AP - An agent investigating last month's escape of eight jail inmates says prisoners probably stole a key left in a door by a corrections officer doing plumbing work at the time, then returned it before anyone noticed.

AP - A California woman who escaped from a Michigan prison 32 years ago and lived on the lam as a suburban mother was sentenced to probation Wednesday, five months after her capture. "I knew for years this was coming," said Susan LeFevre.

AP - After a Georgia inmate convicted of murdering a police officer was spared from execution a second time, the condemned man's widely publicized supporters erupted in joy. But far from television cameras, the victim's family seethed.

AP - A former defendant in the O.J. Simpson kidnapping and armed robbery case testified Wednesday that he decided to take a plea deal and accuse Simpson in court after God answered his prayers with a revelation telling him to do the right thing.

AP - A teenager who mental health experts say wanted to become a serial killer was convicted Wednesday of luring his 14-year-old friend to a middle school bathroom and stabbing him to death in 2004.

AP - Hundreds of pastors have called on their congregations to fast and pray for passage of a ballot measure in November that would put an end to gay marriage in California.

AP - A Missouri teenager who was kidnapped and held for four years said he figured his days were numbered when his abductor decided to take another boy, according to transcripts from a television interview released Wednesday to The Associated Press.

AP - Connecticut Democrats, angry that Sen. Joe Lieberman is campaigning for the Republican presidential candidate and criticizing his own party's nominee, agreed Wednesday to circulate a resolution to censure the veteran politician but won't consider acting on it until after Election Day.

AP - Ten days after Hurricane Ike, this devastated beach town reopened to residents Wednesday with stern warnings about what still lurks on the island — rotting cattle carcasses, snakes and swarms of mosquitoes — and what isn't there: drinking water, reliable electricity, medical care or sewer service.