COLTON, Calif. ( AP) — Police say a naked, 300-pound bodybuilder savagely beat a Southern California couple at their home, leaving them in critical condition. The Sun of San Bernardino says 22-year-old Ruben Arzu apparently was under the influence of steroids and other drugs, and it took four police officers, two stun gun blasts and […]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The woman accused of burglarizing “ Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek’s hotel room in San Francisco this summer won’t face a “three strikes” charge that could have sent her to prison for 25 years to life. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday that District Attorney George Gascon doesn’t think the nature of […]

EPHRATA, Pa. ( AP) — A central Pennsylvania man is behind bars after police say he tried to pass off storebought mushrooms as the illegal psychedelic variety. Twenty- year- old Jayson Hartman was arrested last week in connection with the alleged fake drug sale. Ephrata police say they broke up the sale after receiving a […]

Reward offered for info on jail escapee SANFORD (AP) — The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the location and arrest of a New Hampshire jail escapee who may be in Maine. David Glenn Hobson, 33, escaped from jail in Ossipee, N.H., on Dec. 1 and is believed to […]

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel today downplayed Standard & Poor’s warning that it might cut the credit rating of 15 eurozone countries, including Germany’s, because the region’s financial crisis is worsening without any imminent fix. The timing of the warning was noteworthy. It came just hours after Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged […]

BANGOR (AP) — A federal judge on Monday promised a ruling within two days on Occupy Augusta’s request for a court order allowing the activists to remain in a park near the Maine State House without a permit. U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen said during the 1 1/2-hour hearing she would rule by the end […]

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber struck a crowd of Shiite worshippers at a mosque in Kabul today, killing at least 54 people in the deadliest of two attacks on a Shiite holy day — the first major sectarian assaults since the fall of the Taliban a decade ago. Four other Shiites were killed […]

ALBUQUERQUE, N. M. ( AP) — A severe winter blast has struck most of New Mexico, closing schools and shutting down major highways across the state. Motorists sought emergency shelter overnight as state officials closed both directions of Interstate 40 from Albuquerque to Gallup — part of the historic Route 66 — after blowing snow […]

BRUNSWICK — The Goodwin Motor Group will team up with the Dirigo Corvairs for a food drive from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Goodwin Chevrolet Mazda to benefit the Good Shepherd food bank in Auburn. Donations are now being accepted at Goodwin Chevrolet Mazda, at 195 Pleasant St., Brunswick, and at Goodwin’s Volvo, […]