NEW ORLEANS, La. (AP) — Another oil rig exploded and caught fire Thursday off the Louisiana coast, spreading a mile-long oil sheen in the Gulf of Mexico west of the site of BP's massive spill. All 13 crew members were rescued.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Regulators will decide whether American Electric Power made so much money in parts of Ohio that it should pay partial refunds to customers.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Gov. Ted Strickland has spared the life of a condemned killer who says he is innocent of a 1994 shooting that killed three people, including a 4-year-old girl.

CLEVELAND (AP) — A Cleveland mother has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for the beating death of her 5-year-old son.

BUXTON, N.C. (AP) — The last ferries pulled away from North Carolina's vulnerable barrier islands Thursday as Hurricane Earl spun closer with winds near 125 mph, putting the East Coast all the way to Canada on alert for what could be a blustery Labor Day weekend.

NEW ORLEANS, La. (AP) — An offshore petroleum rig exploded and was burning Friday in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay.