Thursday February 9, 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon is unveiling plans Thursday to allow women to serve in thousands of military jobs closer to the front lines, reflecting the realities of the last decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense officials say the new rules will still mean that woman are barred from serving as infantry, armor and special operations forces -- considered   Full Story

Thursday February 9, 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) -- It could be the beginning of the end for No Child Left Behind. The goal was lofty: Get all children up to par in math and reading by 2014. But the nation isn’t getting there, and now some states are getting out. In a sign of what’s to come, President Barack Obama on Thursday freed 10 states from some of the landmark law’s   Full Story

Thursday February 9, 2012 ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Maryland would create requirements for the proper handling of human remains by funeral establishments, under legislation heard by a Senate committee on Thursday that was introduced to address mistreatment of veterans awaiting burial at Arlington National Cemetery and violations of religious burial customs.   Full Story

Thursday February 9, 2012 An AP News Analysis The Obama administration’s new mandate that religious organizations pay for their workers’ birth control has become a bludgeon for Republican culture warriors, as social issues have surged to the forefront in the presidential campaign. Conservatives who believe religious freedom always trumps gender equity in the public arena are   Full Story

Wednesday February 8, 2012 ROME (AP) -- Bishops must follow the Catholic church’s laws and standards when dealing with priests who sexually abuse children or face possible church sanctions for negligence, the Vatican’s sex crimes prosecutor said Wednesday. Monsignor Charles Scicluna spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a Vatican-backed symposium on clerical sex abuse that is   Full Story

Wednesday February 8, 2012 VATICAN CITY (AP) -- The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI receives many invitations and that a trip to Lebanon is under consideration but that there are no plans for a visit to Iran. The Italian news agency ANSA on Wednesday quoted Iran’s ambassador to the Holy See as saying Iran issued an invitation to the pope in 2010 and that he would be welcomed to that   Full Story

Wednesday February 8, 2012 BEIRUT (AP) -- The European Union will impose harsher sanctions on Syria, a senior EU official said Wednesday, as Russia tried to broker talks between the vice president and the opposition to calm violence. Activists reported at least 50 killed in the regime’s siege of the restive city of Homs.   Full Story

Wednesday February 8, 2012 HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- The battle over a 57-year-old Jesus statue at a northwest Montana ski resort escalated Wednesday with a new federal lawsuit arguing that the Forest Service needs to remove the relic from its mountaintop perch. The legal challenge from a Wisconsin-based group of atheists and agnostics follows a decision last week by the Forest Service to   Full Story

Wednesday February 8, 2012 ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Some Maryland religious leaders are advocating for a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. A coalition of gay rights groups, Marylanders for Marriage Equality, released an ad featuring the testimony of clergy members Wednesday afternoon. Religious leaders are featured in the video arguing that their gay and lesbian members deserve the   Full Story

Wednesday February 8, 2012 ALLEN, Texas (AP) -- One day after Rick Santorum’s startling breakthrough in the presidential race, his few aides decamped to distant states to start building campaign organizations from scratch. It was evidence of his challenge in converting sudden momentum into victories in the rush of contests ahead.   Full Story

Wednesday February 8, 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Trust your doctor? A survey finds that some doctors aren’t always completely honest with their patients. More than half admitted describing someone’s prognosis in a way they knew was too rosy. Nearly 20 percent said they hadn’t fully disclosed a medical mistake for fear of being sued.   Full Story

Tuesday February 7, 2012 Associated Press Students at Shippensburg University in central Pennsylvania can get the "morning-after" pill by sliding $25 into a vending machine installed at the request of the student government. The Etter Health Center at Shippensburg, a public school of 8,300 students in Appalachia’s scenic Cumberland Valley, provides the Plan B One Step emergency   Full Story

Tuesday February 7, 2012 COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina drivers can buy religious license plates that feature three crosses and a sunrise. A federal judge ruled in 2009 that "I Believe" tags that legislators created with a state law violated the First Amendment ban on establishment of religion by government.   Full Story

Tuesday February 7, 2012 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Tuesday declared California’s same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional, putting the bitterly contested, voter-approved law on track to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that a lower court judge correctly interpreted the U.   Full Story

Monday February 6, 2012 GRAHAM, Wash. (AP) -- Josh Powell's boys were coming for a visit, and he had preparations to make. He boxed up their books and toys and brought them to a charity. He carried heavy cans of gasoline inside his house. He thought about what to write in the final emails he'd send out: where people could find his financial accounts, how they could shut off   Full Story