AP - Thomas North sounded a little groggy Tuesday morning, having experienced what he called a "pretty erratic" sleep pattern during his first 24 hours in the United States. Who could blame him? Of the record 288 competitors in this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee, no one traveled farther than the 13-year-old boy from Hamilton, New Zealand.

AP - The anguish of Hurricane Katrina should have ended for Gina Bouffanie and her daughter when they left their FEMA trailer. But with each hospital visit and each labored breath her child takes, the young mother fears it has just begun.

AP - The owner of six Southern California medical marijuana dispensaries, including one store linked to an accident that killed a motorist and paralyzed an officer, are facing federal drug and money laundering charges.

AP - Child welfare authorities are warning that members of a polygamist sect could flee Texas jurisdiction now that a court has found the state's removal of their children was improper.

AP - A day after an orbiter's radio shutdown blocked NASA from telling its newly planted Phoenix Mars lander what to do, orders were on the way to get its robotic arm moving.

AP - Former White House press secretary Tony Snow, diagnosed with cancer three years ago, canceled a speaking appearance at Ohio's Ashland University because of an unspecified illness, the university announced Wednesday.

AP - More California voters now support allowing same-sex marriage than oppose it, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

AP - NASA rushed Wednesday to get a special pump on board shuttle Discovery to fix a balky toilet at the international space station.