half of US diabetics have arthritis AP - Thu May 8, 4:39 PM ET

  ATLANTA - More than half of U.S. adults with diabetes also have arthritis, raising a serious obstacle for diabetic patients urged to exercise, according to a government study.

Crimes and Trials News

• 
  SKorea to extradite US murder suspect: court verdict AFP - Thu May 8, 11:10 PM ET

  SEOUL (AFP) - A Korean-American who fled to South Korea a decade ago will be extradited to the United States to face charges of murdering a former policeman, according to a court verdict released Friday.

• U.S. man jailed for 20 years for eco-bombing plot Reuters - Thu May 8, 10:38 PM ET

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A California man described by prosecutors as an "eco-terrorist" was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison on Thursday for plotting to blow up a federal forestry site, telephone towers and other targets.

• 
  San Diego State students plead not guilty in major drug bust AP - Thu May 8, 9:45 PM ET

  SAN DIEGO - The suspected leader of a drug trafficking ring was among seven students who pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges stemming from an undercover operation at San Diego State University that netted more than 100 arrests.

• Migrant smuggler gets life for deadly U.S. crash Reuters - Thu May 8, 7:23 PM ET

  PHOENIX (Reuters) - A Mexican smuggler responsible for an accident that killed 10 illegal immigrants in the Arizona desert two years ago was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison.

• 
  Foxy Brown pleads guilty in BlackBerry case Reuters - Thu May 8, 7:02 PM ET

  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Less than a month after being released from prison, U.S. rapper Foxy Brown pleaded guilty on Thursday to menacing a woman with her BlackBerry phone and avoided another possible prison sentence.