SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) -- Authorities said Wednesday they were pursuing an unspecified lead in the abduction of a 3-year-old boy from his home but wouldn't say whether any arrests were imminent three days after the boy's mother reported that he was snatched by two armed men....

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) -- Fierce winds blew a wildfire into Southern California homes Wednesday, forcing thousands of people to flee as columns of smoke rose from a scenic coastal enclave....

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) -- A disguised gunman fatally shot a Wesleyan University student while she worked at a popular bookstore near campus Wednesday before fleeing into the bustling downtown area, leaving his wig behind....

ARCADIA, Mo. (AP) -- A 3-year-old boy was found in remarkably good condition Wednesday, 50 hours after he wandered away from his home and became lost in the rugged hills of Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Samuel Wurzelbacher, the Ohio man hailed as "Joe the Plumber" by Republican John McCain's presidential campaign last year, said he believes gays are "queer" and said he won't allow them near his children....

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A Missouri mother should serve three years in prison for her role in a MySpace hoax on a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide, federal prosecutors said in court documents filed Wednesday....

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Pressure is mounting against two former Bush administration attorneys who wrote the legal memos used to support harsh interrogation techniques that critics say constituted torture. John Yoo, a constitutional law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, is fighting calls for disbarment and dismissal, while Judge Jay Bybee of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals faces calls for impeachment....

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- New England states signaled an increasing willingness to sanction gay marriage on Wednesday as Maine legalized the practice and the New Hampshire Legislature voted to do the same....

HONOLULU (AP) -- Hawaii's state Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday to celebrate "Islam Day" - over the objections of a few lawmakers who said they didn't want to honor a religion connected to Sept. 11, 2001....

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Government agents searching for evidence of terrorist funding acted reasonably when they broke down a Muslim family's front door, entered with guns drawn and handcuffed a frantic woman and her teenage daughter, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday....

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Prepare to be awed by Odd Day....

SABINE PASS, Texas (AP) -- Beachcombers found more than seashells while strolling on a Texas beach: two dozen neatly wrapped packages of cocaine. Jefferson County Sheriff's Lt. Troy Tucker said drug smugglers have been known to use freighters and the cocaine may have been kicked overboard to avoid detection....

NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) -- Two teens are in custody after a family set a trap to catch whoever was repeatedly taking their SUV in the middle of the night, driving it around and filling the tank up before returning it. The teens were arrested Sunday and charged with felony theft....

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- A puppy that scampered away from her Texas home is all grown up now and mysteriously back after eight years. Owner Alison Murphy of Austin isn't sure where Dancer has been but says obedience school is the next stop for her newly recovered pet....

NEW YORK (AP) -- A cow nicknamed Molly who escaped from a New York City slaughterhouse may have a new lease on life. New York police said the all-black cow got out from Musa Hala, Inc. about 1 p.m. Wednesday, a slaughterhouse where animals are butchered according to religious restrictions....

SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- A father was accused of using a dog shock collar on his four children. Salem Police Lt. Dave Okada said the 41-year-old man was jailed Tuesday on charges of criminal mistreatment. He said the father acknowledged putting the electronic dog collar on his four children and shocking all of them at least once....

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- The thief was long gone when Springfield police arrived at a gas station break-in to find a smashed glass door and missing cigarettes and lottery tickets. Then they got a break - from a suspect. As officers were investigating Wednesday morning, a hospital notified them a man was in the emergency room claiming he had been stabbed in the leg....

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A 21-year-old woman has been arrested after officials said she plowed a pickup through the gates of the O'Malley's On the Green golf course. Anchorage police have charged the woman with burglary and criminal mischief. Police spokesman Dave Parker said the woman was arrested when she returned to the truck after leaving a golf course building....

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Police in Greece say robbers near Athens have stolen everything including the kitchen sink, lifting a prefabricated home off its foundation and spiriting it away. Police said the owner went to visit his 750-square-foot (70-square meter) vacation home Monday in the coastal area of Rafina, 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) east of Athens, and discovered it was missing, along with its contents....

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) -- An official said he's found a source of the city's long-running mystery stink. Public Services Director Bruce Merchant says the "rotten broccoli" smell that's bothered residents of northeastern Kalamazoo since last summer comes from the sewer system....