WRAL.com - AP National News

Americans give thanks, see parades, feast in space

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:36:05 -0500

Giant balloons, floats, marching bands and clowns with confetti brought smiles to hundreds of thousands of revelers eager to catch a glimpse of a parade as steeped in Thanksgiving Day tradition as turkey and pumpkin pie.

Utah family struggles to make sense of cave death

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:36:04 -0500

The brother of a man who died early Thursday trapped 700-feet inside a Utah cave said his family is remarkably strong but struggles to make sense of what happened.

Mass. cops: Dad doing errand locked kids in trunk

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:34:08 -0500

Massachusetts police say a man locked his two young sons in the trunk of his car while he ran an errand.

Seniors suffer in troubled California subdivision

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:41:15 -0500

John and Donna Pringle were newly widowed when they fell in love and decided to slip into retirement together at a sprawling community being built for the 55-and-up crowd a few miles from their homes in this sun-bleached Southern California town.

'Ghost' traps, long lost, keep catching lobsters

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:40:16 -0500

Beneath the cold ocean waters off the coast of Maine, the nation's lobster breadbasket, lie hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of old wire lobster "ghost traps." Lost over the years to storms, boats - even the knives of fishermen who've cut them from their buoys to settle scores - many of the traps continue catching lobsters.

Astronauts surprised by holiday turkey dinners

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:57:15 -0500

Space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts thought they were going to give thanks with pantry leftovers Thursday as their mission drew to a close, but found turkey dinners awaiting them.

Immigration reform activists diversifying ranks

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:59:12 -0500

Beyond the noisy town hall meetings, Tea Party protests and sky-is-falling speeches characterizing much of the health care debate is a less visible, but no less intense push to broaden the face of the immigration reform movement.

Tight economy forces some to stay home for holiday

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:52:23 -0500

There's still family, turkey and football, but one Thanksgiving tradition is taking a hit this year. Millions of Americans are spending the holiday at home, saying the poor economy has made it unaffordable to hit the road or board a plane.

Touched by girl's death, Shaq offers to pay for funeral

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:10:41 -0500

Basketball star Shaquille O'Neal offered to pay for the funeral of Shaniya Davis after seeing news of the 5-year-old's kidnapping and slaying, funeral director Corey R. Breece Sr., of Rogers and Breece Funeral Home, said.

Year after NY stampede, Black Friday gets makeover

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:13:50 -0500

Victoria Rogers had originally planned to make an early stop the day after Thanksgiving last year at the Walmart store in Valley Stream on Long Island. Her last-minute decision against it might have saved her life.