AP - Unsuspecting property owners around the country are getting trampled in an old-fashioned land rush by natural gas companies and speculators trying to lock up long-ignored drilling rights quickly and cheaply.

AP - Multiple sclerosis has Paul House in a wheelchair. A tenacious prosecutor has him on death row, deemed too dangerous to be released two years after the U.S. Supreme Court said he likely isn't guilty.

AP - The name of the place says it all: The Original Kazoo Co. And, boy, do its owners mean original.

AP - Both the scene and the toll of a fiery six-vehicle crash were staggering.

AP - Same-sex couples in some California counties will be able to marry as soon as June 14, the president of the California's county clerks association said.

AP - A string of shootings in a New York City neighborhood sent eight people, including half a dozen teenagers, to nearby hospitals with gunshot wounds, police said Tuesday.

AP - Fred Everts held back tears as he surveyed the pile of splintered wood and metal scraps that had been his and his wife's home.

AP - Several leading child welfare groups Tuesday urged an overhaul of federal laws dealing with transracial adoption, arguing that black children in foster care are ill-served by a "colorblind" approach meant to encourage their adoption by white families.

AP - One-time thief Heber Nixon Jr. has filled out his share of futile job applications. All said being a felon wouldn't stand in his way — but the promised calls from managers never came.