AP - A former tough-on-crime Pennsylvania lawmaker has adopted a new and unpopular cause, taking into his home three sex offenders who couldn't find a place to live — a stand that has angered neighbors, drawn pickets and touched off a zoning dispute.

AP - White-picket fences, neatly cut lawns and backyard swing sets belie the eerie reality about Arlene Bensen's neighborhood: Nearly everyone is gone.

AP - Barack Obama doesn't want Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his legal troubles to be a distraction at the upcoming Democratic National Convention, and he got his wish Thursday when a judge ordered the city executive to stay home.

AP - Just six illegal immigrants volunteered to leave the United States in the first week of a pilot program inviting nearly a half-million people to self-deport, federal officials said.

AP - A federal appeals court will reconsider its decision to toss out a Canadian engineer's lawsuit over torture he says he endured after being mistaken for an Islamic extremist.

AP - A member of the infamous "Texas 7" gang of escaped fugitives was executed Thursday for killing a Dallas-area police officer during their weeks on the run.