TommieMedia

WASHINGTON — From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck told the tens of thousands of activists he drew from around the nation Saturday that the U.S. has too long “wandered in darkness.”

MINNEAPOLIS — The Elk River High School varsity football program has been suspended while the school district investigates an allegation of hazing and police pursue their own criminal probe, police said.

COPIAPO, Chile — Just 35 inches (90 centimeters) around the waist — that’s how skinny Chile’s 33 trapped miners have been told they need to be to squeeze through the escape tunnel, the health minister said Wednesday.

NEW YORK — The proposed mosque near ground zero drew hundreds of fever-pitch demonstrators Sunday, with opponents carrying signs associating Islam with blood, supporters shouting, “Say no to racist fear!” and American flags waving on both sides.

WASHINGTON — Israel and the Palestinians will resume long-stalled direct peace talks in Washington early next month with the aim of reaching a settlement in a year’s time, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday.

Instead of walking under cardboard arches at the Metrodome, students will walk under the same cardboard arches on the St. Thomas football field and then take photos under the real arches with their classmates after the spring 2011 undergraduate commencement ceremony.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Officials are concerned about a recent rise in all-terrain vehicle deaths in Minnesota.

Sixteen people have died in ATV accidents across Minnesota this year. That compares with 14 for all of 2009. A record 24 occurred in 2004.

FORT HANCOCK, Texas — After a bad day on the job as a Border Patrol agent, Eddie DeLaCruz went home and began discussing with his wife how to celebrate her upcoming birthday. Then he casually pressed his government-issued handgun under his chin and pulled the trigger.

WASHINGTON — The economy is looking bleaker as new applications for jobless benefits rose last week to the highest level in almost six months.

It’s a sign that hiring remains weak and employers may be going back to cutting their staffs. Analysts say the increase suggests companies won’t be adding enough workers in August to lower the 9.5 percent unemployement rate.

DILLINGHAM, Alaska — Former Sen. Ted Stevens lay dead in the mangled fuselage of the plane. A 13-year-old boy escaped death but his father died a few feet away. Medical workers spent the miserable night tending to survivors’ broken bones amid a huge slick of fuel that coated a muddy mountainside.