LOS ANGELES T he cruise to the moon took 3 1/2 months and covered 2 1/2 million miles — far longer than the direct three-day flight by Apollo astronauts. Over the New Year’s weekend, a pair of NASA spacecraft arrived back-to-back at their destination in the first mission devoted to studying lunar gravity. Mission controllers […]

NEW YORK (AP) — Police kept watch over a globally prominent Islamic cultural center that was firebombed as they investigated other attacks that also could be bias crimes. Although structural damage to the Imam Al- Khoei Foundation building was minimal, the incident Sunday has left the community emotionally shaken, said its assistant imam, Maan Al-Sahlani. […]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The corpses’ faces are mostly bloated, their skin pale and discolored. One man’s lips are stiffened into a grim frown and he stares with half-open eyes. Another man appears to be sleeping, his color natural enough that he almost looks alive. Forensic investigator Michael Simley knows some people will find the photographs […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It was another night of firefighters scrambling across the nation’s second largest city to snuff out a series of arson attacks when a tip came in about a German man who matched the description of someone with a shoulderlength ponytail captured on a surveillance video near where a car fire was […]

PERRY, Iowa ( AP) — A funny thing happened recently in the presidential campaign in Iowa: The last Republican president’s name actually surfaced. “We’ve had, in the past, a couple of presidents from Texas that said they weren’t interested in wars … like George W. Bush,” a voter said to Ron Paul, the Texas congressman […]

LITCHFIELD ( AP) — A man flying a powered parachute was left hanging on a tree limb more than 70 feet high for a while after a gust of wind blew him out of control. John Beganny, 66, suffered cuts to his head and face on Sunday. Police say he was flying a parachute powered […]

PORTLAND (AP) — Many people resolve to lose weight in the new year. This year, Mainers can star in their own version of the “ Biggest Loser” reality show. The goal of the fourth annual Dr. Lou’s weight loss challenge is to pay $7,500 to the grand prize winner. That depends on whether participation reaches […]

LOVELL (AP) — A passenger in a minivan has died after it rolled over and struck a utility pole in Lovell. Police say 30-year-old Eric Blades of Norway was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Investigators believe the Dodge caravan struck a patch of ice before crashing. The […]

FARMINGTON (AP) — The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating an explosion in Farmington. No one was reported hurt as a result of the explosion reported after 9 p.m. on Monday. Police responding to Bailey Hill Road found remains of the device in the road. A bomb squad was called in and they determined there […]

GARDINER (AP) — Police are looking for man who robbed prescription drugs from a Gardiner pharmacy. Police say a man who appeared to be in his early 20s walked into the Rite Aid on Spring Street just after 2 p.m. on Monday, went to the back of the store and demanded drugs at the pharmacy […]