A man who state and local officials say is running a massive illegal gold-mining operation in California's Sierra Nevada surrendered Thursday to face 14 criminal charges of operating without permits and polluting a creek.

The romantic rival of a former University of Virginia lacrosse player accused of killing his ex-girlfriend testified Thursday that he saw the defendant with his arm around her neck months before her death.

Fashion designers, retailers, editors and stylists settled into their routines Thursday for eight days of previews at New York Fashion Week with barely a blink at all the photographers' flashes: a sign of business-as-usual stability.

Chicago's city clerk says she will buy a $1,000 savings bond for the boy whose winning design for the 2012-13 vehicle registration sticker was scrapped because some believe it may depict gang signs.

An Uzbekistan national charged with threatening the life of President Barack Obama was also charged Thursday with providing material aid to terrorism.

A central Pennsylvania couple say they've captured a purple squirrel in their backyard.

A prosecutor in a case against a North Carolina woman accused of snatching a newborn from a New York City hospital more than two decades ago says she will plead guilty Friday to criminal charges.

A state worker is facing disciplinary action after sending an official email to hundreds of people Thursday that contained an off-color term for breasts, the Oklahoma Insurance Department said.

Philanthropist Raymond Perelman says he has been "excluded" from the sale of The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News days after former Gov. Ed Rendell and others announced a play for the company that owns them.

Ken Webber still proudly flies his Confederate battle flag with the word "Redneck" emblazed across it from the CB antenna on his pickup truck. He hopes that his lawsuit in federal court will get his job back driving a school bus.

Some examples of changes for women in the military:

Some of the nation's largest states are questioning whether the Obama administration's offer to let them escape certain mandates of the No Child Left Behind law is a helping hand to improve education or a means to impose more federal control.

One of three fugitive siblings who were the focus of a nationwide search last summer will have to serve at least nine years in prison after pleading guilty to reduced charges.

A federal judge ruled Thursday that two claims could move forward against the Archdiocese of Milwaukee for alleged sexual abuse by clergy, laying the groundwork for about 570 claims to follow.

The Washington state social worker who was supposed to supervise a visit between Josh Powell and his young sons says Powell told his oldest boy he had a "surprise" for him moments before attacking and killing the children.

Prosecutors in Rhode Island are asking a judge to reject a request for leniency from an Illinois man who admitted shipping unwanted penis enlargers to diabetes patients as part of a Medicare fraud scheme.

The Virginia state Senate passed legislation Thursday allowing private adoption agencies to deny placements that conflict with their religious or moral beliefs, including opposition to homosexuality.

A federal judge's ruling against a Houston mother who says she was fired after asking for a place to pump breast milk has highlighted a question left unanswered by higher courts: Is firing a woman because she wants to pump at work sexual discrimination?

California and Southern farmers renewed their case Thursday for some kind of an agricultural guest-worker program, but they're sailing against the wind. Make that a hurricane.

The story already had people's attention: A multimillionaire polo magnate was accused of causing a drunken-driving wreck that killed a young man. But now, with his criminal trial approaching, a strange twist has raised even more eyebrows: He has adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend.

A Connecticut hedge fund adviser carried out a $500 million fraud scheme with help from people in Venezuela, including a manager at the state-owned oil company, according to lawsuits seeking the return of tens of millions of dollars in what they say are bribes and kickbacks.

A man accused of brandishing a gun in a North Dakota courtroom was convicted Thursday of two counts of attempted murder involving the prosecutor and sheriff, but was acquitted on 12 other counts related to jurors.

FBI background interviews of some people who knew Apple co-founder Steve Jobs reveal a man driven by power and alienating some of the people who worked with him.

In a story Feb. 7 about a lack of progress by a commission established to right the wrongs of Chicago's police torture scandal, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the commission hasn't met since August and cancelled an October meeting. The commission postponed, but didn't cancel, an October meeting, and met later that month. It did cancel its meetings in December and February, as reported.