Yahoo! News: U.S. News

U.S. News

• Obama administration bolsters homeowner lifeline (Reuters)

  Reuters - The Obama administration, in an election-year bid to help distressed homeowners, on Friday expanded its main foreclosure prevention program, and pushed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive mortgage debt.

  
  

• "Barefoot Bandit" gets 6.5 years of federal time (Reuters)

  Reuters - A serial burglar nicknamed the "Barefoot Bandit" was sentenced on Friday in Seattle to 6-1/2 years in prison for his guilty plea to federal charges stemming from a sensational, two-year crime spree as a sometimes-shoeless teenage runaway.

• St. Louis to host first major parade for Iraq War vets (Reuters)

  Reuters - At least 1,000 Iraq War veterans and their family members are expected to march in St. Louis on Saturday in the nation's first major homecoming parade honoring U.S. soldiers who served in the war, a coalition of veteran groups, private citizens and local officials said.

• Should Undercover Video Be Banned at Livestock Farms? (Time.com)

  Time.com - In a controversy raging in six states, lawmakers are debating whether to criminalize the covert filming of farm activity

• Tax Returns and Tithing: How Mitt Romney Gives Away 16% of His Income (Time.com)

  Time.com - When Mitt Romney released his 2010 tax returns on Tuesday, the one number that stood out wasn't his 14% effective tax rate or his $20 million-plus annual income. It was the $7 million he gave to charity over the last two years

• Union membership slipped further as attacks came in 2011 (Reuters)

  Reuters - The percentage of workers represented by a union dipped slightly in 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday, as organized labor came under attack in states once considered union strongholds, including Wisconsin and Ohio.

• Student charged in Utah school bomb plot (AP)

  AP - The two teens had a detailed plot, blueprints of the school and security systems, but no explosives. They had hours of flight simulator training on a home computer and a plan to flee the country, but no plane.

  
  

• Army chief lays out Army cuts in Europe (AP)

  AP - The Pentagon's decision announced Friday to take two heavy armor brigades out of Europe in 2013 and 2014 will not necessarily force NATO allies to shoulder more of the load if ground forces are needed for a large-scale conflict in the region, Gen. Raymond Odierno, the Army chief of staff, said Friday.

  
  

• Many Mo. farmers shut out of federal flooding aid (AP)

  AP - Farmers whose land was damaged by Missouri River flooding expressed frustration Friday that a missed deadline will keep them from sharing in $215 million from one federal disaster program.

• Ex-Boston Mayor White, led in turbulent '70s, dies (AP)

  AP - Former Mayor Kevin H. White, who led the city for 16 years including racially turbulent times in the 1970s and was credited with putting it on a path to prosperity, died Friday, a family spokesman said. He was 82.

  
  

• 'Barefoot Bandit' sentenced to 6 1/2 years (AP)

  AP - After a two-year international crime spree in which he survived a handful of crash landings, Colton Harris-Moore — the infamous "Barefoot Bandit" — says he's lucky to be alive.

  
  

• Probe of NYPD boss' son puts DA in spotlight, too (AP)

  AP - While the city's powerful police commissioner faced questions Friday about a rape allegation against his TV-anchor son, the probe has also put the district attorney in a delicate position.

  
  

• Long road ahead for Conn. home invasion survivor (AP)

  AP - How does a man move on with his life after losing his wife and daughters to two ruthless home invaders who tormented, then killed them?

  
  

• Actress' claim to be gay by choice riles activists (AP)

  AP - Cynthia Nixon learned the hard way this week that when it comes to gay civil rights, the personal is always political. Very political.

  
  

• Panetta cites key intelligence on bin Laden raid (AP)

  AP - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is acknowledging publicly for the first time that a Pakistani doctor provided key information to the U.S. in advance of the successful Navy SEAL assault on Osama bin Laden's compound last May.

• Friend says on 911 call Demi Moore was convulsing (AP)

  AP - Demi Moore smoked something before she was rushed to the hospital on Monday night and was convulsing and "semi-conscious, barely," according to a caller on a frantic 911 recording released Friday by Los Angeles fire officials.

  
  

• Iraq War veteran accused of posing as Ore. officer (AP)

  AP - Eugene Police Officer Dan Baker drove a blue SUV and set off sirens to clear cars in front of him at traffic lights. He pulled over motorists — though it's unclear if he ever gave out tickets. And when he stopped by a youth shelter as a volunteer, he came in full uniform.

• St. Louis hosts 1st big parade on Iraq War's end (AP)

  AP - Since the Iraq War ended there has been little fanfare for the veterans returning home. No ticker-tape parades. No massive, flag-waving public celebrations.

  
  

• Workers hurt in collapse at Cincinnati casino site (AP)

  AP - A floor collapsed into a V shape Friday at the construction site of a new Ohio casino, sending workers sliding to the ground, leaving one worker with serious injuries and hurting at least a dozen others.

  
  

• Justice unit to probe mortgage-backed securities (AP)

  AP - Federal and state law enforcement officials announced Friday they have launched a fraud-fighting unit, starting with 55 prosecutors and investigators, to root out wrongdoing in the market for residential mortgage-backed securities.