Flowers, dolls adorn site of NYC boy's '79 death
NEW YORK (AP) -- Well-wishers are leaving flowers, candles and dolls outside the New York City building where police say 6-year-old Etan Patz (AY'-tahn payts) was strangled in 1979.... 5/26/2012 12:35 PM

Break in Patz brings hope, tears to other families
After 33 years, someone has confessed to killing 6-year-old Etan Patz. And people immediately start speaking of "closure."... 5/26/2012 1:11 PM

A year after rare twister, Mass. residents rebound
MONSON, Mass. (AP) -- Pia Rogers still goes home every day, even though all that remains of her two-story farmhouse are two granite front steps.... 5/26/2012 12:38 PM

FACT CHECK: Obama off on thrifty spending claim
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House is aggressively pushing the idea that, contrary to widespread belief, President Barack Obama is tightfisted with taxpayer dollars. To back it up, the administration cites a media report that claims federal spending is rising at the slowest pace since the Eisenhower years.... 5/26/2012 8:35 AM

Cheaper gas spurs more travelers this Memorial Day
NEW YORK (AP) -- More Americans will hit the road this holiday weekend than a year ago. And they'll have a bit more money to spend thanks to lower gas prices.... 5/26/2012 5:44 AM

Rainy Memorial Day forecast for southeast coast
MIAMI (AP) -- A cluster of thunderstorms that is expected to become Tropical Storm Beryl could make for a sloppy Memorial Day in the southeast.... 5/26/2012 2:10 PM

Letters asked judge for leniency in NJ webcam case
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) -- The letters came from a man who was once beaten with a baseball bat in a racially motivated attack, the widow of a Minnesota judge, a group representing lesbian, gay and transgendered people from South Asia, a gay member of the Navy, and the father of a woman who committed suicide, among others.... 5/26/2012 12:18 PM

Letters to judge about NJ webcam spying case
Following are excerpts from some of the letters Judge Glenn Berman received as he considered the sentence for Dharun Ravi, who was convicted in March of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation and other charges for using his webcam to see roommate Tyler Clementi kissing another man. Clementi committed suicide days after the September 2010 invasion. Berman sentenced Ravi to 30 days in jail.... 5/26/2012 1:07 PM

Obama honors veterans during Memorial Day weekend
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is paying tribute to veterans during Memorial Day weekend, honoring those willing to sacrifice their lives for their country.... 5/26/2012 9:31 AM

New Mexico wildfire spreads smoke across state
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Firefighters are battling a massive wildfire in southwestern New Mexico that has destroyed a dozen cabins and spread smoke across the state, prompting holiday weekend air-quality warnings.... 5/26/2012 4:16 AM