Nation

Today in History

Today is Monday, May 28, the 149th day of 2012. There are 217 days left in the year. This is the Memorial Day observance.

DOJ looking into Alabama prison sex abuse claims

Rape, sexual assault and harassment from male guards are a way of life for prisoners at an Alabama women's prison, according to inmates past and present, and the Justice Department is looking into the allegations.

Canada to force striking rail workers back to jobs

Canada plans to introduce legislation to force striking Canadian Pacific Railway workers back to their jobs after talks stalled over the weekend, the country's labor minister said Monday, saying the freight service shutdown at Canada's second largest railway is hurting the economy.

Are foster kids helped, harmed by open hearings

A California judge's decision to open a county's child welfare hearings earlier this year has energized a debate among advocates in other states about whether greater transparency helps or harms the young victims appearing in family court.

Witness says naked attacker was chewing man's face

A witness says a naked man chewing on the face of another naked man on a downtown highway ramp kept eating and growled at a police officer who tried to make him stop.

http://bit.ly/L6kwWt

Scholars look at Civil War anew during anniversary

Nearly 150 years after the last fusillade of the Civil War, historians, authors and museum curators are still finding new topics to explore as the nation commemorates the sesquicentennial of America's bloodiest conflict.

Michigan wildfire destroys nearly 100 buildings

Officials say a wildfire burning across more than 30 square miles of Michigan's Upper Peninsula has destroyed nearly 100 buildings but there have been no reports of injuries.

Girl, 6, is youngest ever in National Spelling Bee

The youngest person ever to qualify for the National Spelling Bee was running around in a stream with a friend, hunting for rocks. Suddenly, she came charging up the bank and headed straight for her mother.

http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

As Edwards jury deliberates, how long is too long?

With the jury at the John Edwards trial set to begin deliberations for a seventh day on Tuesday, speculation grows that the 12 people charged with deciding the fate of the former presidential candidate may be deadlocked.

Blind Chinese activist to speak in NYC this week

A blind Chinese activist who was the focus of a nearly monthlong diplomatic standoff has a speaking engagement in New York City this week.

Justin Bieber wanted for questioning in scuffle

Justin Bieber is wanted for questioning by Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators after a photographer complained of being roughed up by the pop star at a shopping center.

AP Photos: Americans honor troops for Memorial Day

Boy Scouts carry a large American flag through the Memphis National Cemetery in Tennessee, where scouts also placed flags on 42,000 graves. At Dover Air Force Base, the remains of fallen soldiers are returned to their families. In Afghanistan, the top U.S. commander reads a 23-year-old's letter to his family that he had prepared to be read in the event of his death.

Campaigns dig through online data to target voters

Voters who click on President Barack Obama's campaign website are likely to start seeing display ads promoting his re-election bid on their Facebook pages and other sites they visit. Voters searching Google for information about Mitt Romney may notice a 15-second ad promoting the Republican presidential hopeful the next time they watch a video online.

www.twitter.com/bfouhy

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Obama honors fallen troops at Arlington Cemetery

President Barack Obama paid tribute Monday to the men and women who have died defending America, saying the country must strive "to be a nation worthy of your sacrifice."

http://www.twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas

Quotations of the day

"It's difficult to imagine that the Syrian government would not only shell and mortar but also use point-blank execution against 40 plus women and 30 plus children under age 10. This is definitely the atrocity that has to be investigated." - Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Alexander Pankin on allegations that the Syrian government attacked residential areas of the town of Houla.

Beryl soaks Ga., Fla. coasts, now a depression

The remains of Tropical Storm Beryl soaked beach vacations and some Memorial Day remembrance services in southern Georgia and northern Florida on Monday and knocked out power to tens of thousands, though emergency officials said it hasn't brought any major damage.

AP News Alert

Tropical Storm Beryl making landfall in northeastern Fla.; rain, winds lash coast.

Quebec students, government to resume negotiations

Quebec students and the provincial government return to the bargaining table on Monday in a high-stakes attempt to put an end to a months-long dispute over tuition hikes that has led to clashes with police and mass arrests.

Missing La. student's bike found under bridge

A missing Louisiana woman's bicycle has been found in a remote, swampy area under a highway bridge in Iberville Parish, about 25 miles from the spot where she was last seen eight days earlier.

http://bit.ly/KVxo15

Video captures plane before it crashes, killing 4

Security video captured a small plane taking off from a southern Utah airport just before it crashed about 300 yards from the runway, killing all four men aboard, a federal investigator said Sunday.

3 rescued from plane crash site in remote Idaho

Hours after their plane crashed on a steep and snowy mountainside in Idaho, a California fireman, his wife and their daughter were airlifted to safety by National Guard rescuers.