Tropical Storm Karen takes aim on Gulf Coast

Although weakening, Tropical Storm Karen continued its path toward the Gulf Coast late Friday, with landfall expected sometime late Saturday or early Sunday morning.

Karen was just one of four major weather events impacting the USA on Friday: For what may be the first time in modern records, says Weather Underground weather historian Christopher Burt, the U.S. is facing a simultaneous threat from a tropical storm landfall, a blizzard, tornado outbreak, and extreme wild fire event:

A blizzard was pounding portions of the northern Rockies and northern Plains with more than two feet of snow in some spots; parts of the upper Midwest were bracing for a potentially destructive severe weather and tornado outbreak later Friday; and southern California was in the midst of what the National Weather Service was calling the most significant fire weather threat in five years.

Berlusconi ministers resign; Italy gov't in crisis

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Italy's fragile coalition government was pushed into a full-fledged crisis Saturday after five                    ministers from former Premier Silvio Berlusconi's political party announced their resignations.

The move drew the ire of Premier Enrico Letta, who accused Berlusconi of a "crazy" gesture aimed at covering up his personal affairs.

The five-month-old government has teetered for weeks since the high court confirmed Berlusconi's tax fraud conviction.

Berlusconi's center-right People of Liberty Party is in an unusual coalition of rival forces with Letta's center-left Democratic Party, and the resignations signals the end of the alliance.

The resignations must be formally submitted to President Giorgio Napolitano, who must decide if there is any way to continue the government or if new elections must be held.

Next orbiter to focus on Mars atmosphere

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Bathed in orange light and with two black solar wings outstretched, NASA's Maven spacecraft looks as if it might already be orbiting Mars.

That destination is still a year away, but the $671 million mission is approaching its Nov. 18 blastoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop an Atlas V rocket.

"We've been working on this mission for years, and we're close now, real close, and we're going to Mars, so it's really pretty cool to be at this point," said Dave Mitchell, project manager from the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

During a media day Friday at Kennedy Space Center, where pre-launch tests are in progress, managers sidestepped questions about how a government shutdown might affect launch plans, saying they would do everything possible to stay on track.

Bill Clinton urges unity for Obama's health care law

Bill Clinton wore his "Secretary of Explaining Stuff" hat Wednesday to defend President Obama's health care law, arguing that it's time to drop opposition to what Republicans slam as "Obamacare."

"We need all hands on deck here. The health of our people, the security and stability of our families and the strength of our economy are all riding on getting health care reform right and doing it well," Clinton said in remarks at his presidential library in Little Rock. "That means we have to do it together."

The speech by the 42nd president is the first in a series of events planned this fall by the Obama White House aimed at improving public awareness of the law as key provisions take effect. On Oct. 1, open enrollment and health insurance exchanges in states will begin. Those exchanges will help people find and buy insurance coverage.

Clinton outlined why he says the law will help health care costs go down and give more people greater access to insurance coverage. He took a step-by-step approach, going through everything in the law from who gets covered to how exchanges work and what needs to be improved.

"It's better than the current system," Clinton said. "This gives us the best chance we've had to achieve nearly universal coverage … provide higher quality health care and limit cost increases."

Republicans generally view the law as a costly government intrusion into people's lives. The Tea Party movement and congressional allies, such as Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Ted Cruz of Texas, have spent the summer drumming up support to withhold funding to implement the Affordable Care Act.

These lawmakers say they are prepared to vote against any bill to fund the government that doesn't bar spending for the health care law – even if it prompts a government shutdown.

Throughout Clinton's remarks, the Republican National Committee sent out tweets criticizing the health care law with the hashtag #Obamacosts. One example: "Obamacare isn't working and it is costing Americans across the country," the RNC said.

It's not the first time Obama has turned to Clinton, with whom he once had a frosty relationship, to help him explain policies and garner public support.

Clinton campaigned often for Obama in the 2012 election and delivered a forceful speech at the Democratic National Convention arguing why Obama was worthy of a second term. Obama joked afterward that he should appoint his predecessor the "Secretary of Explaining Stuff," and the moniker stuck.

McCain plays poker on iPhone during Syria hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sometimes senators need a diversion from even the weightiest of topics. For Sen. John McCain during Tuesday's hearing on Syria, it was a game on his iPhone.

The Washington Post posted a picture taken during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing and reported that it shows the Arizona Republican playing poker on his phone. Only his hands and iPhone were visible.

Shortly afterward, McCain came clean in a sarcastic tweet posted on his Twitter account that began with the word, "Scandal!"

McCain wrote that he'd been caught playing on his phone during a hearing that, he quickly pointed out, exceeded three hours.

House begins consideration of Syria resolution

"Today the House begins formal consideration of the president's request to use military force in Syria. It is a cliche, but true: There are no easy answers. Syria and much of the Middle East are a mess," said Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif.

Kerry pressed the administration's argument that there is a preponderance of evidence that chemical weapons were used, necessitating the need for a U.S. military response. "It did happen, and the Bashar al-Assad regime did it." he said.

"The world is wondering whether the United States of America is going to consent through silence to stand aside while this kind of brutality is allowed to happen without consequence," he said, appealing to lawmakers to consider their own place in history if they oppose action against Assad.

"And history, I think, everyone here knows holds nothing but infamy for those criminals (like Assad). And history also reserves very little sympathy for their enablers. And that is the gravity of this moment. That is really what is at stake in the decision that the Congress faces."

More Americans are using marijuana

As the nation takes a softer stance on marijuana, more Americans are using the drug, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found.

The nationwide survey made public Wednesday found that 7.3% of Americans 12 or older regularly used marijuana in 2012, up from 7% in 2011. Marijuana use has increased steadily over the past five years. In 2007, the survey found 5.8% of Americans 12 or older used marijuana.

The report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration surveys 70,000 people ages 12 and older throughout the country. It is the nation's most comprehensive look at drug and alcohol use.

PR STUNT: Pro-marijuana ad posted outside NFL opener

Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department would not challenge states who have legalized use of small amounts of marijuana or medical marijuana if the states have strict measures to keep the drugs away from minors and have taken steps to regulate the drugs.

Two states, Washington and Colorado, have legalized marijuana, and 20 states have approved marijuana for medical use.

Until Holder's announcement Thursday, marijuana users in those states could face federal prosecution even if they adhered to state laws and local regulations.

Nearly 24 million Americans, about 9.2% of the population, use illicit drugs, the survey found. Illicit drugs include marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants and the non-medical use of painkillers, tranquilizers and stimulants. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug.

Although the abuse of prescription drugs, particularly opioids such as oxycodone, is stable or dropping, heroin use is on the rise, the survey found.

In 2012, 669,000 people reported using heroin, up from 620,000 people in 2011. The number of heroin users has jumped 80% since 2007, when 373,000 people reported using heroin.

"This finding show that while we have made progress in preventing some aspects of substance abuse, we must redouble our efforts to reduce and eliminate all forms of it throughout our nation," SAMHSA Administrator Pamela Hyde said.

"These statistics represent real people, families and communities dealing with the devastating consequences of abuse and addiction."

Thousands pack D.C. to commemorate 1963 march

WASHINGTON — Fifty years to the day after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his spellbinding "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a large crowd braved rain on the National Mall and heard civil rights, labor and political leaders and entertainers urge them — sometimes defiantly — to keep fighting for justice and equal rights.

This time around, jobs and voting rights for African Americans shared the spotlight with fights for clean water and air, a living wage, civil rights for gays and lesbians, and an end to homelessness and stop-and-frisk policing policies. Former President Jimmy Carter even invoked the long-fought struggle for congressional voting rights for D.C. residents. Former President Clinton added, "A great democracy does not make it harder to vote than to buy an assault weapon." President Obama was to deliver the final speech

Al Sharpton told the crowd the Jim Crow "had a son named James Crow Jr., Esq. He writes voting suppression laws," and National Urban League President Marc Morial said, "It is time, America, to wake up. Fifty years ago that sleeping giant was awakened, but somewhere along the way we've dozed. We've been quelled by the lullaby of false prosperity and the mirage of economic equality. We fell into a slumber. Somewhere along the way, white sheets were traded for button-down white shirts. Attack dogs and water hoses were traded for Tasers and widespread implementation of stop-and-frisk policies."

Through on-and-off rain showers that were occasionally heavy, marchers making their way to the National Mall waved banners that read, "The new Jim Crow must go" and "50 years later still fighting to vote," sang traditional protest songs and chanted, "Education is our right — education is our fight!" At times, during the heavy rain, a nearly unbroken sea of umbrellas stretched across the Mall.

The crowd appeared much smaller than the estimated 200,000 who jammed the mall in 1963 at a tumultuous time in U.S. history, an era of separate bathrooms and drinking fountains for whites and blacks, of authorities using firehoses and police dogs to terrorize civil rights marchers in the South, and of murders of activists in their driveways and little girls in church.

DiMaggio family drops demand for kidnapped teen's DNA

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The sister of a man suspected of kidnapping a 16-year-old girl and killing her mother and younger brother said she no longer wants paternity tests to determine if the suspect fathered the children.

Lora Robinson said Tuesday she hasn't asked for DNA to determine if James Lee DiMaggio fathered the children and she doesn't plan to. Last week, a DiMaggio family spokesman said she wanted DNA of Hannah and Ethan Anderson to give her a sense of closure in her older brother's death.

Robinson said the request was prompted by rumors that her brother fathered the children but that she doesn't think a test is needed.

DiMaggio, 40, was killed by FBI agents in the Idaho wilderness Aug. 10 after allegedly killing Christina and Ethan Anderson, whose remains were found in his burned home in Boulevard, 65 miles east of San Diego. Hannah Anderson was rescued and returned safely to California.

The Anderson family said last week that DiMaggio didn't meet Brett and Christina Anderson until Christina was six months pregnant with Hannah and that Brett Anderson's DNA was used to identify the remains of 8-year-old Ethan.

Robinson said she had no explanation for her brother's alleged crimes and that she was "extremely disappointed" in the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's investigation.

"They should come back to us and explain what happened," she said. "They could come forward with evidence — evidence and facts instead of verbally coming out and saying he did it. Where's the proof?"

Robinson said she was also seeking return of evidence that was seized in the investigation, including letters that Hannah wrote to her brother.

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore has called Hannah "a victim in every sense of the word." He has declined to discuss a possible motive and investigators haven't publicly addressed other aspects of the case, including why the family went to DiMaggio's home, how Christina and Ethan Anderson died and how Hannah was treated in captivity.

A spokeswoman for the sheriff's department, Jan Caldwell, said last week that authorities would not comment on the case because it is an open criminal investigation involving a minor and "for a myriad of legal reasons."

DiMaggio was born in Germany, where his father served in the Army, and raised in Texas and Southern California. Robinson said her brother left a military career to look after her when their mother died.

DiMaggio was killed 19 years to the day after his father died, Robinson said. Family spokesman Andrew Spanswick has said James Everet DiMaggio committed suicide.

Robinson said she made a pact with her brother.

"We had made a promise to each other that we would stick around for each other, that we would stick around as long as God would allow us," she said.

Robinson said nothing seemed amiss with her brother when they spoke three days before firefighters found his home burning. When she saw him three weeks earlier, they stayed up late laughing and eating pasta.

Student loan rates will feed federal profits

DETROIT -- A law touted by politicians as their way of keeping money in the pockets of the nation's college students will instead funnel more than $700 million in additional profit into the federal government's wallet over the next 10 years, a new analysis shows.

The law, regulating interest rates for federal student loans, was passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama this summer. It was hailed by politicians on both sides of the aisle as a win in the campaign to combat a rising tide of student loan indebtedness.

Though the law will accomplish that in the short term, it also guarantees profits for the government every year for the next decade and, starting in 2016, increases those already high profit levels, a mid-August report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office shows.

"As soon as the interest rates begin to go back up, this deal ends up worse for students and their parents than if they did nothing," said Jessica Thompson, the senior policy analyst for the Institute for College Access and Success. "(The government) is absolutely making more money because of these changes."

In total, the CBO projects the government to clear $175 billion in profit over the next decade on student loans.

The CBO analysis comes as millions of students and their parents are signing loan documents heading into fall.

It also comes as Obama, once again, hits the road with a plan to lower college costs and decry the rising levels of debt students carry upon graduation.

A report issued in mid-August by the U.S. Department of Education shows that 57% of students received some sort of federal aid, and 41% of all undergrads had taken loans, up from 35% four years ago. The average debt for a college graduate in Michigan is slightly more than $26,000.

Nationally, there's more than $1 trillion owed in student debt — more than what Americans owe on credit cards — with more than $180 billion of it in some type of default, according to government data.

"If everyone else is making a killing off of us, I'm not the least bit surprised the government is angling to rake us all over the coals," said Nick Townsend, a senior at Ferris State University.

High winds likely to push flames further into Yosemite

The raging wildfire burning through a remote section of Yosemite National Park has gained strength, threatening nearby communities as well as water and electrical resources for San Francisco.

High winds are likely to fan the flames further north into the park Sunday.

"The wind could push it further up north and northeast into Yosemite and closer to those communities and that is a big concern for us," said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The fire has stayed at a size of roughly 203 square miles since last night.

Fire crews are clearing brush and setting sprinklers to protect two groves of giant sequoias threatened by the blaze, AP reported late Saturday. The trees grow naturally only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada and are among the largest and oldest living things on earth.

"All of the plants and trees in Yosemite are important, but the giant sequoias are incredibly important both for what they are and as symbols of the National Park System," park spokesman Scott Gediman said Saturday.

Colleges are toughening up on student borrowing

LEWISBURG, W.Va. — So far, the speakers at new-student orientation at New River Community and Technical College on this afternoon have been upbeat and supportive. Now comes financial aid director Trish Harmon. The tone darkens.

"Caution! Student Loans must be paid back!" screams the headline of the flier she hands out. It lists the consequences — a dozen in all — for borrowers who default: Garnished wages. Bad credit reports. Collection agencies at the door.

"The federal government has very long arms," Harmon warns. "And they're going to go after you every way they can."

President Obama last week offered a softer message. In a speech bemoaning the "crushing debt" some students take on, Obama said the Education Department this fall will contact struggling borrowers to provide information on repayment options that can keep them from defaulting. He also proposed a ratings system that would reward colleges that keep loan debt manageable.

Student borrowers aren't the only ones in jeopardy. If a high percentage of its borrowers consistently fail to pay back their loans, the school can lose access to millions of dollars in federal student aid.

The number of colleges at risk of penalty is on the rise. That helps explain the recent rush by many colleges to keep closer tabs on borrowers, even if the colleges' default rates are not at crisis levels.

Older workers offer highway safety challenge

A demographic shift in the nation's work force — a growing number of older people still working and retiring later — offers the nation a highway safety challenge: more senior motorists driving as part of their jobs.

Because many people experience age-related deterioration in certain driving-related skills, such as vision, strength and cognitive abilities, employers have an important role to play in keeping their workers driving safely as they age, according to experts and safe driving advocates.

"Every day for the next 16 years, 10,000 people will turn 65, according to the Pew Research Center," says Chris Hayes, director of transportation services for insurer Travelers' risk control section. "Of those 65 and older, 18.5% are remaining in the work force."

"We tend to think of older drivers as people driving personal vehicles," Hayes says. "We tend not to think of it as someone driving for work. We tend to think of people like delivery workers and commercial truck drivers as those who drive for work. But many jobs require people to drive as part of their daily responsibilities."

7 things teachers want you to know

Don't you wish you had a crystal ball that told you what your child's teacher felt was important for you to know? I sure do. In more than 13 years as a teacher, administrator, parent and coach working with thousands of students in New Jersey, I have dealt with almost every teacher/parent/student issue imaginable — and even I am still learning about what parents need and want from teachers. As the new school year starts, I'd like to share what I have discovered and share wisdom from some of the most innovative educators across the country. Together, let's make this the best year yet for our students.

Cool summer due to lack of bullies El Nino, La Nina

Why have much of the eastern and southern USA had such a cool summer? In part, it's because El Nino and La Nina, the big bullies of the climate playground, have been on vacation over the past few months.

El Nino (warmer-than-average water temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean) and its counterpart La Nina (cooler-than-average water temperatures) are unquestionably the world's climate drivers — and the main influences on weather in the USA.

The El Nino pattern is officially known as the "El Nino Southern Oscillation" (ENSO). And when either El Nino or La Nina are really strong, the world's other climate patterns run and hide.

That's not happened this summer: With tropical Pacific ocean temperatures neither unusually warm nor cold (known as an ENSO-neutral phase), the typically meek and little-known "East Pacific-North Pacific " (EP-NP) pattern has taken over, according to climate scientist Richard Heim of the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

This pattern is partly responsible for the weirdly cool and damp summer over parts of the eastern and southern USA. How cool? Seventeen states, mainly in the South, had a cooler-than-average July, according to the data center. And cities such as Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Nashville and Charlotte are all having an unusually cool August, the National Weather Service reports.

Also, Florida had its wettest July on record.

Ex-gov't leader blames U.S. gun culture for Lane's death

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A former Australian government leader has blamed the gun culture in the United States for the shooting death of an Australian baseball player in Oklahoma and condemned America's lax firearm controls as a corruptive influence around the world.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer was speaking on Saturday on the eve of a tribute baseball game being played in shooting victim Chris Lane's hometown of Melbourne.

Lane was shot in the back and killed last week while jogging in Duncan, an Oklahoma community where the three teenagers accused in his killing live.

Fischer says the failure of the U.S. Congress to mandate background checks for sales at gun shows and to curb the availability of guns fed the illegal firearm trade in Australia and elsewhere.

Sandusky's son among 7 who settle with PSU

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Philadelphia attorney said Friday seven young men he represents have finalized deals with Penn State over claims of abuse by the school's former assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky.

Lawyer Matt Casey said his clients include Sandusky's adopted son, Matt Sandusky, as well as the young man known as "Victim 2" in court records and three other victims who testified last summer against Jerry Sandusky at his criminal trial.

"Victim 2" was the boy then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary said he saw being attacked by Jerry Sandusky in a campus shower in 2001. Matt Sandusky had been expected to be a defense witness for his father until the trial, when he told investigators that he also had been abused by Jerry Sandusky. He has since petitioned for a legal name change for himself and his family.

Casey did not disclose the terms of the settlements, but said they took shape some time ago and were completed a week ago, followed by passing paperwork back and forth to memorialize it.

"To say they're relieved, I think, is a fair statement," Casey said. "But it's also accurate to say that while we've closed this chapter, there's a whole lot of this that's necessarily inadequate."

The university has not announced the deals.

Nearly a week ago, a lawyer disclosed the first settlement among the 31 lawsuits filed against the school amid the Sandusky scandal. Earlier this week, a lawyer brought in by Penn State to facilitate negotiations said he expected 24 more cases to settle in the near future.

A Penn State spokesman on Friday said only that settlement talks continued to progress. He declined further comment.

Other lawyers involved in settlement talks said they were still working with the university but none had a signed, final agreement.

Sandusky, 69, was convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse and is serving a decades-long state prison sentence. He maintains he is innocent, and an appeals hearing is scheduled for next month in Dallas, Pa.

Sandusky spent three decades at Penn State under former head coach Joe Paterno. A 1998 complaint about Sandusky showering with a boy — one of those who testified against him — was investigated by university police but no charges were filed. McQueary witnessed a different incident involving "Victim 2" in the team shower in 2001 and notified Paterno and other high-ranking school officials, but police were not called.

The response of university leaders, including Paterno, was heavily criticized in a report commissioned by the school last year. Paterno died in January 2012, but criminal charges for an alleged cover-up are pending against three others: former president Graham Spanier, retired vice president Gary Schultz and retired athletic director Tim Curley. All three deny the allegations.

The school has spent nearly $50 million on the Sandusky scandal, not including any payments to the victims and accusers.

San Diego Mayor Filner resigns

The San Diego City Council accepted Mayor Bob Filner's resignation Friday afternoon, ending weeks of turmoil over his alleged sexual harassment of several women. He will leave office Aug. 30 at 5 p.m.

The council announced that it had voted, 7-0, in closed session to accept the resignation, which includes settlement of a lawsuit filed by one of his former top aides.

Moments after Filner spoke, the California attorney general's office confirmed that it is conducting a criminal investigation of his actions, assisted by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the Associated Press reported.

In his speech, Filner apologized for "letting the city down," saying, "My own personal failings were responsible."

He also "sincerely apologized" to "all the women I offended," telling them, "I had no intention to be offensive, to violate any physical or emotional space.

"I was trying to establish personal relationships but the combination of awkwardness and hubris led to behavior that I think many found offensive," he said.

At least 17 women have accused him of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior, including groping, unwanted kissing and suggestive comments. .

But the 70-year-old Filner remained defiant. "I've never sexually harassed anyone," Filner said, blaming a "lynch mob" -- the media and political opponents -- for his departure. He argued he "would be vindicated" if he had been given "due process."

Shortly after Filner spoke,

The council heard from angry citizens and Filner supporters before going into a scheduled closed session to vote on the agreement. The deal was reached this week after mediation sessions involving Filner, his lawyers, city representatives and attorney Gloria Allred, the lawyer for Irene McCormack Jackson, the mayor's ex-

Cops: Boy played video game, shot 90-year-old relative

SLAUGHTER, La. (AP) — Authorities in Louisiana say an 8-year-old boy intentionally shot and killed a 90-year-old woman who was his caregiver after watching a video game with violent themes.

East Feliciana Parish sheriff's deputies said the juvenile was playing the video game Grand Theft Auto IV — a realistic game that's been associated with encouraging violence and awards points to players for killing people — just minutes before the fatal shooting.

Authorities are calling the shooting a homicide.

Sgt. Kevin Garig told The Advocate that the identities of both the shooter and the victim are being withheld.

Garig said the woman died after suffering at least one gunshot wound to the head. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Louisiana law prohibits authorities from charging the child with a crime because of his age.

DHS employee ran website calling for race war

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Homeland Security Department says an employee who runs a racist website predicting and advocating a race war has been put on paid administrative leave.

An acquisitions officer for Immigration and Customs Enforcement who deals with small businesses, Ayo Kimathi, operates the website War on the Horizon. It includes descriptions of an "unavoidable, inevitable clash with the white race." Kimathi is black.

Kimathi has been with the department since 2009. He was told Friday that he is being put on paid administrative leave.

His website criticizes whites, gays, those of mixed race, and blacks who integrate with whites. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, earlier this week reported on Kimathi's role in running the site.

Kimathi hasn't responded to email and phone calls requesting comment.

Thousands arrive for new March on Washington

WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands gathered early Saturday on the nation's "front yard," the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial, yearning for a bit of that transcendent sense of racial unity heralded on this spot by the Rev. Martin Luther King 50 years ago in his "I Have a Dream" speech.

With a message that the nation's racial tension remains unfinished to this day, aging veterans of the original March on Washington gathered with younger generations, amassing a crowd that in contrast is more female, more Hispanic, more diverse by sexual orientation and far more tech-savvy than 50 years ago.

Rumbling into the city on a bus this morning from Asbury Park, N.J., was 16-year-old Qion Nicholson, whose only knowledge of the original event were things gained from studies. He says now feels like part of an historical addendum.

"I'm grateful to be living in today's era," says Nicholson, of Sayreville. "The (original) march meant so much for our country."

As sunlight splashed across the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial where King spoke half a century ago, Lillian Reynolds, a minister and social worker from Mt. Vernon, N.Y., said she was there because of goals still unmet.

Literacy rates remain too low and black unemployment too high, she said before moving off in a rush to get through tight security and see her son, gospel hip-hop artist JProphet, slated to perform. "Trying to get there and not miss it," Reynolds said.

The mood leading up to today's event was a world away from 1963 when 250,000 descended on the city during a violent summer of police dogs and fire hoses unleashed on demonstrators in Birmingham, Ala.. Civil rights leader Medgar Evans was gunned down in front of his family in Jackson, Miss., and President John F. Kennedy attempted to dissuade march organizers from holding the event, fearing violence. Federal troops were amassed outside the city, federal workers sent home and liquor stores closed.

Soldier gets life in prison for Afghan massacre

A military jury at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington sentenced Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales on Friday to life in prison without a chance of parole for a killing spree in 2012 outside a remote Afghanistan outpost that left 16 Afghans dead.

Bales, 40, pleaded guilty in June to premeditated murder and other charges in a deal to avoid a death sentence. A military jury was charged this week with determining whether Bales would have a chance for parole.

Bales apologized Thursday as he made his case for why he should someday have a chance at freedom. He did not recount specifics of the horrors but described the slaughter of villagers, mostly women and children, on March 11, 2012, as an "act of cowardice, behind a mask of fear, (expletive) and bravado."

"I'm truly, truly sorry to those people whose families got taken away," he said. "If I could bring their family members back, I would in a heartbeat."

Defense attorneys John Henry Browne and Emma Scanlan sought a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years.

The defense followed two days of testimony from nine Afghans. Among them: Haji Mohammad Wazir, who lost 11 family members, including his mother, wife and six of his seven children.

He told the six-member jury Wednesday that the attacks destroyed what had been a happy life. He was in another village with his youngest son, now 5-year-old Habib Shah, during the attack.

Bales said at the plea hearing in June that he had been drinking contraband alcohol, snorting Valium and taking steroids before the attack. He was serving his fourth tour in a combat zone.

Bales said he had been taking the steroids to improve his fitness, and they "definitely increased my irritability and anger.''

The steroid stanozolol is a Class 3 controlled substance. Bales took it without a prescription or authorization.

The Ohio native and father of two from Lake Tapps, Wash., was charged with 16 counts of premeditated murder in the shootings or stabbings of mostly women and children. He was accused of slipping away from his outpost at Camp Belambay early March 11, 2012, and attacking mud-walled compounds in two nearby villages.

Bales described one of the killings, saying he "went to the nearby village of Alkozai. While inside a compound in Alkozai, I observed a female I now know to be Na'ikmarga. I formed the intent to kill Na'ikmarga, and I did kill Na'ikmarga by shooting her with a firearm. This act was without legal justification, sir."

Nine of the victims, five women and four men, were shot first, and their bodies were burned.

"I remember there being a lantern in the room,'' Bales said at his plea hearing. "I remember there being a fire after that situation, and I remember coming back ... with matches in my pocket."

He said he did not remember throwing the lantern on the bodies, but "I have seen the pictures, and it's the only thing that makes sense. "

After killing four people in the first village, he returned to his base, then went out again, he said. When the judge asked him what he expected to do, he said he expected to find people and, "Sir, I expected to kill them. "

Bales is with the Army's 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord is an amalgamation of the Army's Fort Lewis and the Air Force's McChord Air Force Base. It supports more than 40,000 active-duty Guard and Reserve servicemembers. Bales worked on the base and lived about 30 miles west of it.

Wife of Arizona firefighter killed in June gives birth

PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. — He has his father's eyes, his chin and his name.

Sean Jaxon Herbert Misner, whose firefighter father, Sean Misner, died with 18 others June 30 in Arizona's Yarnell Hill Fire about 45 miles from here, was born at 8:13 p.m. MST Thursday here.

STORY: Fallen firefighters were in prime of lives
MORE: Sean Misner dreamed of being firefighter

It's a long moniker for a little guy, so they'll call him Jaxon, Jax for short. Herbert is for his father's beloved grandfather, who also was a firefighter.

Sean and Amanda Misner were married Sept. 15 and found out they were going to have a baby in January. They learned the child was a boy April 8, Sean Misner's 26th birthday and the day before he started work with the hotshot fire crew.

Three of the Granite Mountain Hotshots had been expecting babies; Jaxon is the first to arrive.

Billy Warneke's wife, Roxanne, is expecting a girl in December. Anthony Rose's fiancee, Tiffany Hettrick, is expecting a girl in October.

Jaxon's mom, 26, was admitted Wednesday to Yavapai Regional Medical Center East Campus here. Both she and the baby were doing fine Thursday night, said Sean Misner's mother, Tammy Misner. Amanda's mother, Kathy Funston of Placerville, Calif., flew Wednesday night to Arizona.

Misner, who lives in the Santa Ynez Valley of Southern California where her son grew up, said she cried with joy when she found out how soon she would meet her first grandchild.

"My baby boy's baby boy!" she said.

"It is just such mixed emotions. We're very happy, joyous, and also sad that our Bud can't be there," Tammy Misner said. And then after a moment, she added: "He is there; he is there in spirit."

Sen. Leahy: Ben Affleck 'great pick' as Batman

Flames from massive 'Rim' fire reach Yosemite

California's "Rim" wildfire, which has swelled to 165 square miles, crept into a remote section of Yosemite National Park on Friday, but Yosemite Valley is not threatened so far and the park remain opens to visitors.

Only 2 percent of the blaze, located mostly west of the park, has been contained, prompting Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant says the blaze threatens about 4,500 residences.

"Most of the fire activity is pushing to the east right into Yosemite," Berlant says.

The fire within the park is, for now, confined to a remote area around Lake Eleanor, says Bjorn Fredrickson, a fire spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.

"There is no immediate threat to the valley at this time," he says.

While Yosemite remains open, the wildfire has caused the closure of a 4-mile stretch of State Route 120, one of three entrances into Yosemite on the west side, devastating areas that rely on tourism.

The U.S. Forest Service says 2,011 firefighters using nine helicopters are battling the fire.

2nd N.M. county issuing same-sex marriage licenses

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The county clerk in the state capital and the heart of this state's gay rights movement on Friday began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a court-ordered move that came just two days after a county clerk in southern New Mexico decided on his own that recognize gay marriage.

Under orders from a judge overseeing a lawsuit by two Santa Fe men trying to get married, County Clerk Geraldine Salazar began issuing licenses to same-sex couples shortly after 1: 30 p.m.

The first same-sex couple to get a license in the state's third-largest county was Santa Fe County Commissioner Liz Stefanics and Linda Siegle, a lobbyist for Equality New Mexico, a gay rights group. Stefanics is a former Democratic state senator from Santa Fe.

Also receiving a license were the two men who filed the lawsuit that resulted in the court order directing the clerk to issue licenses — Alexander Hanna and Yon Hudson.

STORY: Marriage license denied for N.C. same-sex couple

The order late Thursday from District Judge Sarah Singleton in their suit represents the first time a New Mexico judge has ruled that gay and lesbian couples can be married, said state Rep. Brian Egolf, a lawyer representing the couple.

Singleton said Santa Fe County Clerk Geraldine Salazar must grant the marriage licenses or appear in court Sept. 26 to tell her why that shouldn't happen. Salazar did not immediately return a telephone call from The Associated Press.

Egolf said Friday the ruling could help speed a resolution of the gay marriage issue in the state.

"This will be the first time a court anywhere in New Mexico … has ordered same-sex couples to be married," said Egolf, a Santa Fe Democrat who unsuccessfully pushed in the Legislature for a constitutional amendment to legalize gay marriage.

He and other activists are trying to get a lawsuit before the state Supreme Court to decide whether same-sex couples legally can be married in New Mexico.

New Mexico law doesn't explicitly prohibit or authorize same-sex couples to be married. The attorney general's office has interpreted the law to prohibit gay marriage, but Attorney General Gary King also contends the law violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection under the law.

Singleton, in her order, said that "reading a sex or sexual orientation requirement into the laws of New Mexico violates the state constitution, which mandates that 'equality of rights under law shall not be denied on account of the sex of any person.'"

The order comes as about 90 same-sex couples have received marriage licenses in southern New Mexico since Wednesday, when the Dona Ana County clerk in Las Cruces decided to start granting them.

A group of Republican legislators is planning to file a lawsuit to stop the clerk in Dona Ana County, which is the second largest county in the state.

Dona Ana Chief Deputy Clerk Mario Jimenez said Texas couples are traveling to the border region to get married.

He said Jerrett Morris and Jeffrey Tingley obtained their marriage license Friday. The pair just happened to be in town from Dallas visiting family when they decided to go to the courthouse in Las Cruces to get their license.

Jimenez said another same-sex couple from Dallas is flying into the region later Friday to get married, and a couple from San Antonio is expected next week.

"They are traveling to change their lives," Jimenez said. "And more are coming."

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sen. Coburn: Obama 'perilously close' to impeachment

Sen. Tom Coburn and President Obama are friends, but that didn't stop the Oklahoma Republican from saying this week that the president is "getting perilously close" to deserving impeachment.

"Those are serious things, but we're in serious times," Coburn said Wednesday in Muskogee. "And I don't have the legal background to know if that rises to 'high crimes and misdemeanors,' but I think you're getting perilously close."

Coburn didn't specify why be believes Obama is close to meriting impeachment, but he criticized what he called a "lawless" administration. The two men have been friends going back to 2005, when the Democratic president first arrived in Congress as an Illinois senator.

David Axelrod, the strategist behind Obama's White House victories, said on MSNBC that Coburn's comments are "way out of bounds, and he speaks to a kind of virus that's infected our politics that really has to be curbed."

There's been lots of talk from Republicans during Congress' summer recess about defunding the health care law known as "Obamacare," among the reasons why impeachment comes up. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law last year.

Coburn isn't the only Republican who's talked of impeachment with constituents.

Rep. Kerry Bentivolio, R-Mich., said "it would be a dream come true" to draft and submit articles of impeachment against Obama but conceded that he's got no evidence to do so.

Nidal Hasan found guilty in Fort Hood killings

Maj. Nidal Hasan, the radicalized Army psychiatrist who turned his gun on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood four years ago in the name of jihad, was found guilty Friday of all counts, including premeditated murder.

He now faces the death penalty and could be the first person the U.S. military puts to death in more than 50 years.

A 13-member panel, or jury, of high-ranking officers voted unanimously to convict Hasan, 42, on a slew of premeditated murder and attempted murder charges for killing 13 people and injuring 31 others in the Nov. 5, 2009, attack at the U.S. Army base in Texas.

As the verdict was read, Hasan had no visible reaction.

Nor was there any outcry from the audience, which included relatives of the victims.Military judge Col. Tara Osborn had warned against any outbursts.

Several family members, however, left the courtroom with tears in their eyes.

The panel, which took only about seven hours to convict Hasan, now turns to the sentencing phase of the trial to decide whether to recommend putting him to death by lethal injection or have him spend the rest of his life in prison. Prosecutors are expected to call 16 witnesses over two days during the sentencing phase.