How a Texas paper brought down con man Estes, and why

Billie Sol Estes, the Texan con man whose exploits rattled the administrations of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, died in his sleep May 14. From a penniless background, Estes built up a $40 million West Texas empire of cotton, grain, real estate and fertilizers, and then lo…

Parents become rescuers at flattened elementary school

Darkness fell on an Oklahoma City suburb gripped by a frantic search for pupils, teachers and staff members in an elementary school flattened by a tornado.

New Flex joins step counters

The main drawback to Fitbit's wearable activity monitors may be how unobtrusive they are. To hear users tell it, their trackers have taken more unplanned trips through the washing machine than a crumpled dollar bill.

Melanoma drugs shrink some tumors, study finds

NEW YORK - Two drugs from Bristol-Myers Squibb shrank tumors in as many as half of patients with advanced melanoma, according to early research that may pave the way for cocktails that trigger the immune system to destroy cancer.

National frat faces trial over drinking death involving Tucson teen

A national fraternity with chapters on more than 125 campuses must stand trial over the drinking death of a Wabash College freshman, an Indiana court said in a ruling that may force the organizations to take more responsibility for misconduct at chapter houses.

Report: Right-sizing salt intake trickier than scientists thought

WASHINGTON - Lowering sodium intake, a drumbeat of doctors' efforts to improve patient health, may have the opposite effect if taken to the extreme, scientists said.

Spending cuts in Obama budget put onus on Ryan

WASHINGTON

Mitac's SmartGPS a bridge to future apps, even cloud

Makers of portable Global Positioning System devices are caught in a squeeze.

Cheap natural gas prompts states to sour on renewables

More than half the states with laws requiring utilities to buy renewable energy - including Arizona - are considering ways to pare back those mandates after a plunge in natural gas prices brought on by technology that boosted supply.

Casinos brace for impact of Internet gambling, and other business news

Casinos brace for impact of Internet gambling

Shoppers: Stores' ad-match policies inconsistent

NEW YORK - This Easter, Walmart Stores aired a television commercial promoting its Ad Match Guarantee. In it, an exuberant clerk touted the policy's benefits to a shopper named "Janette" from Lithonia, Ga.

Feds trim health-insurance application from 21 pages to 3

WASHINGTON - People who apply for health insurance through the U.S. government starting in October face a lot less red tape than anticipated.

Brown-Vitter plan recasts financial-reform battle

A year ago, the big U.S. banks were focused on repealing, or at least eliminating large parts of, the Dodd-Frank financial-reform law.

Capstone Mining Corp. buys Arizona mine and railroad from BHP

Capstone Mining Corp. has agreed to buy BHP Billiton's Pinto Valley Mine in Gila County and the related San Manuel Arizona Railroad for $650 million in cash.

Securing Nogales frontier is key to immigration bill

"Every day, we have a seizure of some kind at this checkpoint," says Leslie Lawson, patrol agent in charge of the Border Patrol's Nogales Station. The border fence looms behind her.

Securing Nogales frontier is key to immigration bill

NOGALES, Sonora - Alejandro Vega hiked five days through the Arizona desert and then toiled 10 years busing restaurant tables, building roads and cleaning manure out of horse corrals in the United States before his deportation in 2009.

US-Japan pact on natural gas should be a no-brainer

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan expected a sharp debate at home when he said his country wanted to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He may not have anticipated a sharp debate in the United States.

GOP warned to watch words on immigration

WASHINGTON - When he took the House floor two years ago to speak about undocumented immigrants, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, said "illegals" were draining the health-care system, and lamented that those with an "anchor baby" could get welfare benefits.

Aunt: Oldest brother wanted to stay in Russia

WASHINGTON - The 26-year-old suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings who was killed by police wanted to stay in Russia reading the Koran rather than return to the United States last year at his father's insistence, a relative said.

N. Korea backs off its threats, suggests new talks with US

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Tuesday that it doesn't oppose resuming dialogue with the U.S. in its first conciliatory gesture after months of threats to attack South Korea and American bases and warnings of pre-emptive nuclear strikes.

Supreme Court rejects appeal, leaves NY gun limits intact

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court Monday dealt a rebuff to gun-rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association, leaving intact New York's requirement that people wishing to carry a handgun in public show a special need for protection.

Experts: 787s' batteries can be safe, but cost is the wild card, NTSB is told

WASHINGTON - Lithium-ion batteries like the ones that overheated on two Boeing 787 Dreamliners can be made safe enough for even the most critical transportation uses, according to experts who spoke at a National Transportation Safety Board forum Thursday.

As fast food expands, so do waistlines

Big Macs, pizza and sugary drinks are behind unhealthy weight gains in Mexico, Brazil and Chile, health experts say. Only Brazilian women are keeping to the global average.

As fast food expands, so do waistlines

CHICAGO - Fast food and expanding waistlines are not just an American health concern.

Carnitine, a substance in red meat, another cardiovascular health risk

The fat and cholesterol found in a steak may not be the only components bad for the heart, according to researchers who have found another substance in red meat that can clog the arteries.

Texting is linked to 2011 helicopter crash, a first in US

WASHINGTON - An emergency medical helicopter pilot flying over Missouri was sending and receiving text messages before crashing in 2011, the first time such distractions have been implicated in a fatal commercial aviation accident.

Red meat’s fat, cholesterol aren’t its only heart dangers

The fat and cholesterol found in a steak may not be the only components bad for the heart, according to researchers who have found another substance in red meat that can clog the arteries.

Millionaires got $80 million in jobless aid in recession

NEW YORK - The U.S. government paid almost $80 million in unemployment benefits during the worst of the economic downturn to households that made more than $1 million, including a record $29.9 million in 2010, tax records show.

Millionaires got $80M in jobless aid in recession

NEW YORK - The U.S. government paid almost $80 million in unemployment benefits during the worst of the economic downturn to households that made more than $1 million, including a record $29.9 million in 2010, tax records show.

Walgreens expands into chronic-illness care

Walgreens, the largest U.S. drugstore chain, is expanding into treatment of diabetes, asthma and other chronic illnesses to lure new customers including millions gaining insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

Google fights US demand for user data in national security probe

SAN FRANCISCO - Google is challenging a demand by the U.S. government for private user information in a national security probe, according to a court filing.

Unwed couples living together is the new norm, CDC reports

Three of four women in the United States have lived with a partner without being married by age 30, an increasing trend that suggests cohabitation is now a regular part of family life, researchers said.

Ark. oil spill renews debate of Keystone pipeline

WASHINGTON - An oil spill that polluted an Arkansas town is drawing new scrutiny to the risks of transporting fuel across a national labyrinth of pipelines as President Obama weighs whether to approve Keystone XL.

High-tech flaws go unfound in new jets

WASHINGTON - Failures to spot and anticipate safety flaws during certification of new aircraft have been linked to 70 percent of U.S. airline-crash deaths in the past 20 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

US trade pact with EU would bolster prosperity

Two years ago, Volkswagen opened a $1 billion manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tenn., that employs 3,300 Americans and makes 150,000 cars a year for the U.S. market and for export to Canada, Mexico and South Korea.

Cyberattack didn't come from China, S. Korea says

SEOUL - South Korean officials said a cyberattack that froze networks at broadcasters and banks this week came from a domestic source and not China, contradicting an initial conclusion.

Samsung races Apple for wristwatch market

Samsung Electronics is developing a wristwatch as Asia's biggest technology company races against Apple to create a new industry of wearable devices that perform similar tasks to smartphones.

World wrestles with clean-water crisis: There's too little of it

There are more mobile phones on Earth than clean toilets, one of the most vexing challenges facing governments on the 20th anniversary of the United Nations' World Water Day.

McCain advocates 'grand bargain' with more taxes

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says Republicans should compromise and increase tax revenues as part of a "long-term grand bargain" on the budget, and praised President Obama for reaching out to senators across the aisle.

Praising Obama, McCain backs revenue compromise in grand bargain

WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says Republicans should compromise and increase tax revenues as part of a “long-term grand bargain” on the budget, and praised President Obama for reaching out to senators across the aisle.

Seniors' drug plans may be costing too much for Medicare

WASHINGTON - Preferred-pharmacy plans that promise lower prices for people who agree to buy their prescription drugs from certain stores may be costing the Medicare program more money to support, pharmacists say.

Diners shun restaurants as payroll tax hike hits

Restaurants are reeling from their worst three months since 2010, as American diners spooked by higher payroll taxes cut back on eating out.

China moves to let elderly sue adult kids for neglect

BEIJING - In 10 years as head of an elder-care center in Confucius' hometown of Qufu, Yang Youling has seen the Chinese philosopher's exhortation of filial piety turned on its head.

FCC should take steps to boost wireless competition

Tantalizing reports that Americans might soon be getting free nationwide wireless Internet access, courtesy of the Federal Communications Commission, have turned out to be exaggerated. But wouldn't we all welcome mobile connectivity at a reasonable price? The FCC should take steps to make th…

Sen. Coburn is the Gang of One against gov't waste

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is a real-life Murray Blum. Blum, played by Charles Grodin, is the president's accountant in the comedy "Dave," which I think of every time we have one of these spending dramas in Washington. In my favorite scene, President Dave Kovic, played by Kevin Kline, asks Bl…

Netanyahu says Iran is stalling for time

WASHINGTON - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Iran is using negotiations over its nuclear program to stall for time to develop an atomic weapon, even as Vice President Joe Biden said the United States favors diplomacy to stop Iran from getting one.

Let's get serious about Social Security, Medicare reform

U.S. House Democrats have signed a letter urging President Obama to oppose any benefit cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlements. That's the last thing we need.

Walmart wrestling logistical problem: restocking its shelves

Walmart, already struggling to woo shoppers constrained by higher taxes, is "getting worse" at keeping shelves stocked, the retailer's U.S. chief told executives, according to minutes of an officers' meeting obtained by Bloomberg News.

US will take no immediate action on banks' overdraft fees

WASHINGTON - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which last year began exploring whether to tighten rules on checking overdraft fees, has decided against quick action after hearing from smaller U.S. banks that rely on the revenue.