AP Top U.S. News At 5:22 p.m. EST

New advice: Skip mammograms in 40s, start at 50

By STEPHANIE NANO and MARILYNN MARCHIONE — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:22:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Most women don't need a mammogram in their 40s and should get one every two years starting at 50, a government task force said Monday. It's a major reversal that conflicts with the American Cancer Society's long-standing position....

Woman expected to enter guilty plea in Smart case

By JENNIFER DOBNER — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:00:06 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The woman charged in the 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and will plead guilty in the case, her attorney said Monday....

NC searchers find body of missing 5-year-old girl

By ALYSIA PATTERSON — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:37:03 GMT

SANFORD, N.C. (AP) -- A missing 5-year-old whose mother was accused of offering her for sex was found dead off a heavily wooded road in a rural area Monday, ending a weeklong search, police said....

Bishops' leader defends role in health care debate

By RACHEL ZOLL — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:39:55 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops said Monday that church leaders have a duty to the nation and God to raise moral concerns in the debate over health care, whether the issue is abortion rights or coverage for the poor....

FAA splits Hudson River airspace into 2 low zones

By VICTOR EPSTEIN — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:27:07 GMT

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- The crowded airspace over the Hudson River, where nine people died in the collision of a small plane and a sightseeing helicopter, will be split into a low-altitude zone for local traffic and a higher one for longer-distance flights, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday....

Soldier mom refuses deployment to care for baby

By RUSS BYNUM — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:02:02 GMT

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) -- An Army cook and single mom may face criminal charges after she skipped her deployment flight to Afghanistan because, she said, no one was available to care for her infant son while she was overseas....

Ohio chief's trial begins in Parker-Broderick case

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:02:43 GMT

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- A judge is set to begin opening arguments in the trial of an Ohio police chief accused of snooping on the woman who carried twins for Hollywood couple Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick....

Frank floats loan plan for unemployed homeowners

By MICHELLE R. SMITH — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:21:28 GMT

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) -- Rep. Barney Frank said Monday he is pushing a proposal to use some of the interest the government collects from the financial industry bailout to give loans to unemployed homeowners struggling to pay the mortgage....

Palin, Winfrey talk about book and Levi Johnston

By CARYN ROUSSEAU — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:36:15 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) -- Sarah Palin said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that it's heartbreaking to see the road that Levi Johnston, the father of her grandson, has taken and that the soon-to-be Playgirl model hasn't seen his baby in awhile....

Feds: Kuwaiti company conspired to defraud US

By GREG BLUESTEIN — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:58:29 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) -- The chief food supplier for the U.S. military in Kuwait and Iraq inflated prices and defrauded the U.S. government for multibillion-dollar contracts to feed American troops, federal prosecutors said Monday....