Oregon - A woman in Oregon has sued her local McDonald’s franchisee after spilling hot coffee from the drive-thru window on herself. She claims that the coffee was too hot and the lid too loose, and seeks $7,500 in damages....More

BETTENDORF - Copies of the student newspaper at Bettendorf High School were confiscated last week by school administrators who believe an article violated student confidentiality, the school district superintendent said. The Growl included an article that questioned the consistency of disciplinary action against students, particularly athletes....More

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- A strip club in Ohio has raised $1,000 for Haitian earthquake relief during what was billed as "Lap dances for Haiti....More

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Culinary students standing outside and smoking cigarettes are such a common sight on Downtown?s Liberty Avenue that they?re practically a city landmark. Dressed in their kitchen whites, the Le Cordon Bleu students stand out among the other smokers in business or casual garb who cluster outdoors on their breaks.---...More

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- An Alaska dentist has given a bald eagle a unique beak - using a temporary crown, sticky poster putty and yellow highlighter---...More

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- If you trust a rodent to predict when winter will end, how about an ape to guide your Super Bowl winner selection?

The Oregon Zoo's youngest orangutan, Kutai, showed no hesitation Friday in selecting an Indianapolis Colts T-shirt during the annual football forecasting event at the zoo.

The zoo says Kutai has predicted the winner in four of the past five Super Bowls, including the New York Giants' win over the New England Patriots in 2008. His only loss came last year when he incorrectly picked the Arizona Cardinals over the Pittsburgh Steelers.---...More

INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- A 62-year-old sledder looking for a burst of power got it when the homemade rocket strapped to his back exploded, burning him over nearly 20 percent of his body. Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said the man, whose identity hasn't been released, was hospitalized in stable condition Monday....More

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Communication skills were clearly lacking in a woman who police said tried to rob two Memphis credit unions. She fled empty-handed both times. The Commercial Appeal reported the suspect is a short, thin black or Hispanic woman dressed in dark clothing with a red scarf....More

BARRINGTON, R.I. (AP) -- A Rhode Island man who says he couldn't afford veterinary care for his dog has been charged with illegally operating on the pet....More

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- People probably can't tip cows, but a cow tipped a person in Knoxville. Then it stepped on him. An ambulance was called to the University of Tennessee agriculture campus Friday morning. Fire Department Capt. D.J. Corcoran told The Knoxville News Sentinel first responders found a 40 to 50-year-old man who said he was working with cattle in a pen when one knocked him down and stepped on his chest....Moooore

MIAMI (AP) -- A Florida Highway Patrol trooper based in South Florida has been arrested on charges of official misconduct, after authorities said he wrote hundreds of fake citations to drivers. Paul C. Lawrence was accused of trying to increase the number of citations he issued by writing bogus tickets. More than 200 traffic tickets he issued since November have been dismissed, and there may be more---...More

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Tennessee sheriff's deputy arrested on a drunken driving charge wound up in a dog house before he was taken to the big house. The Kingsport Times-News reported the details of a Tennessee Highway Patrol arrest report, which said 47-year-old Samuel Monroe Bledsoe was kicking the windows of a trooper's cruiser on his way to a hospital for a blood test---...More

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- Police say a Massachusetts man who stuffed 75 bottles of body lotion in his pants couldn't slip away from authorities, hampered by slacks that were nearly bursting at the seams---...More

NEW YORK (AP) -- A former New York City counterterrorism detective who says he was unfairly fired as a result of a failed drug test he blamed on his wife's marijuana-spiked meatballs has lost a court bid to get his job back---...More

BOSTON, Massachusetts - President Barack Obama?s aunt, an illegal immigrant fighting deportation to Kenya, arrived at a Boston immigration court here Thursday to plead her case for staying in the country. Zeituni Onyango, 57, who is living in public housing, is to appear before the Boston federal immigration court for her second attempt to secure permission to remain in the United States, after she ignored a 2004 deportation order to be sent back to her native Kenya. ---...More

STUART, Florida - A man kite surfing off a Florida beach died Wednesday after being surrounded and attacked by sharks. The Martin County Sheriff?s Office said a lifeguard first saw the man in distress about 500 yards from shore near Stuart, on the Atlantic coast. ---...More

England and Belgium - In a study certain to rekindle debate over life-sustaining care for those with grievous brain injuries, researchers report that five patients thought to be in a persistent vegetative state showed brain activity indicating awareness, intent and, in at least one case, a wish to communicate.---...More

New York - With a little more than a year to go on her contract, Katie Couric is dressing up her resum?. The CBS anchor, now 53, is facing a huge pay cut in her unprecedented $15 million-a-year salary. More importantly, her bosses at CBS have not yet said whether they want to keep her - at any price. ---...More

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Enraged by protesters likening him to a "big and stupid" water buffalo, Indonesia's president has ordered the beasts and other animals banned at street rallies, a decision some Indonesians said shows their leader can't handle criticism---...More

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Memphis police said a security officer at a downtown mall found a man in the mall's fountain, stealing coins. The man, 47, was charged with stealing about $33 from the fountain at Peabody Place. He was jailed on $100 bond---...More

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- A western Pennsylvania woman faces a hearing on charges that she hit a transit but driver in the head with a snowball because he wouldn't let her board with an expired bus pass. Lateia Jefferson, 20, was accused of cursing at the Cambria County Transit Authority driver and hitting him with the snowball on Jan. 20---...More

BURTCHVILLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- The Burtchville Township fire chief says three people in a sport utility vehicle told him they were lost but knew they had to drive east. Did they ever. The three were rescued from frigid Lake Huron about 4:30 a.m. Monday after the SUV headed east down a dead-end road, kept going and vaulted onto shoreline ice, then traveled a short distance before falling into the water---...More

Johnny Depp has come to the defense of Roman Polanski as he faces extradition to the U.S. on child sex charges - insisting the embattled director is ?not a predator.? The Oscar-winning filmmaker pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977, but fled the States before his sentence could be passed.---...More

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Police say the parents of a 12 year-old girl forced her to live locked in a closet with no light and minimal contact with the outside world. Police say no one had a clue about the abuse, not neighbors or school officials, until the girl?s brother spoke up. When police went to the family?s home on the 400 block of Jo Ann Lane, they found the girl locked inside the closet. ---...More

First it was the Real World, then came the Jersey Shore. Now, a new pseudoreality show is hoping to make an impression - only this time the cameras are following three actresses pretending to have unwanted pregnancies, and whether or not they decide to get an abortion is up to the viewers. ---...More