$2B in Okla. tornado damage means hard recovery
MOORE, Okla. (AP) -- All that is left of Shayne Patteson's three-bedroom home is the tiny area where his wife hunkered down under a mattress to protect their three children when a tornado packing winds of at least 200 mph slammed through his neighborhood.... 5/23/2013 8:00 AM

Youngest Okla. tornado victims remembered by kin
MOORE, Okla. (AP) -- Nine-year-old Sydney Angle was "everywhere at once" when she was out on the softball field. Kyle Davis, 8, was nicknamed "The Wall" because of his size and presence on the soccer field. JaNae Hornsby, also 9, was the life of the party.... 5/23/2013 3:34 AM

Vote on gay Scouts comes at emotional moment
GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) -- The Boy Scouts of America's national leadership will vote Thursday on whether to allow openly gay Scouts in its ranks, a critical and emotionally charged moment for one of the nation's oldest youth organizations and its millions of members.... 5/23/2013 8:33 AM

Man shot by FBI had ties to Boston bombing suspect
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A Chechen immigrant shot to death in Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent implicated himself in a triple slaying that officials believe may have been connected to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, authorities said.... 5/23/2013 10:02 AM

Birth control coverage up for federal appeal
DENVER (AP) -- In the most prominent challenge of its kind, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. is asking a federal appeals court Thursday for an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill.... 5/23/2013 3:56 AM

Nearly all US states see hefty drop in teen births
NEW YORK (AP) -- The nation's record-low teen birth rate stems from robust declines in nearly every state, but most dramatically in several Mountain States and among Hispanics, according to a new government report.... 5/23/2013 12:20 AM

Bronx 'ghetto' tours stop amid residents' outrage
NEW YORK (AP) -- A company that promised sightseer tours to the Bronx that included a New York City "ghetto" has stopped the bus rides under protest from an outraged neighborhood.... 5/23/2013 9:15 AM

Urban renewal? Big US cities showing strong growth
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Urban renewal? New census estimates show that most of the nation's largest cities further enhanced their allure last year, posting strong population growth for a second straight year.... 5/23/2013 12:21 AM

Senator: Assaults let military culture continue
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A senator says repeated sexual assaults in the military allow a culture to continue.... 5/23/2013 7:39 AM

For Philadelphia bicyclist, a cat is his co-pilot
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- For bicyclist Rudi Saldia, you could say a cat is his co-pilot.... 5/23/2013 7:59 AM