AP - Federal and state agents swarmed the backyard of a modest white house along a windy stretch in rural northeast Georgia this week in search of clues that could be linked to living suspects involved in the 1946 unsolved lynchings of four people.

AP - The Kroger Co. expanded its voluntary recall of some ground beef products beyond stores in Michigan and parts of Ohio to its stores in more than 20 states on Wednesday.

AP - A former Missouri radio reporter was convicted Wednesday of killing his wife by poisoning her Gatorade with antifreeze and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

AP - A hedge fund swindler who set off a national manhunt when he faked his suicide to avoid reporting to prison rode his scooter to a small-town police station in Massachusetts on Wednesday and turned himself in while talking to his mother on his cell phone.

AP - A federal judge on Wednesday tossed out a lawsuit by an Islamic organization that accused the Bush administration of illegally wiretapping its telephones without warrants.

AP - A former teacher pleaded guilty Wednesday to fleeing to Mexico with a 13-year-old student so she could have sex with him. Her plea was part of a deal to ensure she'll spend less than a decade in federal prison.

AP - Those seeking the oohs and aahs of traditional Fourth of July fireworks could be sadly disappointed this year: Public displays and sales of boxed firecrackers are being canceled or scaled back across the nation, victims of a sluggish economy, wildfire fears and product shortages caused by a warehouse fire in China.

AP - His wife described him as a good man — when he was clean and sober — and his attorney said he was a model client who showed up at a recent court appearance dressed in a suit and tie.

AP - Authorities ordered the remaining residents of this scenic coastal community to leave Wednesday because an out-of-control wildfire, one of hundreds in California, had jumped a fire line and was threatening more homes.