ARLINGTON, Va. – President Bush paid tribute Monday to America’s fighting men and women who died in battle, saying national leaders must have “the courage and character to follow their lead” in preserving peace and freedom. “On this Memorial Day, I stand before you as the commander in chief and …

FORT DRUM, N.Y. – Army officials say it could take as long as 10 years and cost $10 million to clean up 350,000 gallons of jet fuel that has leaked into the ground at Fort Drum’s Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield. Fort Drum Public Works Director James Corriveau says the Army has …

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Police say two new parents left their baby alone in a car while they went to watch the Kentucky Derby at a Long Island off-track betting parlor. Southampton Town police say the 2-month-old was left unattended for more than 20 minutes during Saturday’s race. Police say the …

CHICAGO – After serving more than 12 years in prison, DNA testing has exonerated a Chicago man of a rape conviction. Dean Cage, 41, was convicted and sentenced to 40 years for allegedly assaulting a 15-year-old girl in 1994, despite claims that he was home at the time of the …

NEW ORLEANS – Lingering fears about formaldehyde fumes inside federally issued trailers and the impending hurricane season have Mayor Ray Nagin pushing to empty thousands of the structures, intended as temporary housing after Katrina. With the third anniversary of Katrina coming up Aug. 29, the push is the first for …

BOGOTA, Colombia – The onus is now on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to explain evidence of his apparently intimate ties to Colombia’s main guerrilla army. Interpol on Thursday endorsed the authenticity of computer files seized in a rebel camp, announcing that Colombia did not tamper with documents indicating Chavez sought …

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Round and round it will go, but where it finally ends up no one knows. The new owner of the Santa Monica Pier’s Ferris wheel said he plans to resurrect the attraction in Oklahoma City, though he’s not sure exactly where. Grant Humphreys plunked down $132,400 …

WASHINGTON – A rising tide of late mortgage payments and home foreclosures poses considerable dangers to the U.S. economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned anew as he urged Congress to take additional steps to alleviate the problems. “High rates of delinquency and foreclosure can have substantial spillover effects on …

SPOKANE, Wash. – Moments after his wedding, Brian Lee Benefiel was sentenced to prison. Benefiel, 26, wore a gray Spokane County jail jumpsuit and his bride, Cassandra Benefiel, wore black as they said their vows Monday morning before Superior Court Judge Ellen Kalama Clark, who closed the courtroom for the …

LOS ANGELES – A paparazzo has filed a $2.5 million lawsuit against Woody Harrelson accusing the actor of breaking his video camera and assaulting him two years ago. • Click here to view photos of Woody Harrelson. Josh Levine was working for the celebrity news site TMZ.com, when he was …