AP Top U.S. News At 2:31 p.m. EDT

Soldier held in Afghanistan is 23-year-old Idahoan

By JOHN MILLER — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:39:30 GMT

HAILEY, Idaho (AP) -- A soldier from Idaho who disappeared from his base in Afghanistan has been captured, the Pentagon confirmed Sunday, a day after he was seen in a Taliban video posted online....

Astronauts deal with flooded toilet in orbit

By MARCIA DUNN — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:13:35 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- The bathroom lines at the already crowded space shuttle and space station complex got a lot longer Sunday because of a flooded toilet. One of two commodes aboard the international space station malfunctioned, right in the middle of complicated robotic work being conducted by the two crews. The pump separator apparently flooded....

NTSB investigators to probe SF light rail crash

By JASON DEAREN — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:29:31 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Two investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are helping San Francisco officials determine the cause of a collision between two light-rail trains that left dozens of people injured....

Palin: Alaska tour is thanks, not goodbye

By MATTHEW DALY — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:22:26 GMT

UNALAKLEET, Alaska (AP) -- She was greeted like a rock star in Unalakleet, a fishing village on the Bering Sea. She danced with Eskimos in Kotzebue. And she watched grizzlies at a wildlife sanctuary on the Kenai Peninsula. In all, Sarah Palin has been on eight trips outside her Anchorage base since announcing her resignation two weeks ago. Is this a farewell tour, the start of a possible presidential campaign for 2012?...

Calif. lawmakers, Schwarzenegger to discuss budget

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:39:20 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California officials are set for talks they hope will iron out the final details to closing the state's $26.3 billion budget deficit....

Aldrin: NASA should work to put people on Mars

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:47:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin says NASA should set its sights on a bigger target in the future: Mars....

'Potter' conjures up $159.7 million in 5 days

By DAVID GERMAIN — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:20:04 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Harry Potter continues to work box-office alchemy, turning his latest movie adventure into an overnight blockbuster....

Cheating SC gov says God will make him better

By SEANNA ADCOX — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:49:30 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, still clinging to office after admitting to an extramarital affair, wrote in an opinion piece released Sunday that God will change him so he can emerge from the scandal a more humble and effective leader....

Man on porch charged after 6 slain in Tenn., Ala.

By KRISTIN M. HALL — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:06:03 GMT

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Six people believed to be from one family were slain in a two-state spree and authorities charged a man who was sitting on the porch when authorities arrived at one home in the killings....

2 killed in small plane crash north of Los Angeles

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:46:36 GMT

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) -- Authorities say both people aboard an experimental airplane have died when it crashed in northern Los Angeles County....