AP - The first of four paintings auctioned by Virginia's Randolph College to raise money has sold for more than $7.2 million.

AP - A Dallas suburb's ban on apartment rentals to illegal immigrants, an ordinance passed by city leaders and later endorsed in a vote by its residents, is unconstitutional, a federal judge found Wednesday.

AP - The federal government has plenty of reasons to move hundreds of families out of trailers they have occupied since Hurricane Katrina: the start of a new hurricane season, concerns about toxic fumes and the need for residents to find permanent homes.

AP - Same-sex marriages legally performed elsewhere will be recognized in New York in response to a state court ruling this year, Gov. David Paterson's spokeswoman said Wednesday.

AP - Tia Thomas flipped through her note cards and said: "OK, I'm going to stump you."

AP - Scientists began releasing the robotic arm on NASA's new Mars spacecraft on Wednesday, one day late because of a radio problem.

AP - A woman who defied medical odds and spent nearly 60 years in an iron lung after being diagnosed with polio as a child died Wednesday after a power failure shut down the machine that kept her breathing, her family said.

AP - Melissa Green's mother spoke Spanish, but she never learned — her father forbid it. Today, that's a frequent problem in this city where the English-speaking population is outnumbered.

AP - Two commuter trains collided and derailed during the evening rush hour outside Boston on Wednesday, trapping and killing the operator of one train and injuring several passengers, authorities said.

AP - Gay rights advocates had reason to celebrate on both coasts Thursday, with New York set to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere and California preparing to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples on June 17.

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.