Anonymous rape tests are going nationwide
ELKTON, Md. (AP) -- Starting next year across the country, rape victims too afraid or too ashamed to go to police can undergo an emergency-room forensic rape exam, and the evidence gathered will be kept on file in a sealed envelope in case they decide to press charges....

Lesbian chased out of NYC bathroom settles suit
NEW YORK (AP) -- A popular restaurant has agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a lawsuit with a lesbian who said a bouncer chased her out of the women's bathroom and forced her to leave because she looked masculine....

Detroit City Council moves toward ousting mayor
DETROIT (AP) -- The City Council narrowly approved taking the first step Tuesday toward removing Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who is charged with perjury over explicit text messages sent to a former aide....

Military cracks down on scrap-metal scavengers
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (AP) -- Hundreds of Marines were conducting a combat training mission in the Mojave Desert when an air patrol spotted something kicking up dust: A civilian pickup truck speeding across the barren landscape....

Sect mother of newborn not a minor, Texas concedes
SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) -- Texas child welfare officials say the member of a polygamist sect who gave birth last month is not a minor as they had said previously....

Texas authorities investigate more polygamy charges
CLYDE, Texas (AP) -- Behind guarded, ornate gates at the end of a rural road, a self-proclaimed prophet warns his followers about the end of time and rails against a dangerous and unclean world outside their West Texas compound....

Deputies kill 2 in shootout near SoCal casino
SAN JACINTO, Calif. (AP) -- Deputies shot and killed two people who had opened fire near an Indian casino in Southern California and had fired at a sheriff's helicopter as officers chased them into the hills of the reservation....

Fla. wildfires hit 100 homes; arsonists sought
PALM BAY, Fla. (AP) -- Investigators searched Tuesday for one or more arsonists behind a string of stubborn wildfires that have destroyed or damaged about 100 homes on Florida's Atlantic coast....

Officials say no to rebuilding in tornado-ravaged Okla. town
PICHER, Okla. (AP) -- No government money will be awarded for rebuilding any of the 100 homes leveled by a deadly tornado that tore through one of the nation's most polluted areas, state and federal officials said Tuesday on a tour of the region....