First lady to high school grads: live your dreams

First lady Michelle Obama has some advice for some Tennessee high school graduates: strike your own path in college and life and work to overcome inevitable failures with determination and grit. Mrs. Obama spoke for 22-minutes to the Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet High School in Nashville in her only high school graduation speech this year. Full Story

FBI searches apartment in ricin letter case

Authorities in hazardous materials suits are searching an apartment in downtown Spokane, Wash., as they investigate the recent discovery of a pair of letters containing the deadly poison ricin. FBI agents, Spokane police officers and U.S. Postal Inspection Service officials descended on the apartment Saturday morning. Full Story

Official: `Amazing' no one died in train crash

Officials described a devastating scene of shattered cars and other damage where two trains packed with rush-hour commuters collided in Connecticut, saying Saturday it's fortunate that no one was killed and that there weren't even more injuries. Seventy-two people were sent to the hospital Friday evening after the crash, which damaged the tracks and threatened to snarl travel in the Northeast Corridor. Full Story

Obama's Morehouse visit shines spotlight on HBCUs

When President Barack Obama addresses graduates at Morehouse College on Sunday, he'll also be speaking to the broader community of historically black colleges and universities — a proud corner of higher education that has struggled more than most during the last few years of economic distress. The so-called HBCUs educate a hugely disproportionate share of low-income students, and both students and schools have been hit hard by a double punch. First, unemployment for blacks remains nearly double that of whites, making it harder for many students to keep up with tuition. Secondly, tougher credit standards have made it harder to secure a federal PLUS loan used by about one-third of HBCU students. Full Story

Last-minute fortune seekers buy Powerball tickets

It's all about the odds. With the majority of possible combinations of Powerball numbers in play, someone is almost sure to win the game's highest jackpot during Saturday night's drawing, a windfall of hundreds of millions of dollars — and that's after taxes. Full Story

Ore. timber country ponders future with fewer logs

Jennifer Phillippi's grandparents started producing lumber in this corner of Oregon timber country in 1922, when a man could set up a mill, log the trees within range of a team of horses and move the mill to a new stand when those trees ran out. In those days the forests were full, timber and work both plentiful. But now what was the last sawmill standing in Josephine County has hit the end of the line after yet another timber family had to give up hope that the lands surrounding them could provide enough of the big pine logs they needed to stay afloat. Full Story

A look at why the Benghazi issue keeps coming back

The night of smoke, chaos, gunfire and grenades that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, is well-documented. Eight months later, it is the decisions made back in Washington that remain murky and in perpetual dispute. Why was a diplomatic outpost left so poorly protected? Should the Pentagon have rushed jets or special forces to the rescue when the assault began? Did President Barack Obama's administration... Full Story

Parking fees at California state beaches heat up

Sunbathers flocking to Southern California beaches are used to feeding the meter or paying a parking attendant. Not so along the less developed north coast where it's customary to ditch cars on the shoulder of Highway 1 to surf, swim or picnic. That sandy line that long defined the state's disparate beach culture may soon fade. Full Story

Will Boy Scouts accept gay youth? Vote is imminent

With its ranks deeply divided, the Boy Scouts of America is asking its local leaders from across the country to decide whether its contentious membership policy should be overhauled so that openly gay boys can participate in Scout units. The proposal to be put before the roughly 1,400 voting members of the BSA's National Council on Thursday, at a meeting in Grapevine, Texas, would retain... Full Story

Victims: Marines failed to safeguard water supply

A simple test could have alerted officials that the drinking water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated, long before authorities determined that as many as a million Marines and their families were exposed to a witch's brew of cancer-causing chemicals. But no one responsible for the lab at the base can recall that the procedure — mandated by the Navy — was ever conducted. Full Story

Conn., NTSB officials to tour train crash site

Officials in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's office say the governor will meet with representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board and Connecticut's two U.S. senators at the site of a Metro-North Railroad crash that injured 70 people. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and other Connecticut officials will also participate in the tour, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. EDT Saturday near Bridgeport. The delegation will update journalists with the latest details of the crash after surveying the area. Full Story

2 fires north of LA persist after long fire week

A pair of tamed but persistent wildfires still burned in the hills and mountains around Interstate 5 after a wild week of burning brush in the area north of Los Angeles. A new fire that broke out Friday, the third major blaze in the area in a week, quickly surged to more than 500 acres, briefly threatened an elementary school and led to the temporary evacuation of about 20 homes. Full Story

OJ's ex-lawyer contradicts his testimony on guns

O.J. Simpson's former lawyer defended himself point-by-point Friday against allegations he botched the former football star's armed-robbery trial, after giving damaging testimony that Simpson actually knew his buddies had guns when they went to a hotel room together to reclaim some sports memorabilia. Miami-based attorney Yale Galanter quickly found himself under withering cross-examination from a Simpson lawyer intent on proving that Galanter's word couldn't be... Full Story

Cops investigating after NY college student killed

Last Sunday Andrea Rebello, a 21-year-old Hofstra University junior studying public relations, posted a recipe for how to prepare July 4-themed strawberries covered in sparkling sugars on her blog. Less than a week later, Nassau County police announced that Rebello, who was with her twin sister Jessica and several other college students inside an off-campus house, had been shot and killed during an early morning... Full Story

Pa. coffee run leads to hatchet hitchhiker arrest

Two cups of coffee ended life on the run for an Internet sensation known as Kai the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker. An employee at a Starbucks in Philadelphia is credited with recognizing 24-year-old Caleb "Kai" McGillvary, whose fledgling celebrity took a turn toward notoriety when authorities announced this week that he was wanted in the beating death of a New Jersey lawyer three times his age. Full Story

Tornado-ravaged Texas town to start recovery

Residents whose homes were torn apart or blown away by a North Texas deadly tornado can soon return to retrieve what belongings may be left and start cleaning up, authorities said Friday. In Granbury, the area hardest hit by Wednesday night's exceptionally strong tornado, workers are trying to restore water service, raise electrical lines and clear debris piles filled with insulation, roof tiles, pieces of... Full Story

Navy pilot earns degree in combat zone

Finals week was dangerous for Thomas Saenz. The Navy lieutenant needed armed guards and an armored car to get to an exam site, in Kabul, Afghanistan. A deadly bomb attack also caused him to his miss classes — transmitted live via the Internet — but he persevered and earned a master's degree in engineering from the University of Southern California while commanding a top security... Full Story

Feds: More time needed to indict Tsarnaev

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev won't be indicted within the 30-day period prescribed under the Federal Speedy Trial Act but prosecutors said Friday they would ask for more time. Sunday marks 30 days since Tsarnaev was arrested following the April 15 twin bombing that killed three people and injured more than 260. Full Story

NM mom: I followed instincts in chasing abductor

Melissa Torrez didn't even think when teenagers in her apartment complex said a man had just grabbed her 4-year-old girl and drove away. She jumped in her car and began chasing the brown Buick through traffic, zigzagging on Interstate 40 at high speeds and staying with the car even as it bluffed trying to exit in an attempt to lose her. Full Story

Failing Ga. student accused of faking kidnapping

A college student in suburban Atlanta is accused of faking his own kidnapping to avoid telling his parents he was failing a class. John's Creek city spokesman Doug Nurse says 19-year-old Aftab Aslam bought a cellphone and texted his parents a story about being kidnapped April 27. Nurse says Aslam camped for about a week in an undeveloped area in Forsyth County, but the weather turned cold and rainy and he went home. Full Story

Idaho man charged in Uzbekistan terrorism plot

He was a Russian-speaking truck driver who came to Idaho nearly four years ago to join hundreds of other Uzbekistan refugees for whom the state has become a sanctuary from violence in their home country. But federal officials say in an indictment that Fazliddin Kurbanov also was teaching people to build bombs that would target public transportation. Full Story

8-year term for Bulger girlfriend upheld in Mass.

The longtime girlfriend of reputed gangster James "Whitey" Bulger lost her bid to reduce the eight-year prison sentence she received for helping Bulger during his 16 years as a fugitive. A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday that it found no basis to change the sentence that Catherine Greig received after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud. The panel included retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter. Full Story

DA to retry Central Texas man in deadly '86 fire

Prosecutors plan to retry a Central Texas man whose 25-year-old conviction for setting a fire that killed his two young stepsons was set aside due to issues raised later with the science used to find him guilty. Ed Graf's murder conviction was set aside in March by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. His case is one of several flagged by a state panel that's examining possible problems with arson investigations in criminal cases. Full Story

Arrests in New Orleans parade shootings cheered

Days after bursts of gunfire brought a chaotic and bloody end to a Mother's Day neighborhood parade in New Orleans, news of now seven arrests gave an organizer of the traditional event reason to celebrate again. "I'm just ecstatic," Edward Buckner, president of the Original Big 7 Social Aid and Pleasure Club, said Thursday. Full Story

CBO: Obama budget cuts deficits $1.1T by 2023

President Barack Obama's budget would trim projected federal deficits by $1.1 trillion over the coming decade, using nearly $6 in higher revenues for every $1 in reduced spending to achieve it, Congress' nonpartisan budget analyst said Friday. After four straight years of annual shortfalls exceeding $1 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office report said Obama's budget would push this year's deficit down to $669 billion. Annual shortfalls would shrink slowly to $399 billion in 2017 before rising again, the report said. Full Story

Judge rejects defense bid to photograph Tsarnaev

The attorneys for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev cannot take their own periodic photos of him, a judge ruled Friday, denying the request pertaining to "his evolving mental and physical state" and whether his statements to authorities after his arrest were made voluntarily. U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler found Tsarnaev's lawyers could not take their own photos, saying the Fort Devens prison where Tsarnaev is housed has a policy against visitors bringing cameras. Full Story

SPIN METER: GOP raps Dems for IRS union cash

Seeking maximum political gain from the string of controversies swirling around the White House, Republicans are on the attack against Democratic lawmakers who accepted donations from the union that represents Internal Revenue Service employees. But here's the rub: About a dozen current and former Republican lawmakers took the same cash. Full Story

Cancer, rape fraud case bowls over Mich. community

Carol Connell remembers well the gift she gave Sara Ylen, a friend seemingly forced to bear too much misery. Ylen, a Michigan mother of two young boys, said she was battling cancer just a few years after a man was convicted of her rape. "It was a little box, a very ornate box, to hold a prayer. She needed God to look over her," Connell... Full Story

GOP hopes IRS scandal will snag health care law

Political scandals have strange ways of causing collateral damage, and Republicans are hoping the furor over federal tax enforcers singling out conservative groups will ensnare their biggest target: President Barack Obama's health care law. But no one appears to have connected the factual dots yet, and it's unclear whether they will. Full Story

Record Powerball jackpot inspires office pools

In workplaces across the nation, Americans are inviting their colleagues to chip in $2 for a Powerball ticket and a shared daydream. The office lottery pool is a way to improve your odds and have a little fun with co-workers. And besides, who wants to be the only person at work the next day when everyone quits? Full Story

US slams Russian anti-ship missiles going to Syria

The Obama administration denounced Russia on Friday for providing Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime with anti-ship missiles, saying the weapons would only worsen a war that Washington and Moscow have been promising to work together on stopping. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, criticized what he called an "unfortunate decision that will embolden the regime and prolong the suffering." He spoke... Full Story

AP NewsBreak: Judge laments man's return to prison

A Montana judge said he fears he's done a "soul-wrenching injustice" to a man he freed from prison after more than 27 years, only to see him ordered back behind bars by a higher court. Retired state District Judge E. Wayne Phillips told The Associated Press Friday he was troubled he "got it wrong" when he granted a retrial for Barry Beach in the 1979 killing of Beach's teenage classmate on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Full Story

Dark clouds hang over air shows after budget cuts

Patty Wagstaff is a Hollywood stunt pilot, three-time U.S. aerobatic champion, inductee to the National Aviation Hall of Fame and favorite on the air show circuit. One of her tricked-out planes is on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. But this weekend, she's grounded. Full Story

NYers furious over photos taken through windows

In one photo, a woman is on all fours, presumably picking something up, her posterior pressed against a glass window. Another photo shows a couple in bathrobes, their feet touching beneath a table. And there is one of a man, in jeans and a T-shirt, lying on his side as he takes a nap. In all the photos, taken by New York City artist Arne... Full Story

Mourners gather to remember Malcolm X's grandson

Dozens of mourners have gathered inside the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California in Oakland for services to remember Malcolm X's grandson, Malcolm Shabazz. Authorities say he was beaten to death last week in a dispute over a $1,200 bar bill in Mexico City. Full Story

Rising consumer demands aids organic industry sway

The organic food industry is gaining influence on Capitol Hill, prompted by its entry into traditional farm states and by increasing consumer demand. That's not going over well with everyone in Congress. Full Story

House committee to grill ousted IRS chief

The Internal Revenue Service has refused to provide documents over the past two years to a congressional panel exploring whether the agency gave tougher scrutiny to tea party and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, a leading Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee said Friday. Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., R-La., spoke minutes before the committee was holding Congress' first hearing on the IRS's... Full Story

10 Things to Know for Today

1. HOUSE TO GRILL OUSTED IRS CHIEF Steven Miller will have to answer to a Republican-run committee today about why conservative groups were targeted by the agency. Full Story

Problems surface over Ariz.'s 2007 immigration law

The immigration debate in Arizona reached a boiling point in 2007 when the state passed a groundbreaking law targeting those often blamed with fueling the nation's border woes: Employers who hire immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. The law marked a bold step by a state into an area that had long been the domain of the federal government, and it paved the way for... Full Story

Arias victim's family makes dramatic statement

Steven Alexander stood before the jury, looked up at a family picture and grimaced and cried as he ticked off the list of problems that have befallen him in the five years since his brother was murdered: ulcers, depression, a separation from his wife, nightmares. The dreams consist of someone coming at him with a knife then going after his wife and daughter. Other times,... Full Story