• Colo. jobless rate dips to 6.9 percent in October 11/20/2009, 12:37 p.m. CST
(AP) — DENVER - Colorado unemployment continues to decline with the latest figures showing the seasonally adjusted rate for October at 6.9 percent.

• Ethics committee says no punishment for Burris 11/20/2009, 12:36 p.m. CST
(AP) — WASHINGTON - The Senate ethics committee admonished a U.S. senator on Friday for making "inconsistent, misleading or incomplete" statements about the circumstances surrounding his appointment to the Senate seat once held by Barack Obama. The committee recommended no action beyond the letter.

• AirTran giving double rewards for Milwaukee travel 11/20/2009, 12:36 p.m. CST
(AP) — ORLANDO, Fla. - Discount carrier AirTran Airways, a unit of AirTran Holdings Inc., said Friday that it will offer double reward credits to all of its frequent flier club members when they travel between Milwaukee and any AirTran destination through Feb. 10.

• Fla. jobless rate climbs to 11.2 percent in Oct. 11/20/2009, 12:32 p.m. CST
(AP) — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida's unemployment rate continued its steady upward climb in October to 11.2 percent last seen in the 1970s-0.1 percentage points higher than September's adjusted rate, state officials said Friday.

• Warrant: Drug in Jackson case came from Vegas firm 11/20/2009, 12:21 p.m. CST
(AP) — LAS VEGAS - Court documents show police linked a drug blamed in Michael Jackson's death to the pop singer's personal physician who bought it at a Las Vegas pharmacy.

• CDC: Swine flu cases seem to be dropping in US 11/20/2009, 12:11 p.m. CST
(AP) — ATLANTA - Health officials say swine flu cases appear to declining throughout most of the U.S., but the specter of Thanksgiving gatherings makes it hard to predict what will happen next.

• Astronauts await word of baby girl on Earth 11/20/2009, 10:30 a.m. CST
(AP) — CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Atlantis' astronauts anxiously awaited word Friday on the birth of a crewman's daughter as they moved more supplies into the International Space Station and geared up for another spacewalk.

• Palin's book tour to include stop at Fort Hood 11/20/2009, 8:54 a.m. CST
(AP) — FORT HOOD, Texas - Sarah Palin's tour to promote her new memoir will include a stop at Fort Hood to benefit the victims of the shooting rampage and their families.

• Past CNN head, Bush aide named to broadcast board 11/20/2009, 8:47 a.m. CST
(AP) — WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has nominated a former press secretary to President George W. Bush and a past chairman of CNN to the Broadcasting Board of Governors. The independent agency oversees nonmilitary international broadcasts sponsored by the federal government, including Voice of America.

• Heidi Klum wows crowd at Victoria's Secret show 11/20/2009, 6:52 a.m. CST
(AP) — NEW YORK - Heidi Klum and her post-baby body led the parade at the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show, which returned to New York with some fresh faces after four years on the road.

• Stocks decline in early trading as dollar rises 11/20/2009, 5:45 a.m. CST
(AP) — NEW YORK - Stocks fell in early morning trading Friday as the dollar continued to strengthen, and after a week of mixed economic reports.

• Boeing breaks ground for historic SC plant 11/20/2009, 3:01 a.m. CST
(AP) — NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. - Work has officially started on building Boeing's $750 million aircraft assembly plant in South Carolina-the largest industrial investment in state history.

• European markets push higher ahead of Trichet 11/20/2009, 12:19 a.m. CST
(AP) — LONDON - European stock markets rose Friday despite a drop in Asia as investors recouped some of the previous day's hefty losses ahead of a key speech from European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet.

• Taiwan firm uses recycled paper in shoemaking 11/19/2009, 10:35 p.m. CST
(AP) — TAIPEI, Taiwan - Confronted with an ever-growing pile of old newspapers, Taiwanese fashion designer Colin Lin came up with the idea of using them to make shoes and tote bags for her environmentally friendly footwear company.

• Heidi Klum wows crowd at Victoria's Secret show 11/19/2009, 9:15 p.m. CST
(AP) — NEW YORK - Heidi Klum and her post-baby body led the parade at the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show, which returned to New York with some fresh faces after four years on the road.

• Competency hearing opens for accused Maui spy 11/19/2009, 8:52 p.m. CST
(AP) — HONOLULU - Expert witnesses for the prosecution and the defense have testified a former B-2 stealth bomber engineer accused of spying for China suffers from narcissistic personality disorder.

• NC man charged with murder in missing girl case 11/19/2009, 7:27 p.m. CST
(AP) — FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Police in North Carolina say a man already accused of kidnapping a 5-year-old girl also raped and asphyxiated her.

• End of an era: Oprah ending show after 25 years 11/19/2009, 5:38 p.m. CST
(AP) — CHICAGO - Oprah Winfrey was set to announce Friday that her powerhouse daytime television show, the foundation of a multibillion-dollar media empire with legions of fans, will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air.

• AP Top News at 8:55 p.m. EST 11/19/2009, 4:52 p.m. CST
(AP) — WASHINGTON - Digging in for a long struggle, Republican senators and governors assailed the Democrats' newly minted health care legislation Thursday as a collection of tax increases, Medicare cuts and heavy new burdens for deficit-ridden states. Despite the criticism, there were growing indications Democrats would prevail on an initial Senate showdown set for Saturday night, and Majority Leader Harry Reid crisply rebutted the Republican charges. The bill "will save lives, save money and save Medicare," he said.

• Study abroad? College students drop, rethink plans 11/19/2009, 2:47 p.m. CST
(AP) — PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Economic reality may be cooling the enthusiasm of U.S. college students to study abroad.

• AP NewsBreak: Official says SC gov reporting trips 11/19/2009, 2:28 p.m. CST
(AP) — COLUMBIA, S.C. - A South Carolina ethics official says Gov. Mark Sanford wants to report previously unrecorded flights he took on planes owned by friends and campaign donors.

• Wife of Sen. Lugar charged with DWI, hit-and-run 11/19/2009, 2:10 p.m. CST
(AP) — McLEAN, Va. - The wife of U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., has been charged with drunken driving and hit-and-run after police said she hit a parked car in northern Virginia.

• Police seize more vids in Mo. sex abuse case 11/19/2009, 2:03 p.m. CST
(AP) — COLUMBIA, Mo. - Missouri investigators say several family members who say they were sexually abused as children by adult relatives remember being taken to various locations and photographed with naked men.

• NYC 'Junior' Gotti jury says it's deadlocked 11/19/2009, 1:53 p.m. CST
(AP) — NEW YORK - Jurors deliberating racketeering charges against John "Junior" Gotti have told a New York judge something three other Gotti juries have said before: that they're unable to agree on a verdict.

• Feds back removal of 5M pounds of Utah lake carp 11/19/2009, 1:42 p.m. CST
(AP) — SALT LAKE CITY - Federal officials are backing a plan to remove five million pounds of unwanted carp each year from Utah Lake near Provo in an effort to save an endangered fish.