Motorcycle injuries worsen with weaker helmet law
Written by JOAN LOWY,Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average medical claim from a motorcycle crash rose by more than one-fifth last year in Michigan after the state stopped requiring all riders to wear helmets, according to an insurance industry study. Across the nation, motorcyclists opposed to mandatory helmet use have been chipping away at state helmet laws for years while crash deaths have been on the rise.
Syrian regime says it has Russian missiles
Written by BARBARA SURK,Associated Press
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad said the regime has received its first shipment of a sophisticated Russian anti-aircraft missile system, and the main Western-backed opposition group announced Thursday that it will not participate in peace talks — a double blow to international efforts to end the country's devastating civil war.
Would-be Chicago backpack bomber to be sentenced
Written by MICHAEL TARM,Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — The defense depicts Sami Samir Hassoun as a uniquely gullible youth sucked into a terrorist plot during an alcohol-addled stretch of his life by an informant eager to please his FBI handlers.
Coroner: NY crash victims include 4 kids, 3 adults
Written by JOHN KEKIS,Associated Press
TRUXTON, N.Y. (AP) — A minivan carrying two families was hit by a runaway trailer hauling crushed cars in upstate New York, killing four young children and three adults in their early 20s, authorities said Thursday.
No charge against Chinese mother of baby in sewer
Written by DIDI TANG,Associated Press
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese newborn who was trapped in a sewer pipe moments after his birth has been released from hospital into the care of his grandparents. Local officials and media reports said Thursday that authorities have concluded it was an accident, meaning his unwed mother is unlikely to be criminally charged.
US economy grew 2.4 percent in first quarter
Written by MARTIN CRUTSINGER,AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a modest 2.4 percent annual rate from January through March, slightly slower than initially estimated. Consumer spending was stronger than first thought, but businesses restocked more slowly and state and local government spending cuts were deeper.
AP Exclusive: Soldier to admit Afghan massacre
Written by GENE JOHNSON,Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was "crazed" and "broken" when he slipped away from his remote southern Afghanistan outpost and attacked mud-walled compounds in two slumbering villages nearby.
Oil below $93 ahead of US crude inventory data
Written by PABLO GORONDI,Associated Press
The price of oil fell below $93 a barrel Thursday amid concerns about global economic growth and as traders awaited the latest U.S. crude inventories data.